Eurasia

Russia offers Erdogan economic lifeline

Gas payments in rubles will help Turkey reduce its foreign-currency demand. The economic outcomes of the recent Turkish-Russian summit and a string of financial moves by the Russian builder of a nuclear power plant in Turkey have come as fresh signs that Turkey is becoming a safe harbor for sanctions-hit …

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FBI Accuses Iran Of Attempted Terrorist Attacks, Kidnappings, Cyberattacks

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the Iranian regime and “its terrorist partners” aren’t just a threat to the Middle East, but also a critical risk for the United States. In a number of tweets on Monday, the FBI said Iran and its proxy groups “don’t just endanger the Middle …

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US will send warships through Taiwan Strait “in the coming days,” US Naval Institute reports

Amid the military standoff in the Taiwan Strait triggered by the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan last week, the US is planning to send warships through the Taiwan Strait “in the coming days,” the publication of the United States Naval Institute reported Tuesday. On Monday, the …

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Ukraine Stops Transit of Russian Oil Through Its Territory

Sanctions against Russian financial operations leave Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia without fuel. On Tuesday, the Russian pipeline operator Transneft reported that the Ukrainian company UkrTransNafta stopped pumping Russian crude through the southern branch of the Russian Druzhba pipeline, which supplies three European countries. The Ukrainian company acknowledged that …

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Turkish drone strike kills 4 in northeast Syria, Kurdish-held city: monitor

A Turkish drone strike Tuesday killed at least four people in a northeast Syrian city held by Kurdish forces, the latest in a flurry of attacks, a war monitor said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack struck near a hospital in Qamishli, the de-facto capital of …

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Russia Has Suffered Up to 80,000 Military Casualties in Ukraine, Pentagon Says

Russia is believed to have had 70,000 to 80,000 troops killed or wounded in fighting since it invaded Ukraine in February, a top Pentagon official confirmed Monday. The figure, which has not previously been made public, may not be precise but is “in the ballpark” as Russia remains locked in …

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Ukraine Could Get Western Fighters, Pentagon Official Says—‘Down the Road’

The Pentagon announced its latest drawdown package for Ukraine on Aug. 8, valued at $1 billion and mainly comprising munitions for key systems. But any decision on whether to provide the Ukrainian Air Force with Western combat jets is still to be made, a key Defense Department official told reporters—and …

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U.S. Will Continue Taiwan Strait Transits, FONOPs in Western Pacific Despite Growing Tension with China

U.S. warships will continue to make Taiwan Strait transits and perform freedom of navigation operations in the Indo-Pacific despite the recent Chinese live fire drills, the undersecretary of defense for policy told reporters Monday. The U.S. Navy is expected to conduct some freedom of navigation operations in the region in …

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Ukraine says 9 Russian warplanes destroyed in Crimea blasts

Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that nine Russian warplanes were destroyed in massive explosions at an air base in Crimea amid speculation they were the result of a Ukrainian attack that would represent a significant escalation in the war. Russia denied any aircraft were damaged in Tuesday’s blasts — or …

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Taiwan warns China drills show ambitions beyond island

Taiwan warned Tuesday that Chinese military drills aren’t just a rehearsal for an invasion of the self-governing island but also reflect ambitions to control large swaths of the western Pacific, as Taipei conducted its own exercises to underscore it’s ready to defend itself. Angered by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s …

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