As Xi Jinping gathered with the leaders of Russia and Iran, Europe challenged the Trump administration at the G20, offering a split-screen view of a changing world.

© Vyacheslav Oseledko/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images; Sam Wolfe/Reuters

The leaders of China, Russia and India have gathered with other heads of state at a meeting billed as a counterweight to U.S. global influence.

A two-day conference of the 10-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Kyrgyzstan shows the limits of U.S. economic warfare.

© Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters

The Kremlin is redefining what it means to be a writer in Russia.

There is little sign that public exhaustion, economic headwinds or increased Ukrainian strikes are changing the Russian leader’s view that he will eventually achieve victory.

© Pool photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko

Moscow recruits an estimated 1,000 people a day but western officials say it cannot keep up with casualty level

Russia is losing about 6,000 more troops in Ukraine each month than it can recruit, western officials have said.

While Russia is still acquiring new battlefield recruits at speed, with an estimated rate of 1,000 a day, in the last two months even this has not been sufficient to replace those killed or injured.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

President denies visit was to gain support for Iran sanctions or due to fears that Putin plans to ‘test Nato resolve’

Donald Trump has downplayed a visit to Moscow by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, as “semi-routine” after he turned up in the Russian capital unannounced, triggering a wave of speculation about the reasons for his trip.

Ratcliffe was reported to have flown to Moscow on a government transport plane on Tuesday in a rare visit after taking off from the Andrews air force base in Maryland.

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© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

© Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

For many countries in Europe that recall living under Soviet occupation, the specter of the Russian threat is never far from mind. Many of those nations are now part of NATO, the alliance built to repel that threat. One of those states that was occupied for half a century is Latvia, a NATO member that borders Russia. Nick Schifrin spoke with its foreign minister after an active week of diplomacy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decreed that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them from Ukrainian drone attacks or rebuild them after the strikes.