The declining defence budget has eroded the operating and capital expenditure of the military, leaving insufficient funds for the replacement of equipment, maintenance, and infrastructure.
People crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee by crossing the Irpin River in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022.
(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a catastrophe and should be condemned, but that doesn’t mean the West should dismiss some of Putin’s conditions as a step to ending the war.
The Chinese leader’s alignment with Putin would have sat awkwardly with previous leaders, who understood China’s best interests were served by avoiding costly entanglements.
Russian strike aircraft have yet to play a major role in the war in Ukraine/
EPA-EFE/Maxim Shipenkov
The settled foundations of German foreign policy have been overturned in an instant following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian firefighters respond to Ukrainian military transport plane shot down during Russian invasion.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine | Alamy Stock Photo
Lost in the outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the fact that many in the West have long warned that widespread NATO expansion into Eastern Europe could spark just such a conflict.
Labor has maintained a 55-45% two-party lead in a Newspoll that also sees Anthony Albanese registering good personal ratings, against a background that has elevated national security issues.
Soldiers with the 92nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces conduct drills in northeastern Ukraine on Jan. 31, 2022.
Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The days of Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe disappeared at the end of the Cold War nearly 30 years ago. It appears Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to start a new Cold War..
NATO has struggled to remain unified in recent years.
NATO via Flickr
The existing conflict between the Donbas and Ukraine, explained.
A military vehicle destroyed on Feb. 18, 2022, by an explosion in Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian separatists.
Nikolai Trishin\TASS via Getty Images
Attacking your own side and blaming your foe has a long history and a firm grip on the popular imagination. But the internet makes it difficult to pull off – and less desirable.
Aggressor: Russian president Vladimir Putin.
EPA-EFE/RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PRESS SERVICE
What Nato and its allies do next will be vital to the future security of Europe and the rest of the world.
Winter wheat being harvested in the fields of the Tersky Konny Zavod collective farm in the North Caucuses.
Photo by Anton Podgaiko\TASS via Getty Images
Every agricultural role-player is keeping an eye on the developments in the Black Sea region.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) visits a hybrid power plant in Brandenburg where green hydrogen is produced from wind power and fed into the gas grid.
Fabian Sommer/dpa | Alamy Live News
The crisis between Russia and Ukraine began with Russian objections to potential Ukrainian membership in NATO. Now it’s clear that Vladimir Putin really wants something else.