Manchuria, rich in resources and strategically crucial, became a coveted prize for Russia which sought year-round warm water ports. Port Arthur, modern-day Lüshunkou, was especially appealing for its strategic position as a naval base on the Liaodong Peninsula.

Trump’s treatment of Ukraine raises broader concerns about his foreign policy. He has labeled Zelenskyy an “unelected dictator,” dismissed Ukraine’s role in peace negotiations, and suggested that the country must cede 20% of its territory to Russia. He has even proposed extracting Ukraine’s mineral wealth as reparations.

Taiwan's coast guard said it was investigating whether the incident was sabotage but said "it cannot be ruled out that it was a gray zone intrusion."

China pushed back against recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, declaring that Washington could never "sow discord" in its ties with Moscow. Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal of three years of American policy toward Ukraine has raised concerns China might become emboldened to push its territorial claim on Taiwan, though experts

Given this backdrop, the U.S. needs to return to its old grand strategy, which helped the West win the Cold War by driving a wedge between Moscow and Beijing. Ending the Ukraine war would also enable the U.S. to reallocate military resources from Europe to the Indo-Pacific, where its global primacy is truly at stake.

Ukrainian troops are reportedly making gains along three parts of the front as Russian forces face a manpower shortage and poor command. One pro-Moscow military blogger has lamented how Ukrainian forces are exerting growing pressure on Russian troops in the Donetsk region, as a map shows the latest state of play.

About 100 Ukrainians and supporters protested outside the de facto Russian embassy in Taipei yesterday to tell the world that “Russia is the aggressor” ahead of the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.