Ukraine War

Twin fears of an inward-looking Donald Trump and a westward-looking Vladimir Putin have left officials in Europe's treasuries urgently revising their budgets to make room for more defence spending.

The Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs at Ukraine's parliament spoke to Al Majalla as his country enters the third year of war with Russia

On 24 February 2022, Moscow invaded its neighbour to the west. For much of Europe, Ukraine is quite literally a call to arms to fight Russian expansionism

Despite sanctions, a brain drain, investor withdrawal, inflation, high interest rates, falling oil prices and reducing reserves, Vladimir Putin thinks Russia's economy is A-grade. Is it?

No stranger to a world in flux, the West's alliance has grown since the Cold War. It has fresh challenges from an old foe and a new global power to address.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have several moves left to alter the war's outcome. The ability to do so largely depends on the commitment of resources and the will to fight.

The deep divisions within British politics in 2024 suggest it will add to the instability of the Western alliance as it grapples with major challenges from mass migration to the Ukraine war.­

While Russia's war machine has suffered greatly, it has not collapsed. In fact, it is thriving and is making advances in some places.

The Ukraine war has shrunk Russia's ability to export weapons, but Western sanctions and Moscow's damaged global image have also made importers more reluctant to buy Russian arms.

Kyiv now controls state-of-the-art armour. Its strategies will determine if the hardware can help change a complex war under skies it does not control, or if the arrival is just symbolic.