China

• NATO directly accused China of enabling Russia's attacks on Ukraine for the first time in a statement that called out China's "large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base" and demanded that China stop sending Russia "weapons components."
• The U.S. has leveled similar accusations against China before, but many other NATO leaders previously hesitated to be so direct. No longer.

• NATO leaders also reaffirmed that Ukraine is on an "irreversible" path to joining their alliance - but only after it war with Russia ends (otherwise NATO's mutual defense obligations would compel all member countries to join the war in defense of a fellow member).
• In the meantime, NATO committed more military aid for Ukraine to use to "stop Putin" (in Pres. Biden's words), and the Dutch and Danish Prime Ministers said Ukraine's first donated F-16 fighter jets are finally being transferred to the theatre, where they're expected to enter service before the summer ends.
• Russia is already targeting front-line air bases to complicate their deployment.

• Russia designated The Moscow Times - an online news agency popular with Russian expats - as an "undesirable organization," meaning it publishes news and opinions that the Kremlin desires to suppress.
• The Moscow Times was already designated as a "foreign agent" last November, but it continued to publish critical content, earning it the more severe "undesirable" designation.
• A statement from the editor lamented that the elevated "designation will make it even more difficult for us to do our jobs," but defiantly vowed: "We refuse to give in to this pressure. We refuse to be silenced."

• Israel dropped leaflets on Gaza City urging residents to evacuate the capital - which a military statement called "a dangerous combat zone" - via one of four "safe corridors" to central Gaza. That suggests the military expects its new ground operation against Hamas there to continue.