By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and HARRIET MORRIS Associated Press
The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States is set to expire this week, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. The end of the New START Treaty sets the stage for what many fear could be an unconstrained nuclear arms race. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared his readiness to stick to the treaty's limits for one more year if Washington follows suit, but U.S. President Donald Trump has been noncommittal about extending it. Arms control advocates have warned that the treaty's termination would fuel a renewed arms race.
A surprise Ukrainian drone attack that targeted Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers was unprecedented in its scope and sophistication, and dealt a heavy blow to the Russian military. Ukraine said more than 40 bombers — or about a third of its strategic fleet — were damaged or destroyed Sunday. The Russian military said only several planes were damaged. The conflicting claims couldn't be independently verified. But the bold attack demonstrated Ukraine's capability to hit high-value targets anywhere on Russian territory, dealing a humiliating blow to the Kremlin and inflicting significant losses to Moscow's arsenal in the 3-year-old war.
By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press
North Korea is boasting that its new intercontinental ballistic missile is "the world's strongest," a claim seen as pure propaganda after experts assessed it as being too big to be useful in a war situation. The ICBM launched Thursday flew higher and for a longer duration than any other weapon North Korea has tested. But foreign experts still doubt North Korea has functional missiles that can carry warheads to the U.S. mainland. North Korea on Friday identified the missile as a Hwasong-19 and called it "the world's strongest strategic missile" and "the perfected weapon system." But experts say the ICBM and its launch vehicle are oversized. That would make them harder to move and easier for enemies to see.
