Caption
US sailors conduct routine maintenance on a jet blast deflector on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on July 9, 2025. (US Navy)
Russia
Russia
Caption
Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to mark Navy Day at the Main Admiralty in Saint Petersburg on July 26, 2026, in front of a large photo of a submarine. (Getty Images)
Caption
(Screenshot via Youtube)
Caption
The flag of Ukraine flies in the wind in front of the Berlaymont EU Commission headquarters on August 17, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium. (Getty Images)
Caption
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Donald Trump at the White House during his visit to Washington, DC, on July 28, 2026. (Getty Images)
Caption
The Russian flag hangs outside the Russian Embassy in London on February 2, 2026, after the UK revoked a Russian diplomat’s accreditation in a tit-for-tat move. (Getty Images)
Caption
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft takes off from a base in the US Central Command area of responsibility on June 18, 2026. (US Air Force)
Caption
Trailers with launchers for guided missiles of a German Patriot air defense system stand on a snow-covered field in southeastern Poland on April 3, 2023. (Getty Images)
Caption
People attend a rally to protest the dismissal of Defense Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 20, 2026. (Getty Images)
Caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on May 20, 2026, in Beijing, China. (Getty Images)
Caption
A technician launches a Ukrainian Raybird (ACS-3) UAV from a catapult during an aerial reconnaissance mission in the Oleksandrivka sector in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, on June 22, 2026. (Getty Images)
Caption
A US Army air defense artilleryman conducts maintenance on a Patriot missile system on June 1, 2026. (US Army)
Caption
Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte speaks at the pre-summit press conference on July 6, 2026, in Ankara, Turkey. (Getty Images)
Experts
Luke Coffey
Senior Fellow, Center on Europe and Eurasia
Can Kasapoğlu
Senior Fellow (Nonresident)
Richard Weitz
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Political-Military Analysis
