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Ukraine war: Opinion

Ukraine war: Opinion
Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February 2022, turning Moscow into a global pariah in the worlds of finance, diplomacy, sports and culture, as the West punished it with sanctions. President Vladimir Putin called Russia’s actions - which have triggered the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II - a “special military operation”. Nuclear-armed Russia has warned of consequences if Nato interferes in Ukraine, while strategic ally China urges a peaceful, diplomatic solution.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks on the first day of the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum in Qatar on December 6. Photo: Reuters
European Union

Opinion | As Doha Forum made clear, Europe is losing its seat at the table

Consumed by Ukraine, the EU has effectively retreated from global engagement. An urgent foreign policy recalibration is needed.

Ukraine war

Opinion | For Europe and Russia, the outcome of Ukraine’s war is becoming clearer

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US-China relations

Opinion | How Trump’s vision of a single-minded China containment has failed

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United States

Opinion | How Trump has landed the US in a strategic mess from Ukraine to Iran

For all his bluster, he has failed to broker peace in Ukraine even as Israeli strikes dashed any chance of a nuclear deal with Iran.

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US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he leaves for Alberta, Canada, where he will attend the G7 summit, from the White House in Washington on June 15. Photo: EPA-EFE
Palestinian Territories

Opinion | A blip on our way to a better 21st century or the end of the road for humanity?

New sciences purporting to predict the future offer some unsettling forecasts.

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Ukraine war

Opinion | In Ukraine and Gaza, China’s great power comes with great responsibility

Beijing is starting to have a say in regions where it has traditionally downplayed any security role, but this comes at a cost.

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Ukraine war

Opinion | A chance for peace in Ukraine will come. Asia must prepare to seize it

The largest Asian countries, notably China but also India, should be poised to play a positive role if the winds change around the Ukraine war

An emergency worker extinguishes a fire after a Russian attack on the Trypilska thermal power plant in Ukrainka, Kyiv, on April 11. Even if a return to negotiations is currently implausible, this will not be so indefinitely, as war without end is costly. Photo: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP
Ukraine war

Opinion | The real reason Macron openly suggested Western troops in Ukraine

A dragged-out war, a boon for the US, will leave Europe drained and weaker as a geopolitical player. In suggesting Western troops in Ukraine, Macron has shone a spotlight on the unviability of Nato’s strategy

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United States

On Balance | What hope for remnants of US Republicans fighting Trump’s authoritarian drift?

The former president, who looks set to win the party nomination for another White House run, can be expected to bring the US more in alignment with Putin’s Russia, with help from the likes of senators Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz.

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Ukraine war

Opinion | To avert a bigger war, Europe should use diplomacy, not fear

Nato wants to ramp up its munitions production and its European members are also keen to develop self-reliance amid US preoccupation with other concerns. But using Russia as a bogeyman is disingenuous.

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Anti-war and pro-Ukraine banners and messages are posted outside the Russian embassy in Tallinn, Estonia, on February 1. Nato is beating the war drums but a wider Russian invasion in Europe seems unlikely. Photo: Bloomberg
United States

Opinion | Trump doesn’t know how Nato works. We should be worried

While previous US leaders have at times expressed frustration with the alliance, they also regularly affirmed their commitment to Nato and its pledge of collective defence. Not so Trump, who neither cares for Nato nor understands that deterrence won’t work if a key member cannot be trusted to enforce the line.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
United States

Opinion | As Biden’s approval ratings slip, should self-preservation trump morality?

More voters see Biden as doing too much for the likes of Ukraine and not enough for the US economy, which could help Trump return as president – and risk democracy and the global order. Biden must prevent this at all costs.

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Israel-Gaza war

Opinion | Ukraine and Gaza wars have put the West in the dock of public opinion

The West’s unqualified support for Ukraine and Israel has lost it the support of the rest of the world and arguably hurt its moral standing.

