Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, fled to Moscow on Sunday after a lightning fast offensive by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Turkish-Israeli-U.S. backed group that invaded Syria’s Aleppo last week that continued on to Damascus and easily took control of the city.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week warned that Moscow has escalation capabilities in Ukraine and its next targets could be a wide range of military facilities and decision-making centers in Kyiv that Moscow could “turn to dust.”
The Biden administration announced last week that it approved $385 million in weapons for Taiwan, which will include spare parts for F-16s and radar systems, prompting China to promise “countermeasures.”
Chad announced last week that it will end its defense agreement with France, its former colonial power, which was seen as the latest blow for Paris in Africa.
The fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main Turkish-backed group invading Syria’s Aleppo, are receiving intelligence from Ankara as their fighters try to maintain their grip on the city and advance south, the AFP reported last week.
Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister who has emerged as a major Russia hawk, said in an interview last week that the West is fighting a proxy war with Russia through Ukraine and the biggest problem has been the reluctance to escalate the conflict.
Ukrainian forces last week fired the U.K.-provided Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets inside Russia after receiving permission from the West to use long-range missiles to hit Russian targets.
President Joe Biden’s decision last week to give Ukraine the green light to use U.S.-provided long-range missiles to strike Russian targets was widely embraced in capitals across Europe that were Washington's lead on the matter.
The Biden administration announced last week that it will provide Ukraine with antipersonnel landmines in an effort to help Kyiv slow down Russian troop advancements in the east.