The Biden administration announced a slew of fresh sanctions and additional measures targeting Russia's private military firm, the Wagner Group, saying it's engaged in an "ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity" in Ukraine, the Central African Republic and Mali.

Last week, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House that U.S. intelligence estimates indicate the Wagner Group has at least 50,000 personnel in Ukraine, most of them recruited for the fight from Russian prisons.

The flags, at least one of which included an image of Vladimir Putin, were being waved during a gathering outside of Rod Laver Arena after Novak Djokovic beat Russian player Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the year's first Grand Slam tennis tournament Wednesday night.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, added that the air alert is continuing due to the take-off of a "potential carrier of Kinzhal missiles - a MiG-31 fighter jet and an A-50 control plane in Belarus."

Japan's average minimum wage is set to rise at a record pace this year, the government said on Tuesday, a positive development for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's efforts to cushion households from global commodity inflation.

The Russian Embassy in Berlin called the German government's decision "extremely dangerous" and said it "takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation" while the foreign ministry warned that "red lines" were a "thing of the past" as it slammed what is saw as the West waging a "hybrid war" against Russia.