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Ukraine war

Opinion | Ukraine war: why the summer offensive is failing

The US and Nato are providing combat training based on Middle East battles when Ukraine is fighting a completely different war. Amid rising stress and arms shortages, no wonder the counteroffensive is sputtering.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Ukraine war

My Take | Why the Ukrainian blitzkrieg tanked in latest counteroffensive

Controversial US political scientist John Mearsheimer argues the much-touted counter-attack against Russia was doomed from the start

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Ukrainian tanks take part in a training exercise in the Chernigiv region on September 8, 2023. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war

Opinion | China should use its sway to push Russia to negotiate with Ukraine

Politically and economically, China is superior to Russia in an unequal alliance that has seen growing Russian dependence. If Xi can craft an exit from war in Europe, China’s geopolitical stock will rise further.

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Ukraine war

Opinion | Can Ukraine rely on the West to supply the arms in a war of attrition?

The West is struggling to keep up war supplies to Ukraine while Russia digs in and drags it out, knowing it has more ammunition.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | How a China-brokered peace deal on the Korean peninsula would benefit all

With economic prosperity on a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons and US troops, Xi Jinping would secure his legacy as a top statesman and China’s peaceful rise as a world power.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Ukraine war

Inside Out | Ukraine rebuilding costs are huge, but the world can afford it

Even if Putin cannot be made to pay the massive bill, Ukrainians can be moderately confident the world will ensure it is covered. Importantly, this is a sober reminder of the grim costs of war and the absolute imperative to avoid it.

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Ukraine war

Opinion | Ukraine war: why China’s peace road map is the only one on the table

State information campaigns are driving escalation, as are increased losses on both sides. Normalisation will require neutral arbiters who highlight common ground, such as that offered by trade in key commodities. Currently, China is the sole remaining neutral superpower.

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Ukraine war

Opinion | What if a US under Trump or DeSantis turns its back on the Ukraine war?

With both expected Republican presidential candidates opposing continued US support for Ukraine, Putin now has hope that the Western alliance will shatter. But if America allows Putin to destroy Ukraine and not pay the price, these Russian tactics will spread and become the new normal.

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Florida governor Ron DeSantis and then-president Donald Trump at a Covid-19 and storm preparedness roundtable in Belleair, Florida, on July 31, 2020. Photo: AFP / Getty Images / TNS
Diplomacy

Opinion | The Global South are falling out of love with the West’s liberal order

Shifting balances of power, the West’s intransigence over Ukraine and the poor outcomes of its foreign interventions have left the Rest wary. The romance with the West is well and truly over.

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Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar welcomes his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang to the G20 meeting in New Delhi on March 2. China refused to sign a joint communique condemning Russia’s war. Photo: Handout/EPA-EFE
Ukraine war

Inside Out | West vs the rest: as Ukraine war rift grows, peace must be the priority

Best way forward is for Western leaders to seriously consider China’s peace plan, Russia’s angst and the Global South’s concerns and priorities. There must be a call for an immediate cessation of conflict and an honest search for a fair and balanced compromise.

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Ukraine war

Opinion | Time for China to use influence with Putin to create room for peace

If China chooses to double down on an uncritical alliance with Russia, and supply it with military material, it risks US and EU sanctions. The better option would be for China to use its leverage and closeness with Russia to broker an end to the war.

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Ukraine war

Wagner fighters capture Ukrainian village near Bakhmut, claims Russian mercenary

‘The Wagner private military company secured complete control of the locality of Yagodnoye (Yahidne) to the north of Bakhmut,’ Yevgeny Prigozhin said.

A Ukrainian serviceman sits inside a 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Ukraine on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Ukraine war

Opinion | A year on, nations must stand united against Russia’s war on Ukraine

One year into Putin’s act of aggression, UN members must support the resolution to condemn the war on Ukraine. Asian leaders in particular need to stand up and be counted.

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Pedestrians look at the destroyed Russian military vehicles at an open air exhibition of destroyed Russian equipment in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 5. Photo: AFP
Lessons from China's history

Reflections | Russia-Ukraine war seem long? China’s longest dragged on for 300 years

Russia invaded Ukraine 11 months ago. That’s a blink of an eye when you consider the Hundred Years’ War, The Crusades, or China’s 289-year war with northern nomads.

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US-China relations

On Balance | How 2022 brought the democratic West together

The US succeeded in strengthening global alliances in 2022 while opponents like Russia face growing exclusion, making for a better year for Biden than many would have expected. That said, the US-led order will continue to face hurdles from within in 2023.

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