MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Finland is expected to join NATO earlier than Sweden, given Turkiye's objections to Stockholm's membership in the alliance, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Saturday.

The European Council assured UN chief Antonio Guterres this week that Brussels would “continue to provide strong political, economic, military, financial and humanitarian support” to Kiev “for as long as it takes” to defeat Russia. But how has the bloc itself faired in the US-led proxy war against Moscow in Ukraine? Sputnik explores.

The US Air Force recently conducted two hypersonic weapon tests. Although the first one was declared a success, the full results of the second one remain unclear.

The United States and its European allies have sent tens of billions of dollars-worth of military equipment to Kiev to fuel a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Moscow has warned repeatedly about the consequences of these actions for regional and global security.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The UK Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace on Saturday defended the use of Chinese video-sharing app TikTok by his department despite its ban from government devices, saying that the application helps to globally communicate the activities of the UK troops.

Thousands have been protesting against the judicial reform in Israel for 12 weeks now. The draft law presented by Justice Minister Yariv Levin in January, if adopted, will significantly curtail the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court and give the government control over the procedure of the appointment of judges.

Brazil's triple Formula One champion Nelson Piquet used a racist slur during an interview last year, which was presumably addressed to British Formula-1 Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

Earlier, as Warsaw announced it was moving ahead with plans to deliver Soviet-era MiG-29 jets to the Ukrainian Air Force, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki revealed that his country was exploring the possibility of increasing the production of ammunition for Kiev as stockpiles rapidly decline.

President Joe Biden warned Friday that Washington would "act forcefully to protect our people" against attacks by "Iranian-backed" groups in Syria, which were blamed for a kamikaze drone attack that killed a US contractor Thursday. A US service member was reportedly injured Friday after attacks on US bases at Syria’s largest oil and gas fields.

At the end of March, Belgian King Philippe's first multi-day state visit to South Africa became yet another among Western officials' and leaders' trips to Africa, which have significantly intensified in recent months.

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, during which the two leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine and bilateral relations, the office of the Turkish leader said.

It was earlier reported that the British Army was being “hollowed out” by the eager gifting of military equipment to the Kiev regime, with the UK Treasury ostensibly warning in February that there will be "no new money" for the country's own defense establishment.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Foreign companies that have left the Russian market after the start of the Ukraine conflict will return back in different ways, with some of them just waiting for the end of the hostilities and others seeking "approval from the top," Russia's Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The Japanese government may allocate 2.2 trillion yen ($16.8 billion) to combat rising prices and address strong inflationary pressures, Japanese news agency reported on Saturday, citing Natsuo Yamaguchi, the leader of the ruling party's coalition partner Komeito.

The top EU diplomat brushed off a negotiated settlement to the Ukrainian crisis last spring, saying the conflict would be "won on the battlefield" with the help of military aid from Brussels. In December, he said the crisis would be solved through the provision of "security guarantees for Ukraine," as well as "reparations" payments from Russia.

Against the backdrop of France's decreasing influence in its former African colonies, French President Emmanuel Macron earlier accused Russia of pursuing a "predatory project" on the continent in order "to hurt France."

Depleted uranium (DU) munitions have become a hot topic of late after London announced its intent to supply them to Kiev to be used in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced an amendment to rescind the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), signed into law by then-President George W. Bush, to "send a message to the world that we are a nation of peace."

Over the period from the 16th to 19th centuries, the world saw one of the darkest chapters in its history, during which millions of enslaved Africans were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. Today, on March 25, the world commemorates and honors the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

The Mi-28N Night Hunter is a Soviet and Russian attack helicopter, which was designed for search and destruction of tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as low-speed air targets and enemy manpower in conditions of armed resistance.