IndianRepublic.in

When Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the UN Climate Summit via video on September 24, it was a carefully calibrated intervention in a climate regime under strain--where global ambition lags, multilateral trust is fraying, and the North-South divide is once again becoming a fault line. Image Via: Mao Ning Marking ten years since the Paris Agreement, Xi’s speech   struck familiar chords of solidarity and green optimism, but embedded within it were clear strategic signals: China wants to be seen as the steward of global climate leadership , even as it subtly shifts the burden back onto the developed world. Ambitious Yet Calculated Targets Xi’s new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aim to: Cut net greenhouse gas emissions by 7–10% from peak levels by 2035. Raise non-fossil fuel energy share to over 30%. Expand wind and solar capacity to 3,600 gigawatts — six times the 2020 baseline. Scale up forest stock volume to over 24 billion cubic meters. Mak...

Under mounting international scrutiny and a sharp escalation in cross-border military actions, Russia deepened its diplomatic push at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.  Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held back-to-back meetings with nearly two dozen counterparts, from Africa to Latin America, positioning Moscow as a reliable partner for the Global South amid a widening rift with the West.  File Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov The messaging came as NATO states issued fresh warnings over Russian drones, missiles and fighter jets violating airspace across Eastern Europe, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly warned Kremlin officials to “know where the bomb shelters are.” In a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lavrov claimed Russia remained open to negotiations on Ukraine and reiterated Moscow’s interest in building on the outcomes of the Trump-Putin Alaska summit.  The Russian side accused Kyiv and unna...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Kremlin leaders to “know where the bomb shelters are” in an escalation of rhetoric, as Moscow deepens its military provocations against NATO and the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year.  The comments came shortly after his address to the United Nations General Assembly, and amid fresh airspace violations across Europe attributed to Russian fighter jets and drones. File Photo: Dmitry Medvedev In an interview with Axios , Zelenskyy said he had received permission from U.S. President Donald Trump to target Russian energy and infrastructure assets, and had also requested a specific weapons system from Washington that he believes could force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.  He declined to specify the system, but said: “They have to know that we in Ukraine, each day, we will answer. If they attack us, we will answer them.” The warning provoked a direct and incendiary response from former Russian Pres...

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar delivered a pointed address at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York on Thursday, warning that ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are not only escalating geopolitical instability but also inflicting deep economic damage on the Global South. India's Foreign Minister Speaking on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly Speaking on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, Jaishankar said the correlation between international peace and global development is no longer theoretical -- it is now “well established” as both continue to deteriorate in parallel.  He cited soaring costs and disrupted access to food, energy, and fertilizer as direct consequences of war, disproportionately impacting the developing world. “The costs, especially to the Global South, were starkly demonstrated by ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza,” he said. “Making energy and other essentials more uncerta...

India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar just chaired a High-Level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South countries on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. He urged developing nations to act collectively in shaping global governance frameworks, including reforming multilateral institutions. Jaishankar just chaired a High-Level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South countries Addressing the assembled ministers and representatives, Jaishankar laid out a pointed five-pronged agenda for strengthening the Global South’s role in world affairs.  Pleased to meet FM Lejone Mpotjoana of Lesotho today on the sidelines of the High Level Meeting. 🇮🇳 🇱🇸 #UNGA80 pic.twitter.com/3hXORk1uoG — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 24, 2025 Emphasizing the urgency of coordinated action in an era marked by rising risks and complex challenges, he underlined that it is “natural” for the Global South to turn to multilateralism for solutions -- but on t...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in New York on Tuesday for a critical week of diplomacy at the United Nations General Assembly, as his country faces intensifying Russian attacks and mounting battlefield strain.  With nearly two dozen high-level meetings scheduled—including one with U.S. President Donald Trump—Zelenskyy is expected to make a direct appeal for tougher sanctions against Moscow and renewed international pressure to halt the more than three-year-old war. Image Source: The Kyiv Post His arrival follows a surge in Russian military action. Overnight missile and drone attacks on Odesa and Zaporizhzhia killed at least two civilians, while Ukraine’s air force reported it had intercepted over 100 drones in a single night.  Russia, meanwhile, claimed to have shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones aimed at Moscow, forcing temporary flight suspensions at the capital’s Sheremetyevo airport. The Kremlin’s air campaign appears to be aimed at eroding morale and inf...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States and its allies of dismantling the post–Cold War arms control framework, warning that the global system of strategic stability is in active deterioration.  File Photo: Russia in India Speaking at a high-level meeting of Russia’s Security Council in the Kremlin, Putin confirmed Moscow will conditionally maintain compliance with the central limits of the New START Treaty for one year beyond its expiration in February 2026 -- but only if the U.S. reciprocates. “Russia is prepared to continue adhering to the central quantitative limitations of the New START Treaty for one year after February 5, 2026,” Putin said. “This is a voluntary measure -- and it will only hold if the United States refrains from steps that undermine the current balance of deterrence.” The New START Treaty, signed in 2010, is the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.  Its scheduled expiry in ...

Conflicting battlefield claims over Kupyansk have escalated into a war of narratives, as Russia asserted that its forces had broken into the eastern Ukrainian city, while Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that tough fighting continues within the city limits, with Ukrainian forces actively engaged in clearing operations. Image Source: GeromanAT on X Russian military channels claimed on Saturday that its troops had reached central Kupyansk, a city in Kharkiv Oblast less than 100 kilometres from the regional capital. Russian units reportedly advanced from the south, opening direct routes toward Volchansk and Chuhuiv.  Ukrainian authorities, however, categorically denied the reports. President Zelensky confirmed that combat was underway inside the city and described the operation as a controlled effort to eliminate Russian sabotage groups. “There are tough actions inside Kupyansk. Our forces are conducting a cleanup. We believe the Russians will be destroyed there,” Zele...

