Steven Lamy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Sandwiched between Russia and NATO ally Norway, both Sweden and Finland have maintained neutrality in global conflicts. That changed in February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Poland has accepted more than one million Ukrainian refugees.
Frank Schultze / Alamy
All of Poland’s political parties are strong supporters of Ukraine, despite other differences.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev watches the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on May 9, 2022.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images
As Russia’s assault slogs on in Ukraine, one of Vladimir Putin’s long-standing friends has considerable influence over the Russian president. His name is Nicolai Patrushev.
Ukraine is one of the world’s breadbaskets, but exports have been blockaded by Russia. Despite grave potential consequences in famine-prone countries, international law is largely silent.
Sweden and Finland’s prime ministers have confirmed that they are applying to join Nato.
Alamy
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is against allowing two Nordic countries to join NATO over what he deems their support of ‘terrorists.’ His opposition will test the alliance’s unity.
A digest of the week’s coverage of the war against Ukraine.
Swedish army medics simulate the evacuation of a field hospital as part of military exercise called “cold response 2022”, gathering around 30,000 troops from Nato member countries plus Finland and Sweden, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in the Arctic Circle on March 25 2022.
Reuters/Alamy
Liam Collins, United States Military Academy West Point
On paper, Russia’s military outmatches its Ukrainian rival. But better training, strategy and battlefield decisions have helped Ukrainian forces keep Russian troops at bay.
Smoke rises on April 15, 2022, above 400 new graves in the town of Severodonetsk, Ukraine.
Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The West’s new approach to Russia – bar it from international organizations, restrict international trade, prevent further military moves – looks just like how it treated Russia in the 20th century.
Be prepared: Nato Saber Strike 22exercises in Estonia, April 2022.
EPA-EFE/Valda Kalnina
Ukraine appeared not to matter much to the US and other Western countries. It wasn’t a vital interest. Russia’s war has redefined Ukraine’s status with the West.
A crew member throws a line ashore as the Royal Canadian Navy’s newest Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, HMCS Harry DeWolf, docks in Victoria after arriving from Vancouver in October 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck