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Anton Troianovski
For Anton Troianovski's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 21, 2022
Russia signals annexation of parts of Ukraine, raising stakes in fighting
Kremlin-backed officials in four partially occupied regions announced referendums on joining Russia, as Moscow tightens its grip and hints at escalation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 19, 2022
Russian pop music icon comes out against the war in Ukraine
Alla Pugacheva is the most significant celebrity to come out against the war, as President Vladimir Putin faces growing challenges on and off the battlefield.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 18, 2022
Ukraine wants the U.S. to send powerful new weapons. Biden is not so sure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says one weapon — a missile system with a range of 305 kilometers — is critical to launching a wider counteroffensive, perhaps early next year.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 17, 2022
As India joins China in distancing from Russia, Putin warns of escalation
After Indian leader Narendra Modi said that now is not the time for war, an increasingly isolated Vladimir Putin has threatened “more serious” actions in Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 16, 2022
Putin nods to Xi’s ‘concerns,’ and the limits of their cooperation
Rather than put on a show of Eurasian unity against the West, the two leaders struck discordant notes in their public remarks.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Sep 12, 2022
Russia’s retreat in Ukraine pokes holes in Putin’s projection of force
Russia's military setbacks may be weakening President Vladimir Putin's reputation at home as a savvy geopolitical strategist.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 27, 2022
Ukraine weighs a risky offensive to break out of a stalemate
Both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for a protracted standoff, but Ukraine has greater incentive to try to avoid it.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 17, 2022
Ukraine strikes again in Crimea, challenging Russian hold on peninsula
Ukrainian attacks in Crimea represent a growing challenge to Putin, with the peninsula's security key to Russia's military effort — and to Putin's political standing at home.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2022
Patient and confident, Putin shifts out of wartime crisis mode
Cloistered and angry at the start of the Ukraine war, he now appears publicly, projecting the aura of a calm, paternalistic leader shielding his people from the dangers of the world.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 22, 2022
Western move to choke Russia’s oil exports boomerangs, for now
With China and India buying the Russian oil shunned by the West, Moscow is making even more money now from sales than it did before the war began.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 18, 2022
A defiant Putin says Russia will flourish without the West
In a speech at an economic forum, the Russian leader called the U.S. a fading power and said sanctions on Moscow, not the Ukraine war, are hurting Western economies.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 24, 2022
Russian official calls out war in a fiery exit
The mid-level U.N. diplomat became the most prominent Russian official to resign and publicly criticize Putin's war in Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 18, 2022
With Ukraine taking firmer stance, peace talks grind to a halt
After weeks of trying to hammer out a peace deal, negotiators for Russia and Ukraine appear further apart than at any other point in the nearly three-monthlong war.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 5, 2022
What is Russia’s Victory Day and why is it so significant this year?
Because Russia's invasion has failed to produce much in the way of victories, some analysts fear that President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to escalate the war in Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 4, 2022
Russia’s war has been brutal, but Putin has shown some restraint. Why?
Officials are debating the Kremlin's calculations in not trying harder to halt arms shipments. Analysts wonder whether a bigger mobilization by Moscow is on the horizon.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 2, 2022
One Russian tycoon criticized the war. Retribution came the next day.
Oleg Y. Tinkov was worth more than $9 billion in November. Then, last month, Tinkov, the founder of one of Russia's biggest banks, criticized the war in Ukraine in a post on Instagram.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 22, 2022
Calling off steel plant assault, Putin prematurely claims victory in Mariupol
The move avoids, for now, a bloody battle in the strategic port city that would add to Russia's mounting casualty toll.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 19, 2022
Bleak assessments of the Russian economy clash with Putin’s rosy claims
Russia's central bank chief has warned that the consequences of sanctions were only beginning to be felt, and Moscow's mayor said 200,000 jobs were at risk in the capital alone.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 18, 2022
Atrocities in Ukraine war have deep roots in Russian military
Like the shelling of cities, the seemingly pointless, close-up killing recalls wars in Chechnya. Do they reflect intent or just indifference, propaganda and a military culture of violence?
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 16, 2022
Russia warns U.S. to stop arming Ukraine or face 'unpredictable consequences'
The Russian message — one of a series of warnings punctuated by a formal protest note — suggested rising concerns that the weapons were seriously hindering Russia's combat capabilities.

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