Venezuela
- The US will allow two European companies to ship Venezuelan oil to Europe. [Link]
Russia
- NATO head Jens Stoltenburg says the alliance needs to prepare for a long war in Ukraine. [Link] He added that Ukraine shouldn’t stop trying to push Russia from Crimea. [Link]
- Finland’s head of intelligence says he is surprised by the lack of Russian reprisals after Helsinki submitted an application to join NATO. [Link]
- The US claims Russia isn’t serious about allowing the grain to be shipped through the Black Sea. [Link]
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he had to cancel his trip to Serbia because countries closed their airspace to his plane. [Link]
- Spain will send Leopard battle tanks and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. [Link]
- Russia strikes targeted Western tank shipments in Kiev. Russia threatens to strike more targets if the US continued with a planned shipment of long-range rockets. The UK announces it will send long-range rocket launchers to Ukraine. [Link]
- The US is considering holding more military drills with Finland and Sweden. [Link]
- The US kicked off naval war games in the Baltics. 15 other countries and over 7,000 troops will participate. [Link]
China
- The White House is considering lifting some Trump-era tariffs on China to ease inflation. [Link]
North Korea
- The US and South Korea engage in joint naval war games. [Link]
- North Korea test-fired eight short-range missiles. The US and South Korea responded with a symmetrical missile test. [Link]
Middle east
- Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tells the international nuclear watchdog Tel Aviv has the right to take action against Tehran’s nuclear program. [Link]
- The Syrian Kurds want to work with the Assad government to resist the Turkish invasion. [Link]
