UmairForeign Strongmen Cheer as Musk Dismantles U.S. Aid Agency
Humanitarian initiatives can enhance American “soft power,” supporters say, which can buy the United States good will and leverage in countries across the world for a comparatively small fraction of…
Russia, Seeking to Salvage Military Bases, Goes Hat in Hand to Syria
The time had come to bend the knee — or at least bend to reality. A delegation of Russian diplomats arrived last Tuesday in a caravan of white SUVs for…
North Korean Troops in Russia Taken off Front Lines
North Korean soldiers who joined their Russian allies in battle against Ukrainian forces have been pulled off the front lines after suffering heavy causalities, according to Ukrainian and U.S. officials.…
Kyiv’s Mayor Feuds With President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine
Internal political tensions in Ukraine have been rising in anticipation of a cease-fire that might lead to elections. This week, they burst into the open with a striking public rebuke…
Chastened by Past Wars, Kremlin Tries to Elevate Its Veterans
When Ilya Rusinov returned to the Russian work force after rehabilitating a vertebra damaged in the Ukraine war, his first job was teaching in a school. But he had also…
As Trump and Putin Circle Each Other, an Agenda Beyond Ukraine Emerges
They have been circling each other carefully for seven days now — sending out invitations to talk, mixing a few jabs with ego-stroking, suggesting that the only way to end…
Belarus’s Strong-Arm Leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Cruises to Re-Election
Europe’s longest-serving leader, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, cruised to his seventh election victory in a row on Sunday in a contest that his exiled opponents dismissed as a…
A Storm, a Spill and a Disaster for the Black Sea’s Beaches
When a 28-year-old volunteer named Nikolai stepped onto a sandy beach on Russia’s Black Sea coast in a hazmat suit just before New Year’s Eve, he was so overwhelmed by…
Putin Dismisses Trump’s Sanctions Threat and Repeats His Stolen Election Claim
President Vladimir V. Putin on Friday brushed aside President Trump’s threat of new sanctions against Russia, saying he doubted that Mr. Trump would make a move that would “harm the…
Trump Is Leading a Global Surge to the Right
At the start of his second term President Trump has positioned himself at the crest of a global wave of hard-line conservative populism, offering fuel and inspiration to surging nationalist…
