The war on Ukraine: From relationship to situationship

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

The war on Ukraine: From relationship to situationship

On the three-year anniversary of the war on Ukraine, there was an unprecedented split in the alliance between the US and its Western European allies. Here’s how it played out in the UN.

The General Assembly resolution: Member nations voted in favour of a strongly worded resolution drafted by European nations. It demands “an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and calls Moscow’s aggression a violation of the U.N. Charter.” The GA also approved three French amendments blaming the conflict on a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.” OTOH, the GA rejected a US draft that carefully omits any mention of Russia as the aggressor.

Vote that speaks volumes: The resolution was passed 93-18 with 65 abstentions. Here’s the breakup:

The final score: 93 countries, including major European countries like Germany, UK, France and the G7 (minus the US) voted in favour; 18, including Russia, US, Israel and Hungary voted against; and 65, including India, China and Brazil, abstained.

This is the first time that the US and its European allies have broken ranks over Ukraine.

Point to note: India has always abstained on Ukraine-related resolutions—to walk the tightrope between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden. It’s notable that the tectonic shift in Washington has not affected its vote.

The Security Council vote: When the action moved to the Council—where Russia and the US hold vetoes—the outcome was very different. The US resolution once again didn’t blame Moscow for the war—and merely called for “a swift end to the conflict.” The reason: “President Trump said he was in talks with Russia about an economic-development deal”—which pretty much says it all.

The European cop out: The same nations that so bravely pushed through the GA resolution somehow lost their nerve. Five European countries abstained, including the UK and France—which could have vetoed the resolution. One likely reason: GA resolutions are merely symbolic—while Security Council resolutions can lead to real action.

Save our relationship! In the midst of all this drama, French President Emannuel Macron was at the White House—desperately trying to put lipstick on this rather large pig. While Trump boasted about “making a decisive break” with Biden’s approach, Macron declared:

Europeans are ready to engage to provide for these security guarantees—and now there’s a clear American message that the U.S., as an ally, is ready to provide that solidarity for that approach. That’s a turning point, in my view, and that is one of the great areas of progress that we’ve made during this trip.

Umm, that’s not what the guy standing next to you said. UK PM Keir Starmer is expected to perform a similar tap dance when he shows up at the White House next.

Meanwhile, in Kyiv: Making the contrast even starker, 13 Western leaders assembled in the capital to show solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—and underline their defiance of the White House line:

On the invasion’s somber anniversary, European leaders and other Western allies descended on Kyiv to demonstrate their resolute support and pledge more money and military assistance to Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, said strengthening Ukraine’s defenses and energy infrastructure was critically important, and that it was also essential to not back down now. “The autocrats around the world are watching very carefully,” she said.

At a special meeting of foreign ministers of the EU, the bloc also announced a new batch of sanctions against Russia—a significant ‘eff you’ to Trump at a time he’s threatening to impose crippling tariffs on European goods.

But, but, but: Every declaration of independence has caveats in the small print. Example: France and the UK are developing a plan to deploy 30,000 European peacekeepers in Ukraine if a ceasefire deal is reached with Moscow. But only if the US guarantees their safety.

The main takeaway: Trump—always the one to say the quiet part aloud—recently tweeted: “[T]his war is more important to Europe than it is to us—we have a big beautiful Ocean as separation.” The Europeans now understand that they have to protect themselves—which will have repercussions far beyond this war. As the Danish foreign minister put it:

I feel a different sense of urgency, especially after what we all experienced in Munich a couple of weeks ago… This is not only about Ukraine. I mean, this is basically about the world order of today.

Reading list: The Hindu and Indian Express have all the action in the GA. Reuters has the story on the UN Security Council resolutions. BBC News has the Macron tap dance. New York Times is best on the EU’s dilemma.

Hackers steal $1.5 billion in “biggest digital heist ever”

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Hackers have stolen a staggering $1.4 billion in Ethereum coin—in a move that resembles an IRL bank heist:

Bybit said the hack occurred when the company was making a routine transfer of Ethereum from an offline “cold” wallet to a “warm” wallet, which covers its daily trading. An attacker exploited security controls and was able to transfer the assets.

