US warns Russia after report of troops massing on Ukraine border

KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military said that a soldier was killed and another seriously wounded in artillery fire from Russia-backed separatist rebels Sunday, as hostilities rise sharply in the country’s east.

As of the reported attack, Ukraine says 27 soldiers have been killed in the east this year, more than half the number who died in all of 2020. Attacks have intensified in recent weeks and Russia has built up troops along the Ukraine border.

Russia denies Western claims that it has sent troops into eastern Ukraine to help the rebels, but officials say the army could intervene if Ukraine tries to retake the area by force. The troops buildup has raised sharp concerns in the West.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Sunday that “if Russia acts recklessly, or aggressively, there will be costs, there

TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday declared an “enduring and ironclad” American commitment to Israel,

reinforcing support at a tense time in Israeli politics and amid questions about the Biden administration’s efforts to revive nuclear negotiations with Israel’s archenemy, Iran.

Austin’s first talks in Israel since he became Pentagon chief in January come as the United States seeks to leverage Middle East diplomatic progress made by the Trump administration, which brokered a deal normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states.

TOKYO — Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics who come down with minor symptoms of COVID-19

could be isolated in a hotel lined up by local organizers of the games.

The Japanese news agency Kyodo on Sunday said organizers are working to secure 300 rooms in a hotel near the Athletes’ Village. The agency cited unnamed officials with “knowledge of the plan.”

LAS VEGAS — A desert city built on a reputation for excess and indulgence wants to become a model for restraint and conservation with a first-in-the-nation policy banning grass that nobody walks on.

Las Vegas-area water officials have spent two decades trying to get people to replace thirsty greenery with desert plants, and now they’re asking the Nevada Legislature to outlaw roughly 40 percent of the turf that’s left.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are almost 8 square miles of “nonfunctional turf” in the metro area — grass that no one ever walks on or otherwise uses in street medians, housing developments and office parks. By ripping it out, they estimate the region can reduce annual water consumption by roughly 15 percent and save about 14 gallons per person per day.