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Bucket-wheel excavators mine rare earth materials on Ukrainian soil on February 25, 2025, in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. (Kostiantyn Liberov via Getty Images)
Russia
Russia
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A Ukrainian man stands in the rubble in Zhytomyr on March 02, 2022, following a Russian bombing the day before. (Photo by Emmanuel Duparcq/AFP via Getty Images)
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Chinese Leader Xi Jinping holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Photo by Li Tao/Xinhua via Getty Images)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the National Space Centre construction site in Moscow on February 27, 2022. (Photo by Sergei Guneyev / Sputnik/ AFP
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping attend a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 7, 2019. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images)
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People gather in front of T-34 tank at a Soviet War Memorial to protest against the ongoing war in Ukraine on February 27, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images)
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Soldiers help civilians cross a broken bridge as they flee their besieged city of Irpin, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
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China's sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning (R), arrives in Hong Kong waters on July 7, 2017. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
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Ukrainian soldiers of the 25th Airborne Brigade in military position situated around the city of Avdiyivka on February 8, 2022 in Avdiyivka, Ukraine. (Photo by Gaelle Girbes/Getty Images)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Leader Xi Jinping pose during their meeting in Beijing, on February 4, 2022. (Photo by Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov in Moscow on February 27, 2022. (Photo by Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP 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
