As US intelligence believes the war will become "more unpredictable and escalate further", the US House of Representatives approves $40 billion in additional funding for Ukraine aid.

The Pentagon says Russia's use of hypersonic weapons in Ukraine has no "significant effects" on the war.

So far, Russia has launched between 10 and 12 hypersonic missiles, the first time such weapons have been used in a conflict.

The United States is accelerating its development of hypersonic missiles that are impossible to intercept.

Belarus vulnerable

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Vladimir Putin, falsely accuses NATO and the United States of threatening his country's borders.

He stole his re-election and harshly suppressed opposition to his rule.

The West should support its opponents and encourage its overthrow. Lukashenko knows he is vulnerable.

Putin does not currently have the means to deploy military forces in Belarus to come to his defense.

And the loyalty of its army and its security services would not be ironclad.

The humiliating setbacks suffered by the Russians in Ukraine are also stimulating opposition in Belarus.

Ukraine and the climate

Predictably, a protracted conflict in Ukraine will hamper efforts to keep rising temperatures to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

That's what John Kerry, Biden's climate affairs officer, said in an interview with Britain's Guardian newspaper.