The Taiwanese civilians training for a Chinese invasion

Kuo Chiu, known as KC to his friends, teaches urban design at Tunghai University in Taiwan. He’s also one of many of the country's citizens who practises rifle skills in his spare time, in case of a Chinese invasion.

The population of Taiwan has long grown familiar with Beijing’s pledge to one day ‘unify’ what it claims is a breakaway province. But recently, there has been a significant increase in aggressive and intimidatory acts.

Taiwan’s 160,000 active military personnel are vastly outnumbered by China’s 2 million-member armed forces, leading many civilians to turn to voluntary medical and combat training to protect themselves.

How is Israel preparing ahead of the ground operation? | DW News

 

In response to attacks by Islamist Hamas militants on October 7th, Israel called up 360,000 reservists. That figure amounts to 4% of the country's population. It has also been amassing forces close to Gaza. Israel says it will destroy Hamas and has signaled repeatedly that it will send in troops to carry out that task. Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on the planet and fighting there is predicted to be very hard and costly.

Taiwan: Why the US & China are on collision course for war | DW News

 

"The Chinese seem to be preparing for a war against Taiwan" says Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. This puts the US and China on collision course for war – with potentially dramatic stakes for the world. China's President Xi Jinping has vowed that Beijing will "reunify" with the island – if necessary, by force. A large majority of people in Taiwan say they don't want reunification. The United States is increasingly clear that it would intervene to defend Taiwan from any attack.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, 'there's little desire' to rejoin Russia in occupied regions

 

Putin gave his explicit support to referendums that will be held in coming days in swathes of Ukraine controlled by Russian troops -- the first step to formal annexation of a chunk of Ukraine the size of Hungary.

Ukraine marks six months since Russian invasion

 

Germany is prepared to ship in 2023 more than €500 million ($499.3 million) in weapons to help Ukraine fend off the ongoing Russian invasion, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced. Among other things, Germany will send to Ukraine three more Iris-T air defense systems, a dozen armored recovery vehicles, 20 pickup mounted rocket launchers, precision ammunition and anti-drone devices, a government spokesman said on Tuesday during the chancellor's trip to Canada.

Taiwan representative: A question of 'if not when' China will attack

China says it will 'not renounce the use of force' against Taiwan to achieve reunification. The warning comes in a white paper on Taiwan that China issued on Wednesday.

CIA chief says Ukraine war forcing China to rethink Taiwan invasion

Russia’s experience in Ukraine is affecting China’s calculations on how and when it may decide to invade Taiwan, the head of the CIA said on Wednesday. Appearing at the Aspen Security Forum, the Central Intelligence Agency director, Bill Burns, played down speculation that the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, could move on Taiwan after a key Communist party meeting later this year

How likely is a Chinese invasion of Taiwan? | DW News

 

The war in Ukraine has forced Taiwan to re-focus on how it defends itself from a possible Chinese invasion. In recent months, Beijing has stepped up military incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone, raising alert levels on the island.

How long can Russia afford the war? | DW News

 

The war in Ukraine is well into its fourth month - with no sign of ending. Can Russia keep up its offensive? War is expensive, beyond the death and destruction - the costs of mounting a military campaign are massive.

Russia Struggled to Capture a Ukrainian Town. Intercepted Radio Messages Show Why.

 

The Times’s Visual Investigations team analyzed dozens of battlefield radio transmissions between Russian forces during an initial invasion of the town of Makariv, outside Kyiv. They reveal an army struggling with logistical problems and communication failures.

Ukraine: The first days of the war

 

As thousands of Ukrainians take refuge in bunkers, basements and subway stations, others are fleeing the country, and thousands more are returning from abroad to help fight the Russian invasion. Scenes from the first days of the war.

Putin: Redrawing borders, rewriting history

 

News of the invasion of Ukraine floods the airwaves – we look at media narratives, historical myths and Putin’s push to redraw borders and rewrite history.

As news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine floods the airwaves, and with the prospect of a wider conflict brewing in Eastern Europe between Russia and the NATO alliance, we are dispensing with our usual format.

Can anything stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

 

International diplomatic response criticised as ‘weak’ and ‘ineffective’.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the biggest threat to peace in Europe since World War II.

But the international response so far has largely been limited to sanctions and condemnation.

Russia invades Ukraine: How strong is the West’s resolve?

 

Western powers ramp up sanctions, but will it be enough. Never since World War Two has a sovereign state attacked another with such force. Russia launched an invasion with attacks by land, sea and by air.

Why does the US think Russia will invade Ukraine in the coming days?

 

Russia has positioned some 150,000 troops close to Ukraine's borders, according to US President Joe Biden and now the Ukraine defence ministry.

Ukraine invasion fears grow as Russian troops mass on border

 

Russia has for weeks been massing troops and tanks on the Ukrainian border. Ukraine has said it fears an invasion and along with Poland and Lithuania is calling for more western sanctions against Russia.

30 years after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait the reverberations continue

It’s 30 years since Iraq’s army under Saddam Hussein invaded neighbouring Kuwait and changed the course of history. The crisis marked the start of the first Gulf War, as the United States under George Bush senior intervened to drive Iraq’s forces back across their own border.