Opening the doors to Russia and China’s perception.
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The setting was grand, so too was the plan. But behind the peace plan put forward by China and welcomed by Russia, is the question, what do both nations seek?
EPA-EFE/Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/Kremlin pool
The International Criminal Court sets a high bar for prosecuting heads of state for crimes committed while they are in power.
Pavel Byrkin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool/AP/AAP
The recent Iran-Saudi Arabia diplomatic truce brokered by Beijing heightens expectations of Xi’s visit. But the Ukraine case is vastly different.
Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin pool/EPA-EFE
Maria Lvova-Belova, wanted by the ICC along with Vladimir Putin, is one of a handful of women to be prosecuted in international criminal law.
Crime scene? Vladimir Putin visits Mariupol, which Russia captured in May 2022 after the deaths of thousands, including many civilians.
EPA-EFE/Russian presidential press service
The list of crimes for which Putin is considered complicit is long. The question is whether he can be held accountable.
A woman wrapped in the Ukrainian flag shouts through a megaphone during a demonstration in front of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, in March 2022.
(AP Photo/Phil Nijhuis)
The International Criminal Court’s charges against Vladimir Putin are likely to have a minimal impact on him, but it does signal that wartime atrocities have consequences — and the world is watching.
Former President Donald Trump reacts to the crowd after he finished speaking at a campaign rally in support of Sen. Marco Rubio in Miami in November.
(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The newest class of right-wing populists aims to not only dismantle the guardrails of democracy, but also the most fundamental principles of the rule of law. We must prepare.
A Reaper drone like the one downed over the Black Sea costs about US$56 million, according to the Pentagon.
EPA-EFE/Airman 1st Class William Rio Rosado
A selection of our coverage of the conflict over the past fortnight.
Marina Tauber, vice-president of Moldova’s Russia-friendly Shor Party, leads a demonstration in the capital, Chisinau, against the pro-western government and low living standards.
AP Photo/Aurel Obreja)
There are fears that Russia might try to compensate for its poor performance in Ukraine by upping its meddling in neighbouring countries.
Ukrainian soldiers in a trench under Russian shelling on the frontline close to Ukraine’s Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, on March 5, 2023.
(AP Photo/Libkos)
The Battle of Bakhmut embodies Russia’s ill-planned war in Ukraine. Even if it succeeds in taking the city, the divisions it’s created within its armed forces will erode Russia’s ultimate aims.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, met with his then-Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in March 2022 in Huangshan.
STR/CCTV/AFP via Getty Images
China and Russia’s relationship is complex. But China’s decision to support Russia’s war on Ukraine could ultimately come down to China’s own political interests.
While communists make up the bulk of portrait carriers in Russia, officials are also increasingly putting in a good word for Joseph Staline.
Alexey Borodin/Shutterstock
Stalin, who died on March 5, 1953, was partially rehabilitated in the decades that followed. These days, he is in some respects a source of inspiration for Vladimir Putin.
Lousy weather for fighting.
AP Photo/Libkos
This bitter struggle may well come down to whoever has the better supply chain.
In Poland, hundreds of marchers carry the Ukrainian flag.
Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Often seen as divided, Ukrainian citizens are united in their nation’s defense against Russia and in their priorities for postwar reconstruction.
A view of Tiraspol, the self-declared capital of Transnistria in April 2022.
Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Moldova’s government has said that Russia is trying to overthrow its Western-leaning government and set up its own leaders there.
Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas at the European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels, Belgium, in October 2022.
Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters/Alamy
Estonia is going to the polls but the Ukraine war casts a long shadow over its politics.
EPA-EFE/George Ivanchenko
A selection of our coverage of the conflict from the past week.
Pavlovsky as dissident at a rally to commemorate the murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Alexander Miridonov/Kommersant/Sipa USA
Pavlovsky became the ultimate insider – until he fell out with the boss he had helped make all-powerful.
Peace proposal: Chinese envoy Dai Bing tells the United Nations that a ceasefire is the most urgent priority for Beijing.
Xie E/Xinhua/Alamy Live News
Beijing’s 12-point proposal is a broad-brush plan for an end to hostilities which positions China as a key power broker.
A Ukrainian woman touches the grave of her husband, a soldier killed by Russian troops in August 2022.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Questions about whether warring parties agree about how the war will end and the costs of war or peace are all key factors to help assess when a conflict might end.