Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged this week that the war in Ukraine has taken longer than expected, and predicted the conflict could be a “long process.” He also warned the risk of nuclear war is increasing, but vowed not to use nuclear weapons first. Putin’s comments come as Russia continues pounding civilian targets across Ukraine, including energy infrastructure, leaving much of the country in the dark and cold with winter approaching.

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was ousted from power Wednesday and arrested hours after he moved to dissolve the country’s Congress, with Vice President Dina Boluarte sworn in to replace him. Castillo is a left-leaning former teacher and union leader who was in office for less than a year and a half, during which time he faced sustained attacks from his political opponents for corruption.

Voters in Georgia cast their ballots Tuesday in the closely watched runoff election between Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker. A victory for Warnock would give Democrats a 51st seat in the Senate. The election has seen a record number of early votes, especially in communities of color, but Black Voters Matter co-founder and executive director Cliff Albright says that is “partially a function of the voter suppression” in the state.

The New York Times and four major European newspapers — The Guardian in Britain, Le Monde in France, Der Spiegel in Germany and El País in Spain — recently urged the Biden administration to drop all charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In a joint letter, the newspapers said, “This indictment sets a dangerous precedent, and threatens to undermine America’s First Amendment and the freedom of the press.

In “Death by Policy,” the newly launched investigative unit of Pulitzer Prize-winning Futuro Media reveals how the U.S. Border Patrol’s policies push migrants attempting to cross from Mexico to the U.S. into dangerous areas, especially the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The longstanding “prevention through deterrence” approach, which funnels people into unsafe migration routes, has contributed to thousands of deaths since the 1990s.

Senator Raphael Warnock makes history defeating Republican Herschel Walker in Georgia’s closely watched Senate runoff, becoming the first Black senator to be elected to a six-year term in Georgia. His victory in Tuesday’s special election will give Democrats control of 51 seats in the Senate. It also marks a major defeat for former President Donald Trump, who had handpicked Walker, a former football star who had no political experience, to be the standard-bearer in Georgia.