LLOYD AUSTIN

Up to 40,000 Army National Guard soldiers across the country - or about 13% of the force — have not yet gotten the mandated COVID-19 vaccine, and as the deadline for shots looms, at least 14,000 of them have flatly refused and could be forced out of the service.

NATO defense ministers are discussing ways to bolster forces and deterrence along the military alliance’s eastern borders to dissuade Russia from planning further aggression.

U.S. officials are discussing whether Ukraine's President Zelenskyy should soften his stance that no territory can be ceded to Russia as part of a peace deal.

The one in Ukraine still needs our help.

Belgium NATO Ukraine U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attends the Ukraine Defense Contact group meeting ahead of a NATO defense ministers' meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. NATO defense ministers, attending a two-day meeting starting Wednesday, will discuss beefing up weapons supplies to Ukraine, and Sweden and Finland's applications to join the transatlantic military alliance. The U.S. military aid announced on Wednesday includes:— 18 howitzers and 36,000 rounds of ammunition for them. — Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that the U.S. previously agreed to send,— Four tactical vehicles to recover equipment. Austin said other countries also agreed to send more aid:— Germany will send three Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, which are very similar to the HIMARS.

Belgium NATO Ukraine From left, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov attend the Ukraine Defense Contact group meeting ahead of a NATO defense ministers' meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. NATO defense ministers, attending a two-day meeting starting Wednesday, will discuss beefing up weapons supplies to Ukraine, and Sweden and Finland's applications to join the transatlantic military alliance. All are key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested as they battle to stall Russia's slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region. In his nightly address to the nation, President Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defense systems. “Allies are committed to continue providing the military equipment that Ukraine needs to prevail, including heavy weapons and long-range systems,” said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general.

Belgium NATO Ukraine U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, shakes hands with Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov ahead of a NATO defence ministers' meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. NATO defense ministers, attending a two-day meeting starting Wednesday, will discuss beefing up weapons supplies to Ukraine, and Sweden and Finland's applications to join the transatlantic military alliance. The stakes are too high.”Overall, since the war began in late February, the U.S. has committed about $5.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including this latest package. The remaining two-thirds would be equipment and weapons purchased from industry by the U.S. and then transferred to Ukraine. Austin's meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a two-day gathering of NATO defense ministers at the alliance’s headquarters.

Biden also announced an additional $225 million in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to address needs like safe drinking water, critical medical supplies, food and cash for families to purchase essential items.

Belgium NATO Ukraine U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, shakes hands with Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov ahead of a NATO defence ministers' meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. The aid comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convened a meeting in Brussels of more than 45 nations to discuss support for Ukraine. The meeting, also attended by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, came on the opening day of a two-day gathering of NATO defense ministers at the alliance’s headquarters. And for NATO allies to make new announcements of support to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. The defense ministers also plan to discuss moves to beef up forces along NATO’s eastern flank and elsewhere, which have gathered pace since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Ahead of two days of talks in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said members were hammering out a new assistance package to meet Ukraine’s urgent needs.

President Joe Biden says the U.S. will send another $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began.

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe escalated a war of words with his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

China's defense minister has accused the U.S. of "smearing" Beijing and says Washington is trying to "hijack" countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

China’s defense minister says the United States is trying to “hijack” the support of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to turn them against Beijing, saying Washington is seeking to advance its own interests “under the guise of multilateralism.”.

Unilateral change to the status quo on Taiwan “would be unwelcome and ill-advised," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

(AP Photo/Danial Hakim) (Danial Hakim)SINGAPORE — (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed American support for Taiwan on Saturday, suggesting at Asia's premier defense forum that recent Chinese military activity around the self-governing island threatens to change the status quo. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Austin noted a “steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan,” including almost daily military flights near the island by the People's Republic of China. Austin said Washington remains committed to the “one-China policy,” which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. China has stepped up its military provocations against democratic Taiwan in recent years, aimed at intimidating it into accepting Beijing’s demands to unify with the communist mainland. “We remain focused on maintaining peace, stability and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait,” Austin said in his address.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has stressed American support for Taiwan, suggesting at Asia’s premier defense forum that recent Chinese military activity around the self-governing island threatens to change the status quo.