NATO’s eastern flank is under acute military and diplomatic stress following a high-risk violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets and an overnight missile and drone blitz on Ukraine that brought the war to the doorstep of allied territory. Estonia has officially invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty, a rarely used mechanism that compels formal consultation among member states, after three Russian MiG-31 aircraft entered its airspace without clearance.  Estonia has officially invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty. The jets flew over the Gulf of Finland with transponders turned off and no filed flight plans--an act Estonia’s foreign ministry called “brazen” and “unprecedented.” The incursion lasted 12 minutes. NATO responded with force posture adjustments, scrambling Italian F-35s stationed in Estonia alongside Swedish and Finnish aircraft operating under the alliance’s Eastern Sentry mission.  Moscow has denied any violation, insisting its aircraft remained in int...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Donetsk over the past 24 hours coincided with one of Ukraine’s most aggressive counteroffensives in months--focused on Pokrovsk and Dobropillia. From the frontline, the Ukrainian president claimed that over 2,500 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the operation began, with more than 1,300 reported killed in the Pokrovsk area alone.  He also said nearly 100 Russian soldiers had been captured, and that Ukrainian forces had reclaimed 160 square kilometres and seven settlements, with another 170 square kilometres “cleared” of Russian forces. Russia’s version of the battle tells a different story. According to its defence ministry, Ukrainian forces suffered 1,395 casualties in the past 24 hours across multiple fronts, including Donetsk and Luhansk.  The Battlegroup Center reportedly inflicted the largest losses--over 435 Ukrainian troops. The figures were published via the state outlet TASS and, like Kyiv’s numbers, remain unverified by...

Poland has signaled its intent to become a formal part of NATO's nuclear sharing program and has not ruled out hosting French nuclear weapons on its territory. The statement by Polish President Karol Nawrocki comes amid rising security tensions with Russia and Belarus and represents Warsaw’s most explicit positioning to date in favor of a European nuclear deterrent on its soil. Image From Exercise Iron Defenders 25. NATO In an interview with France’s LCI television aired September 16, Nawrocki stated, “Poland should be part of the nuclear sharing program. It should have its own nuclear capacities—energy, civil, and military.”  When asked directly if French nuclear weapons might one day be stationed in Poland, he said, “It may be too early to talk about it. But if you ask me whether Poland should be part of the nuclear sharing program, I would say ‘yes, of course.’” ‼️🇵🇱🤝🇺🇲🇨🇦🇪🇺 NATO troops have been granted permission to be stationed on Polish territory - Karol Nawrocki sig...

NATO has scrambled its first fighter jet under Operation Eastern Sentry , the alliance’s new air defense mission designed to deter and intercept Russian drones probing European skies. Meanwhile a French Rafale, backed by a Polish helicopter, had already taken off from Polish soil in response to a potential threat--an alert that ended quickly but carried historic weight.  Representational Image: IR It was the first operational action since the mission was announced just a day earlier, and showed the urgency that followed Moscow’s deliberate drone incursion into Polish territory on September 10. 🚨🇵🇱 Once the offensive begins, Poland will march all the way to Moscow. pic.twitter.com/DFgYkz1UNO — Terror Alarm (@Terror_Alarm) September 15, 2025 “Allies responded fast, correctly, and in a calibrated manner to the potential threat,” said U.S. Air Force General Alexus G. Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe. “Eastern Sentry has already demonstrated its utility.” F...

NATO has scrambled fighters over Poland and pledged tighter defenses on its eastern flank after Moscow sent 19 drones into allied airspace last week--the most serious breach since the Ukraine war began.  Typhoons will join allies and fly air defence missions over Poland. Via: UK Ministry of Defence Britain has also confirmed that RAF Typhoons will join Danish F-16s, French Rafales, and German Eurofighters under Operation Eastern Sentry, flying joint air defense missions out of Lincolnshire.  “Putin tested NATO, NATO responded with unity,” said UK Defence Secretary John Healey, calling Russia’s actions “reckless, dangerous, and unprecedented.” Poland knows Russia can’t be trusted, so when Russia does “exercises,” Poland warms up like it’s game day. pic.twitter.com/BhqyYIK7fA — Victoria (@victoriaslog) September 10, 2025 Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned the violation marked “the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two.”  In a separate incide...

NATO’s Grand Eagle 2025 exercise in Lithuania began this week as Russia staged its own West-2025 maneuvers just across the border in Belarus, mobilizing 40,000 troops to simulate a Baltic invasion.  Via: NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) The simultaneous drills underscore the region’s volatility, with the Suwałki Gap--the narrow strip linking Poland and Lithuania--again looming as Europe’s most fragile chokepoint. The war itself shows no signs of political resolution. Moscow’s envoy Rodion Miroshnik told TASS that Ukraine is “not ready” for negotiations in any format, dismissing Kyiv’s leaders as unwilling to pursue a settlement and calling President Volodymyr Zelensky “illegitimate” since mid-2024.  He argued that Russia will not accept “fake agreements” that could later be disavowed, insisting only a “legitimate representative” of Ukraine could sign binding terms. The statements confirm that the diplomatic track remains blocked, even as the battlefield tempo ...