Ukraine is finding it difficult to join NATO because the bloc leadership sees the former Soviet republic more useful to it “as a human shield than a partner nation," says a journalist and commentator.

Ukraine has finally received the US-made cluster bombs, Pentagon confirmed on Thursday, in defiance of warnings that the dangerous munitions should not be provided to Kiev.

Zionism, it has been widely established, has deep roots in Ukraine.  Jews were a significant element in the settler colony of Odessa, which is today the third-most populous Ukrainian city.

The Russian defense ministry says the Wagner group is completing its handover of weapons to Russia's armed forces.

In 1990, then-US Secretary of State James Baker told Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand “one inch to the east.” Since then, 19 countries have joined NATO, through nine different bid processes - encroaching on Russia’s border.

Russia says Ukraine has stepped up its mercenary recruitment to conceal "catastrophic losses" in battle fronts.

“The irresponsible provision of cluster munitions can easily trigger humanitarian problems," said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

This episode looks at the latest developments of the Ukraine war, especially the fate of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and whether there are any political solutions on the horizon..

Putin is asking the right questions. If Ukraine remains subservient to Western interests, what guarantees can Russia possibly have from Kiev in future negotiations? And, if the US and its allies cannot be trusted, then who can be?

With Kiev’s much-talked-about counter-offensive against Russia faltering, stories are coming out about the horror that civilians are facing around the frontlines.