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Western alliance

Today

Vladimir Putin warned a strike would put Russia and NATO at war.

Five scenarios that could trigger Putin to launch a nuclear attack

The Kremlin has revised its nuclear policy. Does that make the use of atomic weapons more likely?

  • AP

This Month

Marco Rubio with Donald Trump at a rally in North Carolina just before election day last week.

Trump taps China hawks in Beijing’s ‘nightmare come true’

The president-elect is set to choose Marco Rubio as his top US diplomat while Representative Mike Waltz is expected to be his new national security adviser.

  • Updated
  • Nancy Cook

October

People gather outside the Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara after the attack.

Turkey strikes Kurdish targets following deadly attack on defence firm

The defence ministry said more than 30 targets were “destroyed” in the aerial offensive, without providing details on the locations that were hit.

  • Suzan Fraser
NA

America’s new Asian alliance network will survive beyond Trump

No matter who is in the White House after November 5, the US’ carefully structured latticework of alliances that underpins its regional primacy will continue.

  • James Curran

How the new Japanese PM’s ambition for an Asian NATO was scuttled

Shigeru Ishiba set diplomatic pulses racing with his proposal, but the idea has been just as quickly shelved.

  • James Curran
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September

Shigeru Ishiba (centre) celebrates after he was elected new head of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

‘Asian NATO’ backer to become Japan’s new PM

The country’s ruling party picked former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba as leader, setting him up to become prime minister, a move that risks irritating China.

  • Alastair Gale and Yuki Hagiwara
Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the Scranton Army ammunition plant.

Zelensky to push Biden for advanced weapons to end war

The Ukraine president will meet Joe Biden in Washington this week, and will ask him to provide an official invitation to join NATO.

  • Daryna Krasnolutska
Admiral Rob Bauer: “Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation.”

NATO official backs long-range strikes on Russia despite risk of war expanding

“Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation,” said the head of NATO’s military committee.

  • Lolita Baldor
A Russian frigate during exercises this week.

US accuses China of directly supporting Russia’s ‘war machine’

Kurt Campbell said China was supplying Moscow with items that were directly helping the Russian military as it prosecutes its war of aggression in Ukraine.

  • Henry Foy, Polina Ivanova, Kathrin Hille and Demetri Sevastopulo
A photo released by an official Russian media channel of a damaged residential building following a Ukrainian drone attack in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow.

Massive Ukrainian drone strike on Russia kills one and closes airports

Russia said it destroyed at least 20 drones over the Moscow region, which has a population of over 21 million, and 124 over eight other regions.

  • Guy Faulconbridge
 Andrii Sybiha’s most important qualification may be proximity to Ukraine’s wartime power centre.

Ukraine’s new foreign minister Is Zelensky’s latest power play

Ukraine’s new foreign minister has cultivated deep contacts in NATO states during postings to Ankara and Warsaw. He’s also close to Ukraine’s wartime power centre.

  • Volodymyr Verbianyi and Natalia Ojewska
Firefighters extinguish a fire after a rocket hit a building of a higher education institution in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Russia pounds Kyiv with missiles, Ukraine’s military says

Ukraine’s air defence units have destroyed more than 10 cruise missiles and nearly 10 ballistic missiles, says the city’s military administration.

  • Pavel Polityuk and Valentyn Ogirenko

August

Protesters march during a demonstration outside the Democratic National Convention.

Harris embraces Gaza balancing act despite anger

With her party torn between pro-Israel Democrats and younger progressives, she’s looking for a way to quieten one major issue until after the election.

  • David E. Sanger
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new propaganda effort is designed to paint the occupation as the “new normal”.

Putin tells Russians get over it, as anxiety grows over Ukraine

The Kremlin’s messaging suggests it expects Ukraine’s surprise occupation of Russian territory to last for months, so people should get used to it.

  • Liz Cookman
A damaged monument to Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin stands in a central square in Sudzha, Kursk region.

‘People are horrified’: Moscow turns to reluctant conscripts to defend Kursk

Despite Ukraine’s advances, Vladimir Putin appears unwilling to divert more significant resources from the eastern front, leaving him with few options.

  • Anastasia Stognei
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry Press Office, a strategically important bridge over the river Seym is destroyed in Russia.

Ukraine blows up key Russian bridge in tactical push

The bridge’s destruction is a setback for Russian supply lines as Ukraine seeks to consolidate its territorial gains in the Kursk region of western Russia.

  • Constant Méheut
Russian President Vladimir Putin leads the meeting with top security and defence officials about the situation in the Kursk and Belgorod border regions.

Ukrainian commander details captured Russian territory

Russian forces are still scrambling to respond to the surprise Ukrainian attack after almost a week of fierce fighting.

  • Samya Kullab
An Israeli tank near a border crossing to the southern Gaza Strip.

20,000 missiles, drones: What a new Israel war could look like

The country’s military capabilities have evolved since it last fought Hezbollah, but so have those of the Iran-backed “axis of resistance”.

  • Updated
  • Raya Jalabi, Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper and Andrew England
Former US Secretary of Defence Chris Miller is more of a rebel than you would think.

‘You don’t embarrass the New Yorker in Trump’ says military adviser

Chris Miller, a former acting secretary of defence and Project 2025 contributor, says the AUKUS military alliance will be fine if Donald Trump wins the election, but Vladimir Putin could be in a jam.

  • Kevin Chinnery

July

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a recent campaign event.

‘Vague, tactless’: Can Kamala Harris overhaul her image to beat Trump?

The vice president’s strengths and failings are under renewed scrutiny by Democrats as Joe Biden backs her to replace him as president.

  • Rozina Sabur

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/western-alliance-1mp3