Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Friday for NATO to offer guaranteed protections to parts of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv in order to "stop the hot stage of the war." Zelenskyy also implied he would be willing to wait to regain the almost one-fifth of his country that Russia's army has seized,

Zelensky seeks NATO protection for Ukraine to halt war, amid escalating tensions and territorial disputes with Russia.

In a long, wide-ranging interview with Sky News, the Ukrainian president was asked whether he would accept Nato membership, but only on the territory that Kyiv currently holds. Zelensky said he would,

A French plan to significantly reduce its military presence in West and central Africa risks backfiring and further diminishing the former colonial power's influence in the region at a time when Russia is gaining ground.

The decision by Chad is another blow to what remained of France’s military influence in the troubled stretch of countries below the Sahara, where Russia’s influence has been growing.