In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Vladimir Putin enters a hall to meet with graduates of higher military educational institutions at the Kremlin on June 23, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov via Getty Images)
A formation of Dongfeng-41 nuclear missiles takes part in a military parade celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing on October 1, 2019. (Xia Yifang via Getty Images)
Senior lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, Council of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pose for a picture with European leaders following a meeting at the White House on August 18, 2025. (Win McNamee via Getty Images)
A US Marine Corps VXE30 Stalker unmanned aerial system is staged during a maritime domain awareness training exercise in southern Finland on July 31, 2025. (DVIDS)
Taiwan's AAV7 amphibious assault vehicle surfaces from the sea during the Han Kuang military exercise, which simulates China's People's Liberation Army invading Pingtung, Taiwan, on July 28, 2022. (Annabelle Chih via Getty Images)
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer conducts underway operations in the Taiwan Strait on April 10, 2020. (Ensign Samuel Hardgrove via DVIDS)
Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan Island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 4, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow, Russia, March 21, 2023. (Ding Haitao/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during the signing ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, on March 21, 2023. (Contributor via Getty Images)