Polish forces triumphed over a larger Russian force at the Battle of Stoczek, February 1831.
Maciej Szczepańczyk/Wikimedia Commons
Waning support from Poland’s allies meant the war descended to an attritional struggle, giving Russia the advantage it needed to win.
EPA-EFE/Yuri Kochetkov
Like a lot of authoritarian leaders, Putin is aware that a low turnout will make him look weak in the eyes of the world.
Appeasement: Adolph Hitler meeting Cesare Orsenigo, the papal nuncio to Germany, in 1935.
US Holocaust Museum/Wikimedia Commons
Between 1939 and 1945, Pope Pius XII put the interests of the Catholic Church in Germany before the fate of European Jews.
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks set to extend his leadership.
Contributor/Getty Images
While Putin is all but guaranteed to win, war fatigue, electoral engineering and extreme risk-aversion suggest that the Kremlin is anxious to get these elections over and done with.
Cathal McNaughton/EPA
Ukrainians are safeguarding their language and cultural identity in the face of Russian attempts to erase it.
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan loom over the people of Bishkek.
Contributor/Getty Images
Recent laws and pro-Putin sentiment by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov have sparked concern that the Central Asian country is backsliding on democracy.
Joe Biden answers questions from the media ahead of his State of the Union speech.
UPI/Alamy
Biden outlined a plan to build a temporary port to deliver aid to Gaza, and called on Israel to protect innocent victims in Gaza.
Wives of Russian soldiers place flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin wall, Moscow.
AP/Alamy
Opposition from soldiers’ wives is an underestimated form of resistance against Vladimir Putin.
Volodymyr Zelensky autographs a Storm Shadow/SCALP missile.
Ukraine President's Office / Alamy Stock Photo
Helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression is not a violation of international law – but Russia might interpret it as escalation.
Russia is the most sanctioned country in the world, since the Ukraine war.
John Ruberry /Alamy
Russia has looked for new trading partners as sanctions bite, but also suffered a brain drain.
Today Russia: Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow, February 29.
EPA-EFE/Dmitry Astakhov/Sputnik/Kremlin pool
A selection of our coverage of the conflict from the past fortnight.
Not all smooth sailing for the Russian economy, but far from choppy waters.
Alexei Danichev/AFP via Getty Images
The US has imposed another round of sanctions following the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. But will it work?
French president, Emmanuel Macron: ‘Can’t rule out’ sending ground troops to Ukraine.
EPA-EFE/Gonzalo Fuentes/pool
Sending ground troops to Ukraine could provoke a wider and vastly more dangerous war with Russia,
Russia sees Serbia as an important ally.
Zoonar GmbH/Alamy
Europe should not ignore the importance of Serbia as a Russian ally.
Mavka in Mavka: The Forest Song.
Everett Collection Inc/Alamy Stock Photo
Sometimes I feel that after Chernobyl our land is cursed. Hearing about French children watching Mavka in a Parisian cinema, I felt hope.
blank.
EPA-EFE/Anatoly Maltsev
Most of Vladimir Putin’s opponents are either dead, in jail or in exile. But it might just be ordinary people who can take over the battle for democracy in Russia.
Will war fatigue be a factor?
Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images
Russia appears to have seized the battleground initiative as the Ukraine war marks its second anniversary – but the conflict is far from over.
Shackled to a vision of a ‘glorious past’: Russian president Vladimir Putin celebrates Defender of the Fatherland Day, February 23 2024.
EPA-EFE/Sergei Savostyanov/Sputnik/Kremlin pool
The Russian president still insists that Ukraine has been taken over by hostile pro-western elites over the past decade.
Satellite radar data shows the complete destruction of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
Xu et al. (2024)
Satellite photography of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut shows block after block of destroyed buildings. Satellite radar provides a different view – a systematic look at the destruction of the whole city.
A civilian hospital building in Donetsk, Ukraine, after a Russian strike in February 2024.
EPA-EFE/NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE
Western military support for Ukraine is more important than ever.