For years, President Vladimir V. Putin has viewed the expansion of NATO as an existential threat that would leave Russia hemmed in with Western missiles on its doorstep. Now, Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine seems to be bringing the Russian leader’s nightmare to life, with NATO on the brink of starting its largest potential expansion in […]

VOORSCHOTEN, Netherlands — Vladimir Putin did not like the prying. It was 2008, and the Russian president, then 56 and eight years into his tightening grip on power, stood for a news conference in Sardinia’s lavish Villa Certosa. At his side was his closest ally in Western Europe, Silvio Berlusconi, the media mogul and Italian […]

WASHINGTON — Shipping traffic in and out of Russia has remained relatively strong in the past few months as companies have raced to fulfill contracts for purchases of energy and other goods before the full force of global sanctions goes into effect. With the European Union poised to introduce a ban on Russian oil in […]

BRUSSELS — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has said stopping NATO’s expansion helped drive him to invade Ukraine. But on Thursday, Finland declared its unequivocal intention to join, not only upending Mr. Putin’s plan, but also placing the alliance’s newest prospective member on Russia’s northern doorstep. The declaration by Finland’s leaders that they will […]

President Biden, anticipating the milestone of one million American lives lost to Covid-19, said in a formal statement on Thursday that the United States must stay committed to fighting a virus that has “forever changed” the country. “We must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as […]

In some villages along the front, Ukrainian and Russian soldiers face off at close quarters, sometimes within eyesight of one another. May 11, 2022 The impact of a tank round cracked the bunker’s plaster roof and sent uniformed men scrambling. Flak jackets and helmets were flung on and automatic weapons cocked. Amid a crescendo of […]

The impact of a tank round cracked the bunker’s plaster roof and sent uniformed men scrambling. Flak jackets and helmets were flung on and automatic weapons cocked. Amid a crescendo of machine gun fire, a tall soldier slung an anti-tank missile launcher over one shoulder and took a slow drag on his cigarette. The Russians […]

JERUSALEM — A journalist for Al Jazeera was fatally shot in the West Bank city of Jenin early Wednesday during clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinians, the Palestinian health ministry said. The circumstances surrounding the shooting of the journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, were not immediately clear. Al Jazeera, citing the health ministry, said she […]

In a workshop in western Ukraine, a technician adjusted a metal bracket that had been attached to a racing drone so that it could carry a grenade, turning an aircraft sold in hobby stores into a lethal weapon. Standing nearby were two American entrepreneurs, who had arrived at the workshop bearing gifts of a dozen […]

WASHINGTON — When President Biden signed a modern-day Lend-Lease Act on Monday, 81 years after the original version helped lead the way into World War II, he effectively thrust the United States even deeper into another war in Europe that has increasingly become an epic struggle with Russia despite his efforts to define its limits. […]