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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

When The Russia-Ukraine War Began: A Look Back At 24 Newspaper Front Pages

One year after the fateful decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, we take a look back at some of the front pages from the world's newspapers marking the the start of the war.

When The Russia-Ukraine War Began: A Look Back At 24 Newspaper Front Pages
Bertrand Hauger

This article was updated February 24, 2023

"THIS IS WAR," read the front page ofGazeta Wyborcza. Alongside the terse, all-caps headline, the Polish daily featured a photo of Olena Kurilo, a teacher from Chuguev whose blood-covered face became one of the striking images of the beginning of the Ukraine invasion.

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A day after simultaneous attacks were launched from the south, east and north of the country, by land and by air, some press outlets chose to feature images of tanks, explosions, death and destruction that hit multiple cities across Ukraine, while others focused on the man behind the so-called "special military operation": Vladimir Putin.


With the battle arriving at the gates of the capital Kyiv, after the first 24 hours of combat, the most dangerous conflict in Europe since World War II had begun. French daily Libération may have best captured the world's reaction: "The Unthinkable."

While many Ukrainian dailies have seen interruptions in their print editions, the leading opposition newspaper in Russia, Novaya Gazeta, in an act of solidarity with its neighbors, published its latest paper in both Russian and Ukrainian. It's the first in our international collection of front pages below:

Kommersant

Kommersant

Izvestia

UNITED STATES - TIME

TIME

The Washington Post

The Washington Post

The New York Times

The New York Times

UK - The Sun

The Sun

The Financial Times

The Financial Times

The Economist

The Economist

GERMANY - Frankfurter Allgemeine

Frankfurter Allgemeine

Der Spiegel

Der Spiegel

POLAND - Gazeta Wyborcza

Gazeta Wyborcza

Fakt

Fakt

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna

Rzeczpospolita

Rzeczpospolita

SLOVAKIA - Dennik

Dennik

FRANCE - Libération

BELGIUM - Le Soir

Le Soir

ITALY - Internazionale

SPAIN - El Mundo

El Mundo

ARGENTINA - La Nacion

La Nacion

BRAZIL - O Globo

O Globo

JAPAN - The Okinawa Times

The Okinawa Times

CHINA - Shanghai Daily

Shanghai Daily

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Economy

How A Xi Jinping Dinner In San Francisco May Have Sealed Mastercard's Arrival In China

The credit giant becomes only the second player after American Express to be allowed to set up a bank card-clearing RMB operation in mainland China.

Photo of a hand holding a phone displaying an Union Pay logo, with a Mastercard VISA logo in the background of the photo.

Mastercard has just been granted a bank card clearing license in China.

Liu Qianshan

-Analysis-

It appears that one of the biggest beneficiaries from Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to San Francisco was Mastercard.

The U.S. credit card giant has since secured eagerly anticipated approval to expand in China's massive financial sector, having finally obtained long sought approval from China's central bank and financial regulatory authorities to initiate a bank card business in China through its joint venture with its new Chinese partner.

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Through a joint venture in China between Mastercard and China's NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, dubbed Mastercard NUCC, it has officially entered mainland China as an RMB currency clearing organization. It's only the second foreign business of its kind to do so following American Express in 2020.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the development is linked to Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting on Nov. 15 with U.S. President Joe Biden in San Francisco, part of a two-day visit that also included dinner that Xi had with U.S. business executives.

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