The empty seat for Ukraine’s foreign minister is shown before a NATO foreign ministers meeting on Dec. 1, 2021, in Riga, Latvia.
Gints Ivuskans/AFP via Getty Images
One of Putin’s demands for de-escalating conflict with Ukraine is NATO blocking Ukrainian membership. Understanding what NATO is, and why Ukraine wants to join, clarifies why Putin wants this.
A liquefied natural gas tanker loading in Qatar. The Gulf nation is in talks to supply gas to Europe if Russia cuts supplies.
AP Photo
With about 200 orbital launches scheduled and ambitious missions on everything from lunar bases to the search for life in the works, there’s a lot to watch in 2022. An astronomer explains the highlights.
The Department of Justice indicted six officers of Russia’s GRU military intelligence service in October 2020 on charges of hacking and deploying malware.
Andrew Harnik - Pool/Getty Images
Russia probably has the means to attack US electrical grids and otherwise create havoc but probably won’t go that far. Instead, watch for disinformation aimed at undermining the US and NATO.
Russian tanks take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia in January 2022. Tens of thousands of Russian troops are positioned near Ukraine.
(AP Photo)
Pro-democracy uprisings in Slavic states were unsuccessful, but there’s festering discontent in the region. Russia attributes it to western interference, and intends to reverse the trend in Ukraine.
All is calm: Christmas in St Petersburg.
Alexander Titov
Most Russians blame Nato and the US for the increase in tensions.
A live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking is shown on Dec. 23, 2021, from a media control room in Russia.
Eric Romanenko/TASS via Getty Images
America is being ‘hysterical’ about Russian troop buildups near the Ukrainian border. That’s the official news in Russia, where citizens are getting government’s preferred view of the Ukraine crisis.
A Ukrainian military serviceman walks along a snow-covered trench in the eastern Lugansk region on Jan. 21, 2022.
Photo by Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images
Liam Collins, United States Military Academy West Point
Since its independence 30 years ago, Ukraine has tried to balance its Western aspirations with its Russian past. Vladimir Putin is not ready to let go of the past without a possible invasion.
Unity is strength: NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg after a meeting of alliance foreign ministers, January 2022.
EPA-EFE/Olivier Hoslet/Pool
The Pentagon has announced that as many as 8,500 troops have been put on standby to be deployed in Europe as a counter to the threat of the Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s eastern border.
A Ukrainian soldier sit in the trench on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine in January 2022.
(AP Photo/Andriy Dubchak)
It is worthwhile trying to see current Ukraine-Russia tensions from a Russian perspective. Moscow has hardly gone out of its way to look for compromise and good will, but neither has Kyiv.
A Ukrainian soldier uses a periscope to view the positions of Russian-led forces on Dec. 12, 2021, in Zolote, Ukraine.
Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images
As Russia threatens to invade Ukraine, Ukrainians wonder about the worth of a 1994 agreement signed by Russia, the US and the UK, who promised to protect the newly independent state’s sovereignty.
Shortly after taking office, President Biden declared that the the U.S. would no longer roll over in the face of Russian cyberattacks.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Russia appears inching closer to invading Ukraine, despite warnings from the US and other Western powers. Here are a few key ideas to help better understand what led to this looming crisis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stands alone.
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP via Getty Images
The Russian government, under President Vladimir Putin, has stepped up repression at home and aggression abroad in an effort to consolidate power within the country and on the world stage.
New Zealand’s geographical distance will be no defence against the consequences of a protracted crisis. So why has there been so little discussion about the threats?
Resistance: a Ukrainian reservist during a military exercise at a training ground near Kiev.
EPA-EFE/Sergey Dolzhenko
Given the disconnect between Russia and the US and its NATO allies, it is puzzling why the talks happened at all, and what might possibly be gained from them.