World leaders condemned the attack Thursday, with the U.S. and its allies promising severe sanctions, even as Russian forces remained on the move across Ukraine.
A Russian official confirmed that the anti-satellite test took place, but denied that the resultant debris would endanger the International Space Station or other spacecraft.
Putin said the presence of the foreigners is illegal because they don’t have permission to be there from the United Nations or Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.
A spokesperson for U.S. European Command reaffirmed the Pentagon’s earlier dismissal of the Russian description of the Black Sea incident involving a British destroyer as false.
Syrian government troops entered a strategic town in the country’s last rebel stronghold Thursday after fierce clashes with opposition fighters, even as Turkey sent reinforcements seeking to curtail the offensive, Syrian state media reported.