Russia has vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that should also be banned. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining. The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the U.S. and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance. The U.S. and Russian ambassador traded accusations on space weapons.

U.S. officials say Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles, striking a Russian military airfield in Crimea and Russian troops in another occupied area overnight. The strikes come about a month after the U.S. secretly provided the weapons so Ukraine could strike targets up to 190 miles away. One U.S. official says the delivery of the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, was approved by President Joe Biden in February, and then in March the U.S. included a “significant” number of them in a $300 million aid package announced. The official says the U.S. is providing more in the latest aid package.

A new package of $61 billion in U.S. aid may prevent Ukraine from losing its war against Russia. But winning it will be a long slog. The aid approval means Ukraine may be able to release artillery ammunition that it has been rationing. The difference could be felt within days on the front line. That may help slow Russian troops, who are taking territory against massively outgunned Ukrainian forces. And the new aid will buy Ukraine time for long-term planning about how to turn the tide. Many military experts believe that neither Ukraine nor Russia is capable of mounting a major offensive until next year. But Russia is pushing forward along the front line, and Ukraine says it desperately needs artillery ammunition and air defenses to counter the assaults.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has begun a critical trip to China armed with a strengthened diplomatic hand following Senate approval of a foreign aid package that will provide billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform -– all areas of contention between Washington and Beijing. Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday just hours after the Senate vote on the long-stalled legislation and shortly before President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law to demonstrate U.S. resolve in defending its allies and partners. Passage of the bill will add further complications to an already complex relationship strained by disagreements over numerous global and regional disputes.

Japan’s first moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, Japan’s space agency said after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Wednesday that the lunar probe had responded to a signal from the earth Tuesday night, confirming it has survived another weekslong lunar night. Temperatures can fall to minus 170 degrees Celsius during a lunar night, and rise to around 100 Celsius during a lunar day. The probe, Smart Lander for Investing Moon, or SLIM reached the lunar surface on Jan. 20, making Japan the fifth country to successfully place a probe on the moon.

The United Nations is calling for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. A U.N. spokesman said Tuesday that credible investigators must have access to the sites. The U.N. human rights chief also said he was “horrified” by the destruction of the hospitals and the reported discovery of mass graves in and around the facilities. He also called for independent investigations, saying that “given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators.” The Israeli military said its forces exhumed bodies that Palestinians had buried earlier as part of its search for the remains of hostages captured by Hamas.

The high costs and limited availability of quality child care are holding back American moms without college degrees. Women’s participation in the workforce has recovered from the pandemic, reaching historic highs in December. But that masks a lingering employment crisis among moms who lack a college degree. For these moms, a day without work is often a day without pay. And when they face an interruption in child care arrangements, an adult in the family is far more likely to adjust by giving up work, according to an analysis of U.S. Census survey data by The Associated Press.