In opinion polls over the past two decades, she’s routinely selected as one of the most popular Russians – often appearing second only to Vladimir Putin.
While some parts of eastern Ukraine have been under partial Russian control since 2014, other sections continue to fight back. Most residents overall have said they don’t want to be part of Russia.
Russians crossing land borders into Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Georgia to avoid being drafted into the Ukraine war are experiencing very different receptions.
Tactical nuclear weapons were designed to be used on the battlefield rather than for strategic defense, but that doesn’t mean there’s a plausible case for using them.
This is policy on the fly. At best it will buy Putin time over another cold Ukrainian winter. At worst it will result in battlefield chaos and potentially mass slaughter.
Despite the rhetoric and condemnation from UN leaders gathered in New York, Russian plans to annex eastern parts of Ukraine cannot be stopped. What could happen next?
The exact impact of sanctions is always difficult to assess in the short-term. But there are signs it is an effective strategy against Russia – and the only real option.
Benjamin Jensen, American University School of International Service
A military strategist breaks down how a smaller Ukrainian army has successfully taken back swaths of land from the Russians in the country’s northeast.
As Ukraine retakes parts of its northeastern region from Russia, the Kremlin continues to increasingly look to private military companies to fill in military power gaps.