In a meeting between China and the U.S. on Friday, Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe warned that the country would go to war with Taiwan if the island declared independence. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the event’s keynote speech. In a separate face-to-face meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Wei made it clear that China remained firm in its stance against Taiwanese independence.

It was the latest indication that the temperature of the U.S.-China conflict has been dialed down a few notches, even as Beijing and Washington remain strategic rivals with opposing interests across a range of issues.

China’s defense minister has complained to his American counterpart about the latest U.S. arms package for Taiwan and warned of a possible conflict over the self—governing island that China claims as its own territory.

US Asia U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet told The Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, June 10, 2022. Chollet said the American diplomatic push aimed at countering China's increasing influence in the Asia-Pacific region appears to be paying dividends, with many nations showing a willingness to partner with the United States. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) (Sakchai Lalit)BANGKOK — (AP) — The American diplomatic push aimed at countering China's increasing influence in the Asia-Pacific region appears to be paying dividends, with many nations showing a willingness to partner with the United States, a top State Department official said Friday. The push in Asia comes amid growing concerns over China’s own efforts to expand its influence in the area. The U.S. and its allies have responded with so-called freedom of navigation patrols, sometimes encountering a pushback from China’s military.

A top State Department official says the American diplomatic push aimed at countering China’s increasing influence in the Asia-Pacific region appears to be paying dividends, with many nations showing a willingness to partner with the United States.

US NATO NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a meeting with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, Thursday, June 2, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Manuel Balce Ceneta)BRUSSELS — (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called off a series of in-person meetings in Germany and Romania because he has contracted shingles after having a coronavirus infection last month, his office said Thursday. “The Secretary General will conduct his planned visit to Germany (and Romania) remotely rather than in person. He has been diagnosed with shingles, which can occur after COVID-19, and is working from home,” a NATO official said. Stoltenberg, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, contracted the coronavirus in early May and was forced to work from home as NATO foreign ministers met in Berlin.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called off a series of in-person meetings in Germany and Romania because he has contracted shingles.

A top State Department official met Thursday, June 9, 2022 with Marcos in Manila, part of an ongoing diplomatic outreach in the Asia-Pacific region that Washington has undertaken to try and blunt growing Chinese influence. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File) (Aaron Favila)BANGKOK — (AP) — A top State Department official met Thursday with Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila, part of an ongoing diplomatic outreach in the Asia-Pacific region by Washington to try and blunt growing Chinese influence. U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet is also in the region, meeting with officials in Thailand, Singapore and Brunei. The State Department said the two trips highlight American commitment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member regional bloc known as ASEAN, as well as Washington's bilateral partnerships. Australia pushed back, sending its own foreign minister to several Pacific island nations on her own diplomatic outreach.

A top State Department official has met with Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila, part of an ongoing diplomatic outreach in the Asia-Pacific region by Washington to try and blunt growing Chinese influence.

A COVID-19 vaccine that could soon win federal authorization may offer a boost for the U.S. military: an opportunity to get shots into some of the thousands of service members who have refused the other coronavirus vaccines for religious reasons.

President Joe Biden says there may some bipartisan support to tighten restrictions on the kind of high-powered weapons used by the gunman in the Texas school shooting.

President Joe Biden has warned fellow leaders of the informal Indo-Pacific security coalition known as the Quad that they are “navigating through a dark hour in our shared history.”.

Russia Ukraine War Washington Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, speak with reporters after a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Pentagon, Monday, May 23, 2022, in Washington. The U.S. withdrew its few troops in Ukraine before the war and has no plans to send in combat forces. Asked if U.S. special operations forces may go into Ukraine, which officials have insisted they are not doing yet, Milley said that “any reintroduction of U.S. forces into Ukraine would require a presidential decision. So we’re a ways away from anything like that.”Speaking to Pentagon reporters, Austin declined to say if the U.S. will send Ukraine high-tech mobile rocket launchers, which it has requested. In particular, he said that Denmark has agreed to send a harpoon launcher and missiles to Ukraine to help Ukraine defend its coast.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says nearly 50 defense leaders from around the world met Monday and agreed to send more advanced weapons to Ukraine, including a harpoon launcher and missiles to protect its coast.

President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States has a “commitment” to help Taiwan militarily if China invades.

