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.
Chinese president did not avoid difficult questions from his French and EU counterparts, and visits to Serbia and Hungary reinforced established ties.
As in Hong Kong in 2019, the US-funded National Endowment for Democracy has fingerprints all over protests in Tbilisi.
Presidents Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron not only aired their bilateral differences, but also discussed terms of engagement for challenging days ahead.
Talks on trade imbalances and Ukraine war await Chinese president as he first heads to France in pursuit of ‘pragmatic’ European policy, then Serbia and Hungary, before returning to host Vladimir Putin.
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.
- Andrei Belousov is an academic economist and technocrat with no military background
- Russian president chose Belousov to replace ally Sergei Shoigu as defence minister
“A Summer in the Red Scarf” tells the love story between two teen boys at a Soviet pioneer camp. Despite its success, the book’s authors were forced to flee Russia amid a crackdown on LGBTQ propaganda.
Russia’s defence ministry on Sunday claimed its troops had made deeper advances in the Kharkiv border region, ‘liberating’ a total of nine settlements over the weekend.
Several thousand Georgians gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi on Sunday night in a fresh protest against a Russian-styled ‘foreign agent’ bill.
Russian President Vladimir Putin tapped a civilian economist as his surprise new defence minister in an attempt to gird Russia for economic war by trying to better utilise the defence budget and harness greater innovation to win in Ukraine.
Moscow is making small advances in an area it was pushed back from in 2022, pressing its advantage amid delays in Western aid.
Envoy who visited Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE said to have encountered general agreement with Beijing’s push for restraint and direct dialogue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a “fierce battle” was under way after Moscow launched a surprise new offensive on Friday morning.
Head of State Protection Department was dismissed after two of his officers were detained for allegedly passing secret information to Russia’s FSB security service.
The Chinese president’s visit to Serbia coincides with the anniversary of the deaths of three Chinese journalists, say analysts, but not visiting the site ‘shows Xi does not want to overly irritate the US, or put his Serbian hosts in a difficult position’.
Russian president uses to speech to warn that his nuclear forces were ‘always’ on alert and that Russia would not tolerate any threats from the West.
The May 9 parade marks the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II and has become one of Russia’s most important public holidays.
Russia’s new development on the Kuril Islands aims to ‘punish’ Japan for supporting international sanctions and providing aid to Ukraine, analysts say.
Long-opposed to the measure and having criticised Moscow’s mobilisation of prisoners to fill its ranks, Kyiv has recently U-turned amid fresh Russian advances on the battlefield.
As Russia leverages its advantage in ammunition and manpower to exploit Ukraine’s dwindling stocks of weaponry, it has also increasingly embraced TikTok as part of its parallel information war.
Analysts say the move is insurance against an accelerating “arms race” in the region, as lessons are learned from recent flare-ups such as Iran’s drone and missile attack against Israel last month.
Relaxed mountain setting chosen so Chinese leader Xi Jinping and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron can speak frankly on myriad mutual grievances and grounds for cooperation.
French President welcomes Beijing’s commitment to ‘refrain from selling any weapons or aid’ to Russia, but commerce official reinforces the need to enhance bilateral trade.
The head of Ukraine’s state security service said the failed assassination attempt was supposed to be a ‘gift to Putin’ to mark his inauguration on Tuesday
Putin won a landslide victory in a presidential election in March, more than two years after he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.
Xi says China and Europe can contribute to world peace, ahead of meeting with President Emmanuel Macron and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Some were aware of the risks and joined voluntarily, but others said they were tricked into going to the frontline after being promised cooking and cleaning jobs.
Russia says the drills are in response to ‘provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials’.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been a frequent target of attacks in recent weeks.
The president has been a target since the start of Moscow’s invasion, and says he was aware of at least ‘five or six’ foiled assassination attempts against him.
