Ukraine

Putin Declares a Nuclear Alert, and Biden Seeks De-escalation

WASHINGTON — When Vladimir V. Putin declared Sunday that he was putting his nuclear forces into “special combat readiness” — a heightened alert status reminiscent of some of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War — President Biden and his aides had a choice. They could match the move and put American forces on […]

Republican Candidates Split Over Ukraine-Russia Crisis

Surveys in recent years have shown that Republican voters are much less likely than Democrats to support an active U.S. leadership role in world affairs, and Trump’s pollsters have argued that the base is not interested in policing other countries. At the same time, establishment Republicans venerate the party’s Cold War stance of “peace through […]

U.S. and Allies Impose Sanctions on Russia as Biden Condemns ‘Invasion’ of Ukraine

WASHINGTON — The United States and its allies on Tuesday swiftly imposed economic sanctions on Russia for what President Biden denounced as the beginning of an “invasion of Ukraine,” unveiling a set of coordinated punishments as Western officials confirmed that Russian forces had begun crossing the Ukrainian border. Speaking from the White House, Mr. Biden […]

Russia-Ukraine Crisis Shakes Markets, but Long-Term Outlook Is Better

Even so, long-term investors with well-diversified portfolios of stocks and high-quality bonds — whether held directly or through low-cost mutual funds and exchange-traded funds — will probably be able to ride out this crisis, as they have so many others. While stocks often fall amid global turmoil, U.S. Treasury bonds tend to rally as investors […]

Will Biden’s Sanctions Halt a Russian Invasion of Ukraine?

WASHINGTON — When the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine in 2014, American officials were hopeful they would deter President Vladimir V. Putin from further aggression. Some of the officials argue today that the sanctions prevented Mr. Putin from ordering Russian forces beyond where they had halted on the Crimean Peninsula and […]

Once a Foreign Policy Partner, Congress Struggles for Unity on Ukraine

WASHINGTON — Since the 1950s, when Senator Arthur Vandenberg declared that “politics stops at the water’s edge,” titans in Congress have been key partners in America’s foreign policy, not as “yes men” to presidents but as co-architects of Pax Americana and the post-World War II order. But the spiraling Ukraine conflict has pointed up how […]

In Kyiv, a Soldier’s Funeral and Vows of Defiance

KYIV, Ukraine — At a cemetery lined by fir trees in central Kyiv, mourners paid their final respects on Tuesday to Capt. Anton Sidorov, who was arrayed in his army fatigues in a casket. “Glory to Ukraine!” said one of Mr. Sidorov’s comrades. “Glory to the heroes!” came the solemn response from the group of […]

Piece by Piece, Russia’s Rationale for a Ukraine Invasion Is Put in Place

MOSCOW — Slumped in a chair, red tie askew, his staccato delivery emphasizing every grievance, President Vladimir V. Putin delivered a speech on Monday that sounded like a call to war. It was also the culmination of a propaganda barrage orchestrated by Russian state media in recent days — a stark demonstration of how the […]

Ukraine Enclaves Long Steeped in Conflict Face New Peril

SEVERODONETSK, Ukraine — For days, Viktoria Gudyatskaya listened nervously as the escalating fighting along the front lines in eastern Ukraine approached her home in the town of Novoaidar. The thrumming booms of shelling became so insistent that on Tuesday Ms. Gudyatskaya decided to take her teenage daughter and flee. “We can hear it now through […]