Russian forces pounded cities in central Ukraine on Wednesday night, capping a day of mounting concern among Western leaders that Moscow is preparing to ramp up its attacks and may even formally declare all-out war against Ukraine when Russia holds its annual Victory Day celebrations early next week.
The U.S. military footprint in Europe has exploded in the two months since Russia invaded Ukraine, with more than 100,000 troops now on the ground on a continent where the talk until recently had been on how and where to cut back.
A majority of Swedes for the first time now favor abandoning their country's policy of neutrality in favor of joining the NATO alliance as a full member, according to a new poll. The change, which upends decades of military non-alignment for Stockholm, comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked a surge in public support for the Western military alliance.
An invasion of Ukraine that has not gone according to Russia's plans took another high-profile hit Thursday as the flagship of the Kremlin's Black Sea fleet sank and President Biden hinted he may visit Ukraine in the coming days to bolster the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia has reportedly issued a formal warning that U.S. and NATO weapons shipments to Ukraine could have "unpredictable consequences," amid President Biden's pledge to arm Ukraine's embattled forces with increasingly lethal weapons.