Topic
Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia, gaining independence from the Soviet Union and declaring neutrality in 1991. In February 2022, Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine under the auspices of a "special military operation" to "de-nazify" the country. The move turned Moscow into a global pariah, and the Ukrainian army - backed financially and militarily by the US and western European countries - continues to fight off the invading forces. Nuclear-armed Russia has warned of consequences if Nato interferes in the war, while strategic ally China urges a peaceful, diplomatic solution.
Latest US protectionist moves targeting Chinese steel and aluminium imports, together with other measures, risk another damaging round of trade war.
State Department’s No 2 now admits Aukus joint submarine project between three of the Five Eyes is tied to Taiwan and mainland China.
Putin’s re-election is positive for the increasingly close alliance with Beijing, but China’s diplomatic efforts require striking a fine balance ahead of Xi’s proposed trip to Europe.
Foreign minister makes it clear that China will be a stabilising, cooperative force in international affairs, and calls on US to honour its pledges with a warning over Taiwan.
- Admission comes before the Senate Armed Services Committee while discussing Beijing’s evolving military support for Moscow
- Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines says joint exercises show ‘China definitely wants Russia to be working with them and we see no reason why [Russia] wouldn’t’
Ukrainian singer Jerry Heil and rapper alyona alyona spoke about promoting their war-torn country’s music, culture and freedom as they set off to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest.
During an interview with the Economist, Macron said “I’m not ruling anything out”, when asked if he stood by comments earlier this year about the potential to send Western troops to Ukraine.
Moscow exhibit features a US-made M1 Abrams battle tank that was taken out by a ‘guided rocket and kamikaze drones’.
20 companies based in mainland China and Hong Kong were among hundreds of entities hit by the wide-ranging move.
Moscow’s forces are accused of using the choking agent chloropicrin against enemy troops.
Russia, in recent weeks, has unveiled a strange-looking – albeit apparently effective – innovation that has been referred to by some Ukraine war observers as the ‘turtle tank’.
‘Serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield’ for Ukraine, said Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv on Monday.
The Duchess of Edinburgh, wife of Prince Edward, made the visit as part of her work to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, Buckingham Palace said.
Senior Colonel Zhou Bo shares his insights on global and regional challenges, based on long experience in military diplomacy.
The victims, who were 23 and 36, were killed on the premises of a shopping centre in the village of Murnau in Upper Bavaria. Possible motive for the killings was not yet known, police said.
Russian troops ‘will likely make significant tactical gains in the coming weeks’ while Kyiv awaits badly needed weaponry from the US, a Washington-based think tank said.
While the assessment didn’t dispute Putin’s culpability for the death, it found that the timing possibly wasn’t as intended by Putin, the WSJ report said.
‘Our interaction is important for strategic stability on the planet,’ Dong Jun says after meeting with Sergey Shoigu; both chiefs back continued military cooperation.
Ukraine sidelines US-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, US officials said.
China-US ties are more stable but still at risk if ‘red lines’ are crossed, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Secretary of State raised concerns in meeting with Shanghai party chief Chen Jining, but also said direct engagement between the two sides is a ‘necessity’.
Europe must not become a vassal of the US, he said, as he outlined his vision for a more assertive EU on the global stage.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells counterpart Peter Szijjarto in Beijing that Hungary is a ‘European country of unique influence’.
The weapons, with double the striking distance, were used for the first time to bomb a Russian airfield in Crimea and Russian forces in another occupied area.
Biden signed the bill into law on Wednesday that provides billions of dollars of new US aid to Ukraine, notching a rare bipartisan victory for the president as he seeks re-election.
Trade, Ukraine among topics on the agenda, with Blinken expected to pressure China to urge its firms to stop supplying dual-use goods to Russia or face more punitive measures.
It is the Russia’s highest-profile corruption case since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022
The US Congress gave final approval to a long-delayed US$61 billion aid package for Ukraine on Tuesday. Ukraine hopes to quickly get fresh supplies to the war zone as Russia makes battlefield gains.
The move comes as Kyiv faces manpower shortages in the fighting against Russia, and is tied to a new law that includes tougher penalties against draft dodgers.
Report on possible sanctions on Chinese banks draws sharp rebuttal from Foreign Ministry, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads for talks with Chinese leaders.
In a phone call on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked US President Joe Biden for unblocking US$61 billion in military aid. US Senate is to take up the measure on Tuesday.
America’s top diplomat pledges to keep raising atrocities with responsible governments days before he is expected to meet senior officials in Beijing.
Ukraine says its soldiers will benefit from the aid package as Western leaders laud the US move, noting it will help ‘make us all safer’.
