Ivan Khomenko

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome and held a brief meeting with US President Donald Trump before the ceremony. Plans for a second meeting were canceled as Trump returned to the United States immediately after the funeral.

Russia has expanded its influence in Central and West Africa through a combination of military presence, economic extraction, and cultural infiltration. Since 2018, Wagner Group mercenaries have played a central role in securing Russian interests in the Central African Republic, often through violent means.