U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - MAY 26: United States Air Force Academy graduates cheer as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the graduation for the Class of 2021 at Falcon Stadium on May 26, 2021 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images /Getty Images)Three U.S. Air Force Academy cadets who refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine will graduate the school this week, but will not be commissioned as U.S. military officers, according to the Air Force. In addition, the three may be required to reimburse the U.S. government for their education, Miller said. That decision will be made by the secretary of the Air Force. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is the scheduled speaker at Wednesday’s Air Force Academy graduation.

Three cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy who have refused the COVID-19 vaccine will not be commissioned as military officers but will graduate with bachelor's degrees, the academy said Saturday, May 21, 2022. As of Saturday, the Air Force is the only military academy, so far, where cadets are not being commissioned due to vaccine refusal. Ahead of that ceremony, the U.S. Air Force Academy Board conducted its standard review of whether this year's class had met all graduation requirements on Friday. Across the military, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps have discharged as many as 4,000 active duty service members for refusing the vaccine. About 99% of the active duty Navy and 98% of the Air Force, Marine Corps and Army have gotten at least one shot.

The three cadets will get degrees but "will not be commissioned into the United States Air Force as long as they remain unvaccinated," an Academy spokesperson said.

Three cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy who have refused the COVID-19 vaccine will not be commissioned as military officers but will graduate with bachelor's degrees, the academy said Saturday. Academy spokesman Dean Miller said that a fourth cadet who had refused the vaccine until about a week ago, decided to be vaccinated and will graduate and become an Air Force officer. In a statement, Miller said that while the three will get a degree "they will not be commissioned into the United States Air Force as long as they remain unvaccinated."

Pentagon Kirby Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Thursday, May 19, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday named Pentagon press secretary John Kirby to be the new National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications. Kirby "will coordinate interagency efforts to explain United States policy and will serve as a senior administration voice on related matters," the White House said in a statement. Kirby has been a fixture on cable news, particularly during the Ukraine crisis, and is valued in the administration for seeming to handle even the thorniest foreign policy questions with ease. The NSC under Biden has not previously had someone in a dedicated, high-level strategic communications role.

President Joe Biden has named Pentagon press secretary John Kirby to be the new National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday he's in “intense contacts” with Russia and other countries to stop escalating global hunger exacerbated by the war in Ukraine by allowing the export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports and ensuring Russian food and fertilizers have unrestricted access to world markets.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — A U.S. military investigation found that American troops did not violate the law of war or deliberately cause civilian casualties in a 2019 airstrike in Syria that killed dozens of people, including women and children. He also ordered Army Gen. Michael Garrett, currently the head of U.S. Army Forces Command, to do an independent review of the Baghuz strike. The strike killed a longtime employee of an American humanitarian organization and nine of his family members, including seven children. The initial investigation into the attack concluded that the strike constituted legitimate self-defense in support of Syrian partner forces under fire from the Islamic State group. Of the civilians, one female and three children were killed, and 11 women and four children were wounded.

The U.S. military committed a number of procedural mistakes in the aftermath of a 2019 airstrike in Syria that killed dozens, including women and children, but a new investigation has concluded that U.S. troops did not violate the law of war or deliberately cause civilian casualties.

Some 260 Ukrainian fighters have left the Azovstal steel plant, but it’s unclear how many more remain.

President Joe Biden has signed an order to redeploy hundreds of U.S. troops to Somalia to counter the Islamic extremist rebel group al-Shabab.

A high-powered American delegation led by Vice President Kamala Harris is flying to the United Arab Emirates  to pay respects to the federation’s late ruler and meet with the newly ascended president

Vice President Kamala Harris has led a high-powered American delegation to the United Arab Emirates to pay respects to the federation’s late ruler and meet with the newly ascended president.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the visit a signal of bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress. The meeting took place as Ukraine said it had forced Russian troops away from Kharkiv.

A roundup of key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The full rotation of about 10,500 troops from countries such as Germany, Poland and Romania will likely take a couple of months, according to the Pentagon.

Austin urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and emphasized maintaining open lines of communication.

