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David E. Sanger
For David E. Sanger's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 2, 2022
The U.S. is sending advanced weapons to Ukraine. But conditions apply.
There is no question that the decision to give Ukraine the weapons they have requested for weeks marked a major escalation in the kind of military aid that Washington is providing.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 27, 2022
How does it end? Fissures emerge over what constitutes victory in Ukraine
Differing objectives make it all the more difficult to define what victory — or even a muddled peace — would look like.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
May 13, 2022
U.S. embraces Finland’s move toward NATO membership. What about Ukraine?
In embracing Finland's, and soon Sweden's, move to join NATO, Washington and its allies are doubling down on a bet that Russia has made a huge strategic mistake. But many questions remain.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 21, 2022
Russia’s missile test fuels U.S. fears of an isolated Putin
There is growing concern in Washington that Russia is now so cut off from the world that Putin sees little downside to provocative actions.
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.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 27, 2022
Biden’s barbed remark about Putin: A slip or a veiled threat?
Biden's aides quickly insisted that the remark — delivered in front of a castle that served for centuries as a home for Polish monarchs — was not intended as an appeal for regime change.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 27, 2022
In a fiery speech rallying allies, Biden denounces Putin and seemingly calls for his ouster
Ending a diplomatic trip with a speech in Warsaw, Biden described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the 'test of all time” in the struggle between democracy and autocracy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 24, 2022
U.S. makes contingency plans in case Russia uses its most powerful weapons
The immediate concern is what Putin may do next — driven by a desire to rescue a failing military effort or reestablish his credentials as a force to be feared.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 20, 2022
For the U.S., a tenuous balance in confronting Russia
Navigating between aiding Ukraine and avoiding an escalation with Moscow has led to a tangle of decisions and sometimes tortured distinctions over weapons and other elements of policy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 15, 2022
Diplomacy quickens to halt Ukraine war or stop its expansion
A flurry of recent developments suggest that people are groping for a way out of the crisis — or, failing that, for ways to prevent it from mutating into a wider proxy war.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 14, 2022
Finding a way out of the war in Ukraine proves elusive
Just as the past two weeks revealed that Russia's vaunted military faltered in its invasion plan, the next two or three may reveal whether Ukraine can survive as a state.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 7, 2022
Arming Ukraine: 17,000 anti-tank weapons in six days and a clandestine cybercorps
American and European officials describe a desperate race against time as they aim to get arms delivered to Ukrainian forces while their supply routes are still open.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 4, 2022
Washington’s newest worry: The dangers of cornering Putin
Putin's reaction to the initial wave of sanctions has provoked a range of concerns that one senior official called the 'Cornered Putin Problem.”
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 2, 2022
Unity in a foreign policy crisis, but questions still to be answered
U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized allies' resolve in his State of the Union address, but acknowledged Russia may not be deterred from further efforts to reconstitute the Soviet bloc.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 28, 2022
Putin declares a nuclear alert, and Biden seeks de-escalation
When the Russian leader ordered his nuclear forces into “special combat readiness,” the U.S. could have gone on high alert. Instead, the administration tried not to inflame him.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 21, 2022
Blitzkrieg or minor incursion? Putin’s choice could determine world reaction.
If he strikes to take the whole country in a single blow, it could provoke the largest, most violent battle for European territory since the Nazi surrender in 1945.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 3, 2022
Biden calls out Putin’s actions — but is he pushing Moscow to war?
The administration's goal is to expose Russia's plans at every turn, but that approach could also provoke Putin at a time when many believe he has not yet decided whether to invade Ukraine.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2022
U.S. and allies close to reviving nuclear deal with Iran, officials say
A return to a 2015 accord is on the table, but the next decisions are up to the new government in Tehran, the Biden administration says.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jan 25, 2022
War may loom, but are there off-ramps?
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration and NATO are expected to respond, in writing, to Russia's far-reaching demands in the next several days in an effort to maintain diplomatic talks.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 9, 2022
U.S. details costs of a Russian invasion of Ukraine
The Biden administration and its allies are developing new possible sanctions ahead of a series of meetings to defuse the crisis with Moscow.

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