Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to jointly patrol an area in northern Syria previously controlled by Kurdish forces with U.S. support.

Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, revered experts on the Russian secret service, give the book a credibility most others on Russian clandestine operations lack — and they also change the optics.

Kurdish forces in northern Syria relied on American troops to help them maintain control of the region. Now, they are aligning themselves with Syrian forces that are backed by Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is trying to fulfill a campaign pledge to end a five-year conflict in eastern Ukraine. A Russian-backed insurgency has cost more than 13,000 lives since 2014.

In his last YouTube video, 21-year-old student Yegor Zhukov said, "Russia will eventually be free. But we may not live to see it if we let fear win." He was arrested in Moscow on Aug. 1.

Daniel Ortner grew up Jewish, but when tragedy struck his family, he abandoned faith altogether. When he found God again, this time as a Mormon, a missionary trip helped him reconnect with his roots.

His remarks come after a U.S. Defense Department test of a modified Navy Tomahawk cruise missile, and the demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between Washington and Moscow.

Lyubov Sobol's tenacity in standing up to the authorities, combined with a savvy use of social media, has put her at the center of attention as a new protest leader.

"I think it's much more appropriate to have Russia in," President Trump told reporters. In Russia, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said discussions should move from the media "to the expert level."

The Pentagon says it tested a modified cruise missile that flew "more than 500 kilometers" — a distance prohibited under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty scrapped earlier this month.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The U.S. has long accused Russia of refusing to comply with its terms.

The two leaders spoke by phone Wednesday. The Kremlin said Putin "regards the US President's offer as a sign that it is possible that full-scale bilateral relations will be restored in the future."