The UN General Assembly approved a resolution February 23 calling on Russia to withdraw its troops as a prelude to a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine. Canada was among the 141 members which voted in favour of the motion while Russia was joined by Belarus, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, North Korea and Syria in voting against it and China, India, Iran, South Africa and 28 others abstained. A vote last October yielded similar results

A long-awaited overhaul of U.S. arms export policy with increased emphasis on human rights was unveiled February 23 by President Joe Biden. It ostensibly moves his administration away from his predecessor’s focus on the commercial aspects of overseas sales.

U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro says China’s growing projection of its global presence is facilitated by having not only some 340 naval vessels compared with under 300 in the USN but also more shipbuilding capacity. He said consistent Chinese “attempts to violate the maritime sovereignty and economic well-being of other nations” means the U.S. must expand its own fleet.

General Dynamics Land Systems M1 Abrams tanks promised to the Ukraine by President Joe Biden last month are likely not to arrive until at least mid-2024. “None of the options that we’re exploring are weeks or two months,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth disclosed February 23. “I think there are options that are less than two years, less than a year-and-a-half.”

The pilot of a U-2 surveillance aircraft flew above a Chinese balloon in the stratosphere over the continental U.S. before it was eventually shot down by an F-22 Raptor off the Carolinas earlier this month. The image released by the Defense Department shows the U-2’s shadow on the 200-foot balloon and a clear view of its solar array which evidently powered what the U.S. says was a one-ton “signals intelligence collection operations” payload.