Could this be the year, as President-elect Donald J. Trump has promised, when Russia’s war against Ukraine is brought to an end? The possibility of peace brings “tears to my eyes,” said Valeria, 30, an English teacher from eastern Ukraine. As Mr. Trump prepares to return to the White House on Monday, he is promising […]

Making his final trip as America’s top diplomat last week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken arrived in Paris, his former hometown, to a hero’s welcome. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, proclaimed Mr. Blinken “an eminent servant of peace” at a ceremony at the Élysée Palace before awarding him the country’s highest tribute, the Legion of […]

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in Kyiv on Thursday, a show of solidarity four days before the inauguration of Donald J. Trump. The trip to Ukraine, Mr. Starmer’s first since he became prime minister over the summer, comes amid a flurry of diplomacy between Kyiv and its […]

Just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian troops began running out of ammunition for their aging Soviet-era artillery. The United States was soon scouring foreign arsenals around the globe for the right kinds of shells as part of its pledge to support Kyiv against its much better equipped adversary. But the Pentagon […]

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday implored representatives from roughly 50 nations to maintain their military support for Ukraine’s nearly three-year long war with Russia, saying it would “be crazy to drop the ball now.” “It’s clear that the new chapter starts for Europe and the entire world just 11 days from now, at a time […]

The Biden administration on Monday lifted some restrictions on humanitarian aid to Syria but kept sweeping sanctions in place just weeks after rebel forces toppled the Assad family’s 50-year authoritarian grip on the country. The authorization by the Treasury Department is a sign of how Washington is taking tentative steps to navigate its approach to […]

In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality. An auctioneer asked for bids on the first lot, which weighed 256 carats. With that, the Taliban’s weekly gemstone auction was underway. These sales, in the emerald-rich Panjshir […]