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)
Stewards of China Railway Kunming Bureau Group in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, on June 2, 2022. A landmark project under the Belt and Road Initiative, the railway connects Kunming with Vientiane, Laos. (Photo by Wang Guansen/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping during a meeting in Xiamen, China, on September 3, 2017. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech in virtual format at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum, June 22, 2022. (Photo by Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Xi Jinping addresses the opening of a study session at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee attended by provincial and ministerial-level officials, Jan. 11, 2022. (Photo by Wang Ye/Xinhua via Getty Images)