Caption
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025. (Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)
Russia
Russia
Caption
Giant Pandas Qing Bao and Bao Li arrive in Dulles, Virginia, on October 15, 2024. (Craig Hudson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Caption
The presidents of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates attend the narrow format meeting of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov on October 21 2024, in Razdory, Russia. (Getty Images)
Caption
The Russian foreign minister and the deputy foreign minister of the Taliban government in Afghanistan attend the Moscow Format in Moscow, Russia, on October 4, 2024. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Caption
A Russian serviceman stands guard by a military truck on the island of Alexandra Land on May 17, 2021. (Maxime Popov/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
(Rising Axis logo)
Commentary
Caption
Ukrainian servicemen fire a 2S7 Pion self-propelled cannon toward Russian positions in the Donetsk region on September 27, 2024. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
A Ukrainian soldier sits behind an MR-2 Viktor anti-aircraft system on September 11, 2024, in Sudzha, Kursk Region, Russia. (Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Caption
The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) drives down the street on August 27, 2024, in Kursk Region, Russia. (Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Caption
A Ukrainian serviceman loads a robotic minelaying ground platform with land mines during military training in Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on August 31, 2024. (Andriy Andriyenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Experts
Luke Coffey
Senior Fellow, Center on Europe and Eurasia
Can Kasapoğlu
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
Nate Sibley
Fellow and Director, Kleptocracy Initiative
Richard Weitz
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Political-Military Analysis
