Dispatch
The view from the ground.
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Women watch on as an instructor demonstrates self-defense techniques during an urban survival training class organized by the volunteer group the Ukrainian Women’s Guard on February 05, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kyiv Is Calm, but Ukrainians Are Quietly Bracing for War
Officials in Kyiv have downplayed Western warnings of an imminent Russian invasion—but many in the capital are learning self-defense and locating bomb shelters.
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Lucia Arecely Vail looks down at her daughter playing below from the top of her unfinished home in Cajolá, Guatemala. For Central Americans, Biden’s Spending Could Spark a Boom
Remittances from migrant laborers could help drive economic growth in places such as Guatemala.
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A statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin is in Trans-Dniester. Ukraine’s (Potential) Western Front
Kyiv faces Russian troops to the north and east. Now, it’s got to worry about Trans-Dniester too.
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Ukrainian border guards patrol the Sea of Azov Russian Black Sea Exercises Raise Specter of Naval Blockade
Blocking Ukraine’s ports for an extended period could “suffocate” the country’s economy, experts say.
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Viktor, a soldier on the front lines in the Donbass ‘They Are No Longer Our Brothers’
On the front lines of Ukraine’s frozen conflict, soldiers fight cold and boredom—but worry little about a Russian invasion.
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Members of the Taliban enter the compound of the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Kabul on Sept. 10, 2021. ‘I Wanted to Stay for My People’
Thousands of Afghans fled the Taliban. Many civil servants stayed behind to keep the lights on—whatever the cost.
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A man holds two posters shaped like gun in a crowd of people holding Brazil flags in support of Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s Pro-Gun Agenda May Become Law
A divisive bill represents a watershed moment for the gun debate in Brazil.
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Honduran President Xiomara Castro holds up her fist as she wears a blue and white sash at her inauguration. She is standing beside a person in a military uniform. How Honduras’s Congress Split in Two
A country euphoric about its first woman president is plunged back into political turmoil.
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Bahraini, Emirati, and U.S. leaders sign the Abraham Accords. Israel’s Rewarding Road to Normalization
A little over a year after the Abraham Accords, Israel and its new Arab partners are seeing dividends.
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A protester wears a mask resembling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. How a Plea Bargain for Netanyahu Could Realign Israeli Politics
The terms offered would keep him out of prison but also out of office.
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Concertina wire along a Polish border crossing with Belarus. Will Poland’s Border Emergency Become Permanent?
After months of closure, Foreign Policy gets an authorized glimpse into the militarized Polish-Belarusian border zone.
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Tunisians shout slogans as they protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied in Tunis, Tunisia, on Dec. 17, 2021. How a Garbage Dump Foretells Tunisia’s Future
President Kais Saied promised to confront corruption and defend poor Tunisians. Now, his government is abandoning and brutalizing them.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual press conference at the Manege exhibition hall in central Moscow on Dec. 23. Putin Remains Defiant, Threatens Ukraine in Annual Presser
Russia’s year-end telethon ends with the usual bombast about Ukraine, NATO, and Father Frost.
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A boy holds a toy gun. Lockdowns Produced a New Generation of Child Soldiers
In Colombia, armed groups have treated the pandemic as a recruitment opportunity.
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A hand gesticulates next to a Polish and European Union flag. Poland’s Twin Crises
Warsaw is challenging Brussels on the rule of law but using an immigration crisis to soften any pushback.
