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U.S. President Donald Trump in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S., on Oct. 23, 2026.
Russia

Putin's two-war advantage over Trump

by Katie Marie Davies

Two wars are testing U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to shape world events — and Russia is using the situation to its advantage. As the U.S. pushes Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is also involved in the war between the U.S. and Iran. Major news outlets have reported that Russia is sharing military intelligence with Tehran, even as Trump has praised Moscow for staying out of the fighting. The contradiction was clear last week. During high-level talks in St. Petersburg, U.S.

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The US and Europe have a narrow window to change Russia's war trajectory

Editor's note: The op-ed is based on a broader report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), published on Oct. 13, 2026. The United States and Europe risk squandering the best opportunity since 2022 to alter Russia's trajectory toward a longer and larger war. Ukraine currently has the best chance of seizing the strategic initiative against Russia since December 2022, even as it faces the greatest risk to its momentum. Russia's ballistic missile and jet-powered drone campaign against Ukr

A man is seen through a broken window inside a damaged building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 14, 2026.

About Russia

The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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