Russia’s escalation of drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities led to a three-year high in the number of civilians killed or wounded in June, the United Nations said. The UN verified at least 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded during the month – the highest combined toll since April 2022.

Beijing said Thursday it was verifying information on a Chinese father and son who were detained by Ukraine for allegedly spying on its prized

If the West loses in Ukraine, Xi gets a win, because Putin then would be freed to use his rebuilt military against NATO. If Putin is defeated in Ukraine, then Team Trump could inflict a serious loss upon Xi — and go a long way in deterring Beijing in Taiwan and elsewhere across the Indo-Pacific.

China has adopted a policy of strategic ambiguity towards the conflict in Ukraine, allowing Beijing to support Russia while avoiding a direct confrontation with the West. China has played a balancing game throughout more than three years of the war in Ukraine.

China’s foreign minister touted the three-year war as keeping the US focused on Ukraine, claiming that if the war were to end, Washington would start putting its full attention in the