US News

• A senior defense official said America was ready to fight in space. The Guardian 

Russia

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked Ukraine’s parliament to approve a bill that would put sanctions on Iran for 50 years over its alleged military support for Russia. AWC
• Ukraine sent untrained recruits into the battle of Bakhmut to save its professional soldiers for an expected counteroffensive, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. AWC
• The top US general reaffirmed that Kiev has long been asked not to use military equipment provided by Washington to conduct attacks against Russian territory. AWC
• Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said Wednesday that he “wouldn’t care” if Ukraine used American-made F-16s to strike Russian territory despite the risk of such an attack escalating into a direct clash between the US and Russia. AWC
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that the efforts to send Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus have begun as the two nations signed an agreement to formalize the deployment. AWC
• The State Department has refused to say if it’s engaging with the Ukrainian government over American citizen Gonzalo Lira, who was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) due to his political views on the conflict with Russia. AWC
• Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned US diplomats from the US embassy in Moscow to protest recent comments made by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan about the US supporting Ukrainian strikes on Crimea. AWC
• Russian officials have condemned Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for calling the US funding of Ukraine the “best money we’ve ever spent” after noting Russians are dying in the conflict. AWC

Turkey

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan  won reelection. Axios

China

• The House’s new committee on China released 10 recommendations for ways that the US should increase support for Taiwan to prepare for a future war with China over the island. AWC
• Taiwan’s foreign minister said last week that the US and Taiwan are in talks on the possibility of the island being brought under Washington’s nuclear umbrella, a step that would make a catastrophic war between the US and China much more likely. AWC

Korea

• The US and South Korea on Thursday held massive live-fire drills near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) border in the latest provocation toward Pyongyang that will likely provoke North Korean missile tests. AWC

Middle East

• The US-led anti-ISIS coalition is building a new military base in Syria’s northern province of Raqqa, The New Arab reported, citing a source close to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). AWC
• The UAE-backed National Assembly of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) called on its forces to secure a military takeover and annexation of the entirety of Yemen’s southern territory during a meeting on Monday, the Arab Weekly reported. The Institute 
• US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a press release that it launched an airstrike against al-Shabaab in Somalia after the group attacked Ugandan forces stationed in the country as part of the African Union’s mission, known as ATMIS. AWC