Worldcrunch
Both Russia and Ukraine are waiting to see what stance the new U.S. president and his administration will take on the war and aid to Kyiv. Within Russia’s pro-war factions, some are eagerly anticipating a potential shift in U.S. policy. But regardless of Washington’s decisions, Ukraine’s main allies are those ensuring Moscow’s military is corrupt and inefficient.
Among the images, are photos from France, China, Canada, the U.S., Ghana and Greenland.
Drones and other new technologies are important, but the foundation of success remains the mobilization of the economy, numerical superiority, and artillery. A military expert reflects on three years since Russia’s invasion.
The emerging geopolitical paradigm is one of a kind of “armed peace” led by states equipped with nuclear weapons as the ultimate guarantee of security. The battlefield now spans the range of hybrid threats and technological breakthroughs, introducing the potential for “strategic surprises.”
With the unpredictable Donald Trump returning to the White House in January, what will global politics be like in 2025? In addition to major issues like the war in Ukraine, the conflicts in the Middle East and China, there’s another nagging question: What about Europe?
In partnership with ZUMA photo agency, here are the top images for the week of Dec. 27-Jan. 2. The selection includes a devastating plane crash in South Korea that claimed 179 lives, an apparent terror attack that marred New Year’s Eve in New Orleans, while Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners in a UAE-brokered […]
Also: a look inside the slippery world of stand-up comedy in China and Ukraine’s clandestine online school network.
From an Italian take on Hawaiian pizza to gay rodeo, Sam Altman’s eye-scanning “orb”… and more!
While Russia had to negotiate with former Syrian rebels for the withdrawal of around 500 Russian soldiers trapped in Damascus, Vladimir Putin remained silent on the crushing defeat he suffered in Syria. Instead, he has threatened the West, as if to show he is not weakened by the fall of his ally Assad.
The key question is whether any peace agreement will satisfy the U.S. president, or if he will push for real security guarantees for Kyiv. The question is what Trump will do if Russia or Ukraine (or both) refuse to negotiate on U.S. terms and are not intimidated by the threats of the American leader.
German history teachers talk about teaching their subject during a resurgence of the far-right AfD party and rising antisemitism in the country.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 1,000 days ago. Since then, many Western nations, scholars and politicians have suggested negotiating for peace with Russia, rather than letting the war go on. But negotiations will not stop Putin’s imperial ambitions.
The election of Donald Trump has begun affecting global dynamics. In Ukraine, Zelensky fears losing U.S. support and has warned Europe against “suicidal” concessions to Russia. In Israel, Netanyahu stands as the main beneficiary, as Trump’s victory grants him the freedom to pursue his objectives unfettered.
Trump’s victory is not some unforeseen accident. Europe should have been preparing for this. It didn’t. The actions we take now are vital for the future of democracy and the free world, writes Giovanni di Lorenzo, Die Zeit‘s editor-in-chief.
While the Western establishment is hoping for a Kamala Harris victory, either way fundamental changes are coming to the Transatlantic relationship that Europe can no longer evade.
When politicians call for more diplomacy instead of weapons delivery, the basis of their arguments is misleading. The Russians and Ukrainians have already reached diplomatic agreements in many areas, but there are limits to open negotiations — mainly around whether Putin himself really wants to negotiate.
The United States’ confirmation of the presence of North Korean soldiers alongside the Russians in Ukraine has raised fears of an international escalation. All the more reason to fear that the current local or regional conflicts will gradually turn into global ones.
Russia’s Roskomnadzor agency blocked the Discord messaging application earlier this month, and thus disrupted one of the Russian military’s well-established communication systems. It’s a reminder of the Kremlin’s need for Western technology to wage its war against Ukraine.
Since the end of the 20th century, the idea has spread that there’s a fundamental link between energy prices and Moscow’s ability to carry out military aggression. After all, low energy prices were one of the factors behind the economic collapse of the USSR.
It’s called Active Non-Alignment. The end of a bipolar world and of Western supremacy has created a more fluid, and threatening, geopolitical map. For smaller powers, especially in Latin America, this is the time to “get the best deal” for themselves with the superpowers.
