NewsBite

Western alliance

Advertisement
Volodymyr Zelensky leaves 10 Downing Street after meeting Keir Starmer.

Once the West’s great hero, Zelensky is now fighting to keep a divided world on his side

When the Ukrainian president travelled to the UK on Monday to shore up support, he ditched his trademark military fatigues. It was a subtle but calculated diplomatic posture.

  • Rob Harris

Latest

Pedro Sanchez

‘Crosses our red lines’: Trump demand divides NATO

The US president has made it clear to Europe that it cannot expect an unlimited American guarantee over its security. But Spain is refusing to play ball.

  • David Crowe
US President Donald Trump, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has long made clear he sees Iran as unfinished business.

How Trump obliterated the best-laid plans of world’s most powerful military alliance

The US president was meant to be the guest of honour in the Netherlands this week. But his decision to bomb Iran has instead made him a wildcard everyone is scrambling to contain.

  • Rob Harris
An uncrewed vessel in the Baltic Sea.

Shadow fleets and ‘grey-zone’ sabotage: The communication battleground beneath the waves

Undersea fibre-optic cables are lifelines for everything from financial markets to military command. But they’re under siege, and in the Baltic Sea, NATO is racing to adapt.

  • Rob Harris
Will Anthony Albanese make another attempt to meet Donald Trump?

Snubs, subs and Trump: Albanese’s NATO dilemma

If Donald Trump snubs the PM yet again, Anthony Albanese’s political enemies will make hay with it. That will not guide his next steps.

  • James Massola
An aerial view of Diego Garcia.

Loss of tiny island with key defence post plunges British Empire into darkness

A Union Jack once always caught the sun somewhere around the globe. But now that will no longer be the case, after a court ruling about an island that is critical to the Five Eyes alliance.

  • Rob Harris
Advertisement
A woman exits a voting booth in Bucharest on Sunday.

Mathematician v ex-football hooligan: Centrist defeats far-right firebrand in Romania election

Pro-European centrist Nicușor Dan will be the next president after a divisive vote that one former president described as a choice between “continued integration with the West and a slide toward a more authoritarian model”.

  • Rob Harris
US President Donald Trump went to his golf course in Florida on Friday as global financial markets collapsed after his tariffs announcement.

How the West was lost by Trump, a predator upon his own allies

Donald Trump has abandoned any meaningful notion of “the West” and, with it, America’s role as “leader of the free world”.

  • George Brandis

‘Home alone’: How Trump is changing security in Europe

Trump’s return as US president has left Europe’s main military pact looking less assured. Here’s how defence is being reshaped on the continent.

  • Jackson Graham and Angus Holland
Zelensky in 2019 and 2025

Where to from here for Ukraine’s battered leader?

Volodymyr Zelensky entered office with hopes for real change. But three years of war have transformed the former comedian, who appeared visibly stressed during his exchange with Donald Trump on Friday.

  • Rob Harris

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