Russia

• A Ukrainian drone strike on an oil storage facility in the Crimean port of Sevastopol caused a massive fire, according to a Russian official cited by the Associated Press on Saturday. AWC
• A Kremlin spokesperson has rebuked a claim by an American diplomat that Moscow was preparing to test a nuclear weapon. Russia maintains it is committed to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty so long as other parties adhere to it. AWC
• The Kremlin said Thursday that it would welcome any steps toward a settlement to the war in Ukraine following the call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping. AWC
•  Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of US European Command, told Congress on Wednesday that Russia’s ground forces are “bigger today” than they were before Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year. AWC
• The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on the Russian intelligence agency FSB and the intelligence wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over allegations that they’re involved in the detainment of Americans. AWC
• American arms stockpiles in Israel have begun to shrink, Israeli officials said, voicing fears Washington will exhaust munitions earmarked for use by Tel Aviv in the event of ”emergencies.” The White House has shipped weapons from its depots around the globe to fuel the Ukrainian war machine. The Institute 
• Poland on Saturday seized a building in Warsaw near the Russian embassy that was used as a school for the children of Russian diplomats, drawing protest from Moscow. AWC

China

• Leaked intelligence documents show that key nations, including some of the most populous in the world, don’t want to follow along with President Biden’s policies toward Russia and China, The Washington Post reported Saturday. AWC
• The new House committee on China is preparing proposals on ways to rapidly arm Taiwan and boost up American stockpiles of long-range missiles, Defense News reported on Thursday. AWC
• The US Army’s Special Operations Command (USASOC) simulated defending Taiwan from a Chinese invasion in the latest example of the US military preparing for a direct war with China. AWC
• A US Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane flew over the Taiwan Strait on Friday, drawing a rebuke from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). AWC
• The State Department has reaffirmed that an attack on a Philippine vessel in the South China Sea will invoke the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty following a near miss between Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels in the disputed waters. AWC
• China on Thursday denounced US plans to dock nuclear-armed submarines in South Korea, saying that the plan runs counter to the goal of a “denuclearized” Korean Peninsula. AWC

Iran

• The US military said Thursday that Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, the Advantage Sweet, that was bound for Texas. According to Iranian media, the ship was seized after it collided with an Iranian fishing vessel. AWC
• Iran’s recent seizure of a US-bound oil tanker came after the Biden administration forced a tanker carrying Iranian oil to deliver the cargo to the US instead of China, Financial Times reported Friday. AWC

Israel

• Israeli airstrikes hit targets near the western Syrian city of Homs early Saturday morning. AWC

Somalia 

• The House on Thursday voted down a War Powers Resolution introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) that would have directed President Biden to remove all US troops from Somalia within one year, except those guarding the US embassy. AWC