Hundreds took to the streets of Niger's capital on Saturday to demand the departure of US troops, after the ruling junta further shifted its strategy by ending a military accord with the United States.

The battle in Ukraine may intensify into a large-scale war across Europe and there is a growing likelihood of Russia’s forces getting engaged in new conflicts, warns a high-ranking Russian military official.

Putin has signed a decree ordering the Russian military to add 170,000 more troops to its ranks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday vowed to fulfill the objectives of the country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left for the US to lobby for more arms.

Russia has dispatched attack helicopters and fighter jets to its base in Syria upon a request from the Damascus government.

As the war in Ukraine continues, the West is taking measures to expand NATO, spearheaded by the United States, stoking the flames of war.

The Russian military says Syrian air defense units have destroyed 16 of 22 Israeli missiles targeting the Arab country’s western-central province of Hama with Russian-made surface-to-air missile systems.