Russian forces began an assault Saturday on two key cities in the eastern Donetsk region and kept up rocket and shelling attacks on other Ukrainian cities, including one close to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s military and local officials said. Both cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka had been considered …

Israeli airstrikes flattened homes in Gaza on Saturday and Palestinian rocket barrages into southern Israel persisted for a second day, raising fears of another major escalation in the Mideast conflict. Gaza’s health ministry said 24 people had been killed so far in the coastal strip, including six children. The fighting …

An ambitious new Russian maritime strategy introduced this week aims to challenge the global reach of the U.S. Navy, but it remains to be seen whether the plan is more than Moscow’s standard bravado, analysts say. The 55-page document, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday during the country’s …