Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the collapse of the dam, which sent floodwaters gushing toward surrounding towns and farmland and forced hundreds of civilians to flee.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that his military is the world leader in hypersonic missile technology.
The announcement by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, that his fighters will abandon the city of Bakhmut looks like an exercise in blame avoidance and disinformation.
Xi will be the first world leader to shake Putin's hand since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on Friday.
The move raises the risk of a new arms race — in parallel with the war in Ukraine — in which neither side can rely on the stable, predictable framework.
Sergei Surovikin recommended Moscow's forces quit Kherson, and now the Hero of Russia recipient is under pressure on the cusp of winter to show his bet was the right one.
A budding courtship between Russia and Iran is an unwelcome development for the West that the United States will watch with concern, but it falls well short of a geopolitical game changer.
The test of the Sarmat missile, under development for years, did not surprise the West, but comes at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension.
As the war grinds on, rising casualties and the need to rotate fresh troops into battle may prove more pressing challenges than the financial cost.
Russia has reframed its war goals in Ukraine in a way that may make it easier for President Vladimir Putin to claim a face-saving victory despite his military's woeful campaign.
