Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova told Indian officials on Tuesday that Ukraine will allow foreign medical students to take the Unified State Qualification Exam in their country of domicile. This includes hundreds of Indian students who were forced to flee the country following Russia’s invasion. Dzhaparova also praised New Delhi for supplying humanitarian aid and asked for additional supplies.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Indian economy is projected to expand by 5.9% in the 2023-24 financial year. This estimate is 0.2% lower than the IMF's January forecast and significantly below the Indian central bank’s prediction of 6.5% growth during the same period.
Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday that “the alliance with the US is an absolute foundation of [European] security,” adding that economic and defence cooperation were the main pillars of this security. Morawiecki declared that Poland would make the Europe-US partnership a “main priority” during its EU presidency in 2025. The PM made these comments just before boarding a plane to the US, where he expects to extend defence equipment contracts and discuss energy and nuclear power cooperation with American officials, including US Vice President Kamala Harris.
Tensions reignited in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on Tuesday, as Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers clashed along the border. At least seven soldiers — four Armenians and three Azerbaijani — were killed on both sides. Yerevan and Baku have accused each other of sparking the confrontation.
South Korea’s top opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who heads the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, said that the trilateral military alliance with the US and Japan is “unnecessary,” as it would only heighten the grouping’s growing rivalry with Russia, China, and North Korea.
Leaked documents from US intelligence show that analysts believe a recent military parade North Korea held on 8 February aimed to hype up its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) threat. According to the document, Pyongyang “probably oversells” its apparent ICBM threat and that its many ICBM-class launchers paraded in February were “most likely carrying non-operational systems.”
Russian state-controlled media TASS published a report by the Russian Defense Ministry early on Wednesday, stating that the Strategic Missile Forces had test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The ICBM was fired from the Kapustin Yar training ground in Russia’s Astrakhan Region and hit a simulated target in Kazakhstan to the specified accuracy. The Ministry claims the launch proved that “solutions used in the development of new strategic missile complexes are correct.”
The Guardian reported on Tuesday that recently leaked US classified documents disclosed that over 90 NATO special troops were sent to Ukraine. However, what actions the special forces are involved in, or whether they are currently deployed in Ukraine, remains unclear. According to the documents, the UK provided 50 of these troops, with the US and France deploying 14 and 15 of their own troops, respectively. The British Defense Ministry has refused to comment on the matter, whereas Ukraine has dismissed the leaks as “fake” and Russian propaganda.