The Ukrainian president has begun a tour of Europe to present his “victory plan,” designed to reverse the balance of power with Russia before negotiating. It’s almost like asking for war and peace at the same time.
Packed full of Russian culture, the children’s cartoon Masha and the Bear is a very popular cultural export. But does that make the little girl and her furry friend pro-Putin propaganda? Reflections from a conflicted parent in Germany.
Since the war broke out in Ukraine more than two years ago, the village of Blyzniuky has welcomed many people displaced by the conflict. Now five times larger than before the invasion, the village is working to integrate its new residents through work opportunities, psychological support and activities for children.
Founded by four amateur musicians with a passion for rock, Ukraine’s largest holding company, which includes supermarkets and banks, has paid a heavy price for the war. But that has not stopped Fozzy Group from using its economic power to serve its threatened homeland.
This year’s U.S. presidential candidates cannot ignore foreign policy issues, which are usually absent from the campaign; Ukraine and the Middle East are on the agenda. But while American voters will likely choose their next commander-in-chief based on domestic issues, the rest of the world will suffer the consequences.
A network of Ukrainian teachers, parents and administrators teach online classes to families trapped in Russian-occupied territories. But it comes with serious consequences if they are discovered.
The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump was an important reminder that the American election will help determine the fate of Ukraine. It did not take long to see which option was better. So much so the moderators had to ask Trump “Do you want Ukraine to win?”
The UN Security Council is paralyzed by the major powers, and the General Assembly, which opens today, has no binding power. At a time when conflicts are multiplying around the world, how can global governance be saved? Is it time to scrap the UN and start over?
Russians want to publish a translation of Polish author Szczepan Twardoch’s bestselling novel The King — a confusing development given that the writer has just been awarded for helping Ukraine.
Even Russians are unlikely to have noticed that since Vladimir Putin came to power some 25 years ago, the biography the Kremlin presents of him has been repeatedly altered. A new investigation revealing details about his two sons is but an exception in a long history of authorities carefully hiding facts and evidence about Putin’s life and his relationship with his family and friends — and the Russian people.
At least 91 Indians have been forced to fight alongside the Russian army on the frontlines, and so far, eight Indian nationals have been killed. Many families have been waiting agonizingly long for their loved ones to return home.
Fighting in the Kursk Oblast — following Ukraine’s incursion into the region — is not abating, and volunteers from across Russia are coming to help: bringing goods and food, evacuating residents and providing medical assistance. Kommersant correspondent Alexander Chernykh visited a makeshift clinic and observed how volunteer doctors are saving wounded soldiers near the front line.
With wars around the world arousing political strife and affecting the personal lives of many athletes, it seems the Paris 2024 Games could be overrun by geopolitics. Polish journalist Radoslaw Leniarski, an 11-time Olympic Games correspondent, explains what is, and isn’t, different this time.
As the vice president is now virtually assured to face Donald Trump on November 5, questions arise on what her election to U.S. president would mean for the rest of the world.
Disappointed by poor gains over the past three years in Ukraine, Russia’s pro-war Z community is blaming a new scapegoat. Russian writer and historian Ivan Philippov explains why a society that just wants to live and to work is now their main enemy.
Fearing Europe’s shift to the right and a second Trump term, Tehran has dusted off its reformist credentials — with president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian and veteran diplomat Mohammed Javad Zarif — to show the West it is willing to talk. But this ploy will not work again.
After more than two years of war, Russia’s bombing of a children’s hospital in Kyiv on Monday was among the most violent. What does Vladimir Putin aim to achieve with this escalation of horror — which came just 48 hours before the NATO Summit in Washington in the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky?
Having gained notoriety for his Male State movement, which was deemed too radical, even for Putin, Vladislav Pozdnyakov came up last year in connection with brutal videos being shared online, as well as a more recent attack against an ally of late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
Through quiet diplomacy, Russia may be courting the rising star of Latin American populism, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. In time, he must decide between international respectability and a bear hug from Vladimir Putin.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban officially announced the creation of a new group in the European Parliament, the “Patriots for Europe” to gather extremist parties that have been sidelined by the establishment. It can also be a bridge to Trump and Putin.