Axios

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine is making an "accelerated" bid to join NATO.

Driving the news: The announcement comes on the same day Russia annexed four Ukrainian territories after a series of referendums that most western governments have labeled a "sham."

The Biden administration announced new sanctions on Russia for its purported annexation of regions of Ukraine.

Why it matters: The sanctions come in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin laying claim to four regions in Ukraine, which Russia only partly controls. The Kremlin helped stage referendums that most western governments labeled a "sham."

The force that caused leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines "probably corresponded to an explosive load of several hundred kilos," according to a letter to the United Nations Friday.

Driving the news: Denmark and Sweden provided the estimate in a new letter laying out how the leaks have disrupted sea and air travel in their respective economic zones and will likely have wide-reaching consequences for the Baltic Sea and climate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a major speech on Friday that Russia would annex four regions of Ukraine, a dramatic escalation that leaves no clear path to peace.

The big picture: Russia partially occupies the four Ukrainian oblasts — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — and held staged referendums over the past few days that most western governments labeled a "sham."

Russian strikes killed 25 civilians and injured at least 50 others overnight in the Ukrainian province of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's prosecutor general said.

Why it matters: The attack was one of the deadliest targeting Ukrainian civilians in recent weeks, according to the New York Times. It comes as the Kremlin plans to declare the area a part of Russia Friday following a series of sham referendums that have drawn wide condemnation from western governments.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russia's planned annexation of four Moscow-occupied areas of Ukraine "will not mean what the Kremlin hopes for."

Driving the news: Russia is planning to annex Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia on Friday, a Kremlin spokesperson told reporters.

New U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss promised Conservative Party members that if they elected her she'd slash taxes, including for businesses and the wealthy, to stimulate growth.

How it happened: With energy prices soaring, though, she had little choice but offer massive government assistance to help households and businesses keep the lights (and heating) on.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged "mistakes" in the mobilization process on Thursday, and said anyone who was called up despite not meeting the draft criteria “must be sent home.”

Why it matters: 70% of Russians say they felt fear or alarm as a result of Putin's partial mobilization, and 66% believe full mobilization is possible, according to the Levada Center independent pollster. The proportions of Russians believing the war isn't going well (31%) and wanting peace talks (48%) also increased in the new poll.

The families of three children who survived the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting last spring filed the first lawsuit in a federal court against a number of entities, including the school district, law enforcement officials and gun makers.

Driving the news: The complaint filed in Texas’ Western District Court alleges that negligence, recklessness and failures contributed to the shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead on May 24 after an 18-year-old gunman began firing into classrooms at Robb Elementary School.

The Biden administration called on Israel to open an investigation into the death of a 7-year-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank on Thursday after the Israeli military arrived at his house searching for his brothers.

The big picture: The death of the Rian Suleiman could further escalate tensions in the West Bank amid a deteriorating security situation in the Palestinian cities of Nablus and Jenin.

Brazil's election on Sunday could spell the end of Jair Bolsonaro's presidency — or set the stage for a very tense four weeks leading up to a runoff with leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

State of play: With Lula leading by at least seven points in all the latest polls, the big question is whether the former president can secure an outright majority.

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has been charged with violating sanctions, the Department of Justice announced in an unsealed indictment on Thursday.

Driving the news: The indictment accuses Deripaska of violating sanctions from 2018 by using three defendants "to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of services for his benefit in the United States," per the indictment.

Measuring racial and ethnic diversity within medical trials — and requiring a certain threshold to be met for researchers to publish in major journals — could be key to improving research into cancer and other diseases, a recent study found.

The big picture: White non-Hispanics made up 75% of all participants in medical research trials in 2020, the last year for which data is available, an FDA report shows. That means treatments or cures developed through research that largely excludes Latinos and other demographics might not work for them or cause unforeseen side effects.

The history of the silver screen was partly made by, and with, Latinos. A new book wants to make sure they get their due.

Why it matters: Latinos are deeply underrepresented in Hollywood and are often typecast as criminals or gangsters.

NATO formally labeled the mysterious leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines detected earlier this week the result of deliberate sabotage and warned that such attacks would be met with a collective response from the organization.

Driving the news: "All currently available information indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage," the North Atlantic Council said in a press release Thursday.

Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), an unusual bipartisan pairing, are introducing a bill to mandate the Biden administration develop a strategy to try to secure Taiwan's inclusion in the UN body overseeing civil aviation.

Why it matters: The legislation, to be introduced Thursday, is the latest in mounting congressional efforts to raise Taiwan‘s status and protection from China’s threats.

Finland announced Thursday that at midnight local time its border will be officially closed to Russian tourists wishing to cross into the country, Reuters reported.

Driving the news: Finland, along with several other countries neighboring Russia, announced plans last week to bar entry for Russian tourists amid an influx of Russians attempting to flee conscription.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a signing ceremony Friday to formally annex four Moscow-occupied areas of Ukraine, the Kremlin said Thursday, following staged referendums in the regions that were widely condemned by Western governments as a "sham."

Why it matters: The expected annexation will dramatically raise the stakes in the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as Putin could attempt to portray any attack in the areas as an attack on Russia itself.

A Myanmar military court sentenced the country's ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her former adviser, Australian economist Sean Turnell, each to three years in prison on Thursday, per AP.

Details: Suu Kyi and Turnell, who was previously an associate professor in economics at Sydney's Macquarie University, were sentenced under a secrets law, a Myanmar military official told AP.