WORLD

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Russia's unprovoked war with Ukraine was "meant to put an end" to US-led global domination and the expansion of NATO, a report said.

"Our special military operation is meant to put an end to the unabashed expansion [of NATO] and the unabashed drive towards full domination by the US and its Western subjects on the world stage," Lavrov told the state-owned television news channel Rossiya 24, according to a translation from the Russian state-run media outlet RT.

Additionally, Lavrov accused the US of international-law violations over what he said were America's attempts to impose its own "rules-based international order," according to the report.

Hailed as a milestone in commercial spaceflight, the first all-private team of astronauts ever launched to the International Space Station (ISS) arrived safely at the orbiting research platform on Saturday to begin a week-long science mission.

The Axiom mission is SpaceX's sixth human space flight in nearly two years. (Representational image)© Provided by The Financial Express The Axiom mission is SpaceX's sixth human space flight in nearly two years. (Representational image)

On Friday, a team of four-man representing Houston-based startup Axiom Space Inc lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, riding atop a SpaceX-launched Falcon 9 rocket, wherein the rendezvous came about 21 hours.

The United Kingdom's Defence Secretary said on Friday that they will be sending an unspecified number of 'Mastiff' armoured vehicles to Ukraine. British troops will be sent to one of the countries neighbouring Ukraine for training.

The Mastiff is a heavily armoured patrol vehicle which can carry about eight troops and two additional crew. They are fitted with additional armour for optimal protection.

The UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Friday that they will provide a further package of military aid to Ukraine. The package amounts to more than £100 million and has been designed in consultation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine to ensure that it meets their military needs.

Failure of President Vladimir Putin to capture Kyiv after Red Army’s 40-day long offensive into Ukraine is going to have domestic ramifications for not only the Russian strongman but also his “no limit” friend Chinese President Xi Jinping.

An expected short and decisive Russian victory has now turned into a quagmire for the Z Army with no sign of the war ending or victory for Moscow soon. This has not only upset the grand plans of President Putin but also upset the applecart of fellow life-long President Xi Jinping.

Just as a swift Russian victory in Ukraine would have worked in favour of China and the Communist ideology, a dragging bitter military contest with no clearcut war objective achieved must have upset the strongman in Beijing. The reasons are:

The United States(US), the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia announced on Tuesday that these nations under the AUKUS trilateral security agreement will develop nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons.

“We also committed today to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen cooperation on defence innovation,” the UK government said in a press release.

The release also said that the nations will extend cooperation in the fields of cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and additional undersea capabilities. The AUKUS, however, has kept the door open for other allies to join the weapons development programme.