House Defense Budget Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense during a hearing for the Fiscal Year 2023 Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (Jose Luis Magana)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday after months of refusing direct contact with his American counterpart. The call — initiated by Austin —- marked the highest level American contact with a Russian official since the war began in late February. This is the first conversation between Austin and Shoygu since Feb. 18, a week before the war started. The defense official said that the U.S. hopes it will serve as a springboard for future conversation and that it appeared that Austin's request for future communication was received.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday reaffirmed his administration's support for Jordan's long-running role as the custodian of Muslim holy sites at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem following a meeting with King Abdullah II at the White House. Biden met with Jordan's Abdullah after several rounds of clashes in recent weeks at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site for Muslims. It is built on a hilltop that is also the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. “The President also recognized the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s crucial role as the custodian of Muslim holy places in Jerusalem,” the White House added in statement. It was believed to be the largest Palestinian funeral in Jerusalem since Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian leader and scion of a prominent family, died in 2001.

After rebuffing U.S. requests for months, Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday.

President Joe Biden is reaffirming his administration’s support for Jordan’s long-running role as the custodian of Muslim holy sites at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

President Biden has a full day of events in Washington, focused on both foreign and domestic affairs. In the afternoon, he'll host local leaders and law endorcment officials to talk about public safety funding.

Dutton said Friday, May 13, 2022, that a Chinese warship with spying capabilities had been hugging the western coastline in what amounted to an "aggressive act." “Its intention, of course, is to collect intelligence right along the coastline," Dutton said. “I think it is an aggressive act, and I think particularly because it has come so far south,” Dutton said. Tensions between China and Australia have been heightened recently after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands. Australia's Defence Force identified the ship as a Dongdiao Class Auxiliary Intelligence ship named Haiwangxing.

The Army is weighing new policies in response to the Supreme Court's expected decision to reverse Roe v. Wade and eliminate protections on abortion rights across the country, the service's senior enlisted leader told Congress.

U.S. Army leaders say they are poised to revamp forces in Alaska to better prepare for future cold-weather conflicts.

Final congressional approval of a $40 billion Ukraine aid bill seems certain within days.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is grinding into its third month with little sign of a decisive military victory for either side, and no resolution in sight.

The House has emphatically approved a fresh $40 billion Ukraine aid package that beefs up President Joe Biden’s initial request.

The Biden administration’s nominee for U_S_ ambassador to Ukraine is promising senators she'll work to make Russia’s war there a “strategic failure."

President Joe Biden has hosted Italian Premier Mario Draghi at the White House as the U.S. works to maintain trans-Atlantic unity over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Democrats plan to move ahead with the expanded funding package after President Biden dropped his request to link it with a separate request for COVID-19 response funds.

The United Nations chief says he is “appalled” at the reported attack on a school in the town of Bilohorivka where many people were apparently seeking shelter from ongoing fighting.

The contours of a Russian loss remain as murky as a Ukrainian win. And as the conflict heads into what is likely to be a protracted fight, the need to manage NATO unity and public opinion here and abroad — balancing the probable with the possible — has become as much a priority as what is happening on the battlefield.

Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, in a tweet said, "No one should be talking to press about such things."

Jill Biden has thanked U.S. troops deployed to Romania, where they are serving as a check against Russian aggression.

Ukraine's military is challenging Russian forces in the country's south and east, but strikes on civilian targets continue.

Senate Defense Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, right, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testify to the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense, Tuesday, May 3, 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington. But they warned that Moscow is learning from its mistakes as the war shifts to a new phase, and that will shape the artillery and other weapons systems the U.S. will provide. Austin said it's difficult to know since there are no U.S. personnel on the ground in Ukraine to monitor the weapons flow. But he said they talk to their counterparts in Ukraine regularly, and stress the need for accountability in weapons distribution. Austin pointed to early failures by Russia, including almost immediate struggles with logistics, and difficulties getting food, water and supplies to troops.

Top Pentagon leaders say the U.S. has learned a great deal about Russian military shortfalls and capabilities in the first two months of the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. has learned a great deal about Russian military shortfalls and capabilities in the first two months of the war in Ukraine, top Pentagon leaders told Congress Tuesday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that if Congress approves funding, the most critical things that Ukraine needs are anti-tank, anti-aircraft and shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. Milley added that with the fighting now concentrated in the eastern Donbas region, Ukrainian forces also need more tanks and other mechanized vehicles, which the U.S. and other nations are providing.

When President Joe Biden visits a Lockheed Martin plant on Tuesday that manufactures an antitank weapons system, he’s certain to herald the U.S.-made arms as a gamechanger in Ukraine’s stiff resistance to the Russian invasion.

Nancy Pelosi is the highest-ranking U.S. leader to visit Ukraine since Russia's invasion.

Americans are increasingly seeing China as a world superpower and a threat, though growing numbers see it more as a competitor than an enemy.

German lawmakers on Thursday voted to send “heavy weapons and complex machinery” to Ukraine just one week after claiming its arms reserves were tapped.

Under intense pressure, "Germany had to give in," and now says it will supply "exactly what Ukraine needs right now to secure its airspace from the ground."

The U.S. now believes Ukraine can win, a significant change in thinking, and is rushing in weapons. This raises the risk of widening the conflict, analysts say, and may destabilize the global economy.

Russia cut off natural gas to NATO members Poland and Bulgaria and threatened to do the same to other countries, using its most essential export as an attempt to punish and divide the West for its united support of Ukraine.

World leaders and the U.S. political and foreign policy elite joyously remembered America's first female secretary of state as mourners paid their respects to the late Madeleine Albright.

The United States’ top defense officials on Tuesday urged more nations to provide more weaponry, at a faster pace, to Ukraine as it prepares for the next phase of its defense against Russian aggressors.

The longer Ukraine's army fends off the Russian invasion, the more it absorbs the advantages of Western weaponry and training — exactly the transformation Vladimir Putin wanted to prevent by invading.

Western arms have already helped Ukraine stall Russia's invasion — but Ukrainian leaders have said they need more support fast.

Olena Roshchina - Tuesday, 26 April 2022, 15:48 Russian President Vladimir Putin told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Mariupol city in southern Ukraine has already been seized by the Russian army and hostilities have ended there.

Russia Ukraine War A Ukrainian serviceman walks amid the rubble of a building heavily damaged by multiple Russian bombardments near a frontline in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 25, 2022. Two months into the devastating conflict, Western arms have already helped Ukraine stall Russia's invasion — but its leaders have said they need more support fast. Germany announced it cleared the way for delivery of Gepard anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine. Britain said it believes 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began — far above the 1,351 deaths acknowledged by Moscow. Associated Press journalist Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and David Keyton in Kyiv, Ukraine, and AP staff around the world contributed to this report.

As Russian forces intensify their shelling of eastern Ukraine, more people are leaving their homes in search of safety.

The U.S. is pressing its allies to move “heaven and earth” to keep Kyiv well-supplied with the weapons it needs to repel Russian forces, as Moscow rains fire on eastern and southern Ukraine.

The longer Ukraine’s army fends off the invading Russians, the more it absorbs the advantages of Western weaponry and training.

President Joe Biden named Bridget Brink as his nominee for ambassador to Ukraine on Monday.

The Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera are organizing a Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra.

Russia has unleashed a string of attacks against rail and fuel facilities deep inside Ukraine in an apparent attempt to thwart Ukrainian efforts to marshal supplies.

After a secrecy-shrouded visit to Ukraine's capital, U_S_ Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Russia is failing in its war aims and “Ukraine is succeeding.”.

The sun came out as Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter in Kyiv with prayers for those fighting on the front lines and others trapped beyond them.

The United States is giving new military assistance to Ukraine and renewing a diplomatic push in the war-ravaged nation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with the U.S. secretaries of state and defense in the highest-level visit to Kyiv by an American delegation since the start of the Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian military says it destroyed a Russian command post in Kherson, a southern city that fell to Russian forces early in the war.

The U.S. government is dropping its appeal of a Hawaii order requiring it to remove fuel from a massive military fuel storage facility that leaked petroleum into the Navy’s water system at Pearl Harbor last year.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration to establish field hospitals near Ukraine’s border and ramp up medical support for what’s expected to be a monthslong war of attrition waged by Russia.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping says his government supports talks to resolve international disputes and opposes “wanton use” of sanctions.

President Joe Biden has pledged $1.3 billion more for new weapons and economic assistance to help Ukraine in its strong but increasingly difficult battle against the Russian invasion.

President Joe Biden is planning to send additional military aid to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.