Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, is "highly likely" to join NATO despite the Russian government's threats to deploy nuclear weapons, Finnish Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen said in an interview with Sky News on Friday.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced Friday that he will rescind his order to inspect all trucks at the southern border after reaching an agreement with all four neighboring Mexican states.
Why it matters: The additional inspections, which Abbott implemented in response to what he called the Biden administration's inability to stem illegal immigration, caused fierce backlash and led to extremely long wait times and the shutdown of at least one border crossing.
A senior U.S. defense official told Axios on Friday that Ukraine sank Russia's Moskva cruiser, the former flagship of its Black Sea fleet, with two cruise missiles, validating claims from Ukrainian officials.
Why it matters: The account contradicts Russia's defense ministry claims on Thursday that the ship sunk during bad weather while being towed to a port to repair damages from a fire that detonated ammunition on board.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CNN on Friday that the world should be prepared for the possibility of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons in its unprovoked invasion of his country.
Driving the news: Zelensky told CNN that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin could turn to nuclear or chemical weapons because he does not value Ukrainian lives.
The bodies of more than 900 civilians were found in the Kyiv region after Russia forces withdrew, a regional police chief said Friday, per AP.
Driving the news: "Consequently, we understand that under the [Russian] occupation, people were simply executed in the streets," Andriy Nebytov, the head of Kyiv’s regional police force, said during a briefing on Friday.
Russia blocked access to the The Moscow Times' Russian-language service after it published a report on the invasion of Ukraine, the online newspaper said Friday.
Why it matters: The Moscow Times is the latest of many independent media organizations to face backlash after publishing information about the war that runs counter to the Kremlin's claims.
Over 150 Palestinians were injured early Friday when Israeli police raided the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem just after morning prayers, Palestinian medics said.
The big picture: The Israeli Foreign Ministry said police entered the compound, also known as the Temple Mount, "to disperse" a group of Palestinian "rioters" who were collecting rocks and throwing them toward the nearby Jewish prayer area of the Western Wall. Hundreds were arrested.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is putting an estimated 2.7 million people who have disabilities at risk, the United Nations said Thursday.
Driving the news: The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities warned of reports that people with disabilities are "trapped or abandoned in their homes ... with no access to life-sustaining medications, oxygen supplies, food, water, sanitation [and] support for daily living."
Today, as the war in Ukraine pushes global food and fuel prices to new highs, and the world mobilizes to aid Ukrainian refugees, humanitarian groups warn that the yearslong crisis in Yemen only stands to get much worse.
Military setbacks and "potential desperation" could prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to use "tactical" or "low-yield" nuclear weapons against Ukraine, CIA Director William Burns warned during a speech at Georgia Tech on Thursday.
Why it matters: So-called "tactical" nuclear weapons are considered "low-yield" only because other nuclear weapons have become unimaginably powerful. Any nuclear strike against Ukraine would be far more powerful and devastating than any conventional attack.
In a society that generally respects authority, Chinese citizens are rebelling against COVID lockdowns that have brought food shortages, family separations and lost wages, Reuters reports.
Driving the news: Videos on social media show citizens scuffling with health workers and screaming in anger from their apartment windows.
Russia's Defense Ministry threatened on Friday to increase bombings on Kyiv if Ukraine attacks targets on Russian territory.
Why it matters: The threat comes after the ministry announced the sinking of the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet. Ukraine said it struck the ship with cruise missiles, while Russia claimed it sank in a storm while being towed for repairs after a fire broke out on board.
Fifty-nine people, including seven children, have died as a result of a missile strike at a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.
Driving the news: Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said in a tweet that it will be sending a bloody children's toy to the United Nations as "proof of this barbaric crime."
The race to prepare for the battle of the Donbas is on, with Russia shifting its troops, materials and objectives to the eastern region of Ukraine, and the U.S. and its allies rushing in weaponry to equip Ukraine’s forces.
The big picture: In the first phase of the war, Russian troops attacked across three broad fronts hoping to quickly take cities, but they became overstretched and suffered heavy losses. Russia is pulling tens of thousands of those troops back and preparing them for a narrower and potentially decisive fight for the Donbas.
