Intrusions into NATO’s airspace blamed on Russia have reached an unprecedented scale, raising questions about whether the Kremlin is trying to test the alliance’s willingness to respond to a direct attack or divert its attention and resources from the war in Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, but hopes for a breakthrough are still dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov is in North Korea for talks with its military and political leaders.

Russian authorities have arrested a second senior Defense Ministry official on bribery charges days after President Vladimir Putin replaced the defense minister in a Cabinet shake-up.

Over the weekend, President Vladimir Putin replaced Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu — the longest serving member of his Cabinet at 11 1/2 years — in a rare Kremlin shake-up that came even as a Russian offensive in Ukraine is making gains.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has replaced Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in a Cabinet shakeup that comes as he begins his fifth term in office.