Russia

• Pres. Putin ordered a 14% increase to Russia's active duty forces, which analysts are alternately reading as either a sign that he's committing to a long war in Ukraine or trying to replenish depleted troop levels without resorting to a draft (which would betray the veneer of calm at home).
• The Pentagon estimates Russia has sustained as many as 80,000 casualties in Ukraine, including troops both killed and wounded in action. This increase would add another 135,000 active duty troops - more than enough to replace casualties to date.
• Separately, former Yekaterinburg mayor - and outspoken Kremlin critic - Yevgeny Roizman was banned from using the internet or attending public events for five weeks. He's being investigated for calling Putin's invasion of - and war in - Ukraine an "invasion" or a "war" instead of a righteous "special military operation."

China

• Like Russia, Taiwan also proposed a 15% increase in military spending in next year's budget, including new fighter jets. Taiwan's expansion is an effort to counter China's escalating provocations (China's military drills around Taiwan this year were its largest ever).

Ukraine

• Pres. Zelensky blamed Russian recklessness for what he called a near "radiation disaster" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant: he said Russian shelling ignited ash pits at a nearby coal station, resulting in a fire that disconnected Zaporizhzhia from the grid (which raises the risk of nuclear meltdown since electricity is used to cool the reactor core).
• Per Zelensky, Ukrainian engineers acted fast to start back-up diesel generators, marking the first time in 40 years Zaporizhzhia has had to resort to secondary power. Normal power supply has since been resumed.

North Korea

• Just two weeks after declaring (dubious) victory over COVID, North Korea reported four new fever cases in a province near the Chinese border. However, it says these cases turned out to be influenza rather than COVID.

Afghanistan

• The Taliban government said the killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri in a U.S. drone strike earlier this month "is still at the level of allegation" - and will forever remain plausibly deniable since the strike destroyed any evidence for an investigation. That's a convenient way for the Taliban to pretend it's not harboring terrorists.

Other News

• A Pakistani court ordered the police to stand down and not arrest ex-PM Khan, whose supporters had threatened to "take over" Islamabad if their hero was arrested.