Negotiations between Western democracies and Russia over the fate of Ukraine took place against a backdrop of Russia troops entering Kazakhstan. It’s a reminder that Russia is willing to play tough.
Vladimir Putin at a concert in March 2021 marking the seventh anniversary of its annexation of Crimea.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Image
As Ukraine wrestles with the latest threat from its larger neighbor, two scholars explain how the independent country is often viewed as part of a greater Russia – and why that inflames tensions.
Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, visiting troops on the frontline with pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region.
EPA-EFE/Presidential press service handout
When the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991, Russia formed a bloc with Ukraine and Belarus. The region is now at the centre of escalating tensions between Russia and the west.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. President Joe Biden via videoconference on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
The Biden administration has threatened severe sanctions if Russia were to invade Ukraine. An economic sanctions scholar explains why they probably won’t be effective.
“Who could have imagined that it would simply collapse?” It’s been 30 years since the Soviet Union dissolved in the wake of a bungled reform effort by Mikhail Gorbachev - here’s what went wrong.
What does the new generation of offensive missiles mean for global security?
The International Space Station is a great example of how space has, for the most part, been a peaceful and collaborative international arena.
NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center/Flickr
Activities in space today are far more numerous and complicated compared to 1967, before humans had landed on the moon or Elon Musk had been born. Two experts explain the need for better laws to keep space peaceful.
Space debris produced by anti-satellite weapons can have dangerous consequences.
(Shutterstock)
Russia’s testing of an anti-satellite weapon risked the life of astronauts on the International Space Station and could have astronomical impacts on Earth.
Artist’s view of traceable debris around the Earth - the debris is shown magnified relative to the size of the Earth.
ESA
Pierre Omaly, Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES)
A Russian satellite has been destroyed in a missile strike, creating a vast amount of debris that joins the tens of thousands of pieces already in orbit around the Earth.
European leaders have accused Belarus of using civilians as weapons along the EU border in a ‘hybrid war’. And Russia, they say, is the mastermind behind it.
If a satellite is destroyed, the debris fans out in orbit and poses serious threats to other satellites or crewed spacecraft.
ESA/ID&Sense/ONiRiXEL via WikimediaCommons
Russia destroyed one of its old satellites during a successful test of an anti-satellite weapon. A space security expert explains what this weapon was and the dangers of the expanding debris field.
The lives of Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov will be forever changed after winning the prize. But with a more visible presence comes increased scrutiny and threats from those in positions of power.