The Russian military should deploy next-generation weapons in its campaign in Ukraine, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigusaid Wednesday.

“We need to continue upgrading and creating advanced systems with their subsequent application in the special military operation,” Shoigu said at a ministerial board meeting.

Shoigu did not specify which types of

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Wednesday said Pope Francis "fell victim to propaganda" after the pontiff singled out the alleged role of Russian ethnic minorities in the Ukraine offensive.

Kadyrov, who rules the Muslim-majority Chechnya in Russia with widespread violation of human rights, has been one of Moscow's most vocal supporters in the

South Korea's military said it scrambled fighter jets Wednesday as six Russian and two Chinese warplanes entered its air defense zone without notice.

Japan's military also said it had scrambled jets in response to flights over the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, by Russian and Chinese aircraft.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the

Jailed Belarusian opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, who helped lead historic pro-democracy protests in her country in 2020, is in intensive care in the hospital, her alliessaid Tuesday.

Kolesnikova was sentenced to 11 years in prison in August 2021 for “conspiracy” over her role in the mass protests that erupted before and after Belarusian Pre