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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025. (Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)
Russia
Russia
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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)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of big businesses at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 24, 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
Richard Weitz
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Political-Military Analysis
