Netanyahu calls ceasefire a break to rearm; Russia shuts off Ukraine’s power

(Originally published Nov. 29 in “What in the World“) Russia on Thursday launched a fresh barrage of missiles and drones against Ukraine’s power infrastructure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the latest attack, the 11th this year, was retaliation for Ukraine’s use of long-range Western missiles against targets inside Russia.

The upper house of Russia’s Federal Assembly, meanwhile, approved a 30% increase in defense spending next year, to 13.5 trillion rubles ($120 billion), a post-Soviet record. The U.S. spends $877 billion a year on defense.

Israel and Hezbollah accused each other of breaching their two-day-old ceasefire, with Israel launching an airstrike Thursday against a Hezbollah rocket storage site. Israel agreed to the ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia after the White House agreed to sell it $680 million in additional weapons. Israeli Prime Minister and accused war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the sale was one of three reasons he agreed to the pause in fighting. Netanyahu also suggested the ceasefire was merely a temporary break. “We will receive supplies of advanced weaponry,” he said, “that will keep our soldiers safe and give us more strike force to complete our mission.”

U.S. President Joe Biden disclosed the new arms deal, which hadn’t been announced, during a recent briefing to Congress. It includes the sale of kits to convert conventional bombs into guided ones, as well as more bombs. U.S. officials have denied, however, that the sale is linked to the ceasefire.