Basically, the digital version of hijacking a money truck. All other wallets on the platform remained unaffected though. Data point to note: “In 2024 alone, the cryptocurrency sector witnessed $2.2 billion in stolen funds, a 21.1% increase from the previous year.” With hackers becoming more sophisticated over time, they seem to be winning the crypto arms race. Forbes has nerdy deets on the actual hack. (The Guardian)

SAG Awards 2025: A night of upsets

SAG offered a number of shockers this year—the biggest of which was Timothée Chalamet winning best actor for playing Bob Dylan in ‘A Complete Unknown’. He beat out Adrien Brody’s turn in ‘The Brutalist’. Chalamet also turned his acceptance speech into a grand declaration of… well, you should decide for yourself:

Not everyone was pleased—as Vogue notes. Jane Fonda’s speech on winning a lifetime award, OTOH, was a stirring defence of ‘woke’ politics. Full speech is here, or watch an excerpt here.

The not-Chalamet speech: was delivered by Kieran Culkin—who could have an excellent career in standup:

Other winners: included Demi Moore for best actress for ‘The Substance’ and Colin Farrell for best male actor in a limited series for ‘The Penguin’.

The big loser: Palme d’Or winner ‘Anora’—which was nominated in four categories—and lost out in all of them.

As for the fun stuff: Second-time host Kristen Bell offered this parody of her ‘Frozen’ song—titled ‘Do you wanna be an actor’:

Last but not least, this hilarious toast to every damn actor who has guest starred on a ‘Law & Order’ episode:

The red carpet looks: were kinda blah except for ‘The Piano Lesson’ actor Danielle Deadwyler who decided to go for the always popular bedside lamp look. FYI: It’s an LV gown inspired by Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi’s work:

If you need more: BBC News has the full winner’s list, while CNN has more red carpet looks. Time Magazine has the list of the most memorable moments from the night.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Hello, outsourcing! Just as Meta is laying off a chunk of its US employees, it is hiring engineers in Bangalore.
Are Birkenstocks a work of art? The German high court says no. The sandal company lost a copyright law case, in which it sought to curb online sales of copycat Birks.
Researchers found AI chatbots show signs of performance impairment, especially when it came to visuospatial/executive function tasks—raising fresh doubts about AI’s potential.
The Print has a fun review on how Sophia—the world’s first humanoid robot citizen—provided charm—with a dash of glitch—at an AI conclave in Delhi NCR this past weekend.

sports & entertainment

Thanks to a Rachin Ravindra century, New Zealand brushed aside Bangladesh by 5 wickets. As a result, the Kiwis qualified for the Champions Trophy semifinals alongside India—and knocked out host nation and title holders Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Over in the WPL, it’s a dead heat with four of the five teams tied on four points each—after the UP Warriorz stunned title holders RCB in a super over thriller.
Another day, another case of controversial comedy—Munawar Faruqui’s ‘Hafta Vasooli’ has landed in legal trouble over claims of religious insult and vulgarity.
RIP Roberta Flack—the iconic soul and RnB singer behind ‘Killing Me Softly’ has passed away at the age of 88.
The grandest-ever arena polo event kicked off in Hyderabad as the World Arena Polo Championship began, featuring a record eight foreign teams.
Billy McFarland, fresh out of prison, promised Fyre Fest 2.0 would actually have music this time—if he can book any. Tickets are already on sale, starting at $1,400 and soaring to a staggering $1.1 million.

health & environment

CBD COP16 is finally concluding in Rome and the picture appears bleak—over half the participating countries are ignoring their own pledges to protect 30% of land and sea for nature.
A baby elephant at Tamil Nadu’s Guruvayur temple went viral on social media for ‘dancing’ to devotional music. But, but, but: this is far from cute as the elephant was stressed. The Telegraph explains why.
The institution with the most retracted scientific articles in the world is…Jining First People’s Hospital in China. Coimbatore’s KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology is not far behind in fourth place. Nature has more data, with some cool charts.

as for the rest

With US tariff threats looming, India revived trade talks with the UK’s new Labour-led government and the EU—just days ahead of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit.
America’s economy is now riding on the spending habits of the rich, with the top 10% accounting for nearly half of all consumer spending, a record high. Note, this is what is happening in India too.
Over 150,000 Canadians signed a petition to revoke Elon Musk’s citizenship over his ties to Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to make Canada the 51st state.
Banned for being unsafe, expert rat miners—who pulled off last year’s Uttarkashi tunnel rescue—arrived in Telangana to help free workers trapped in the SLBC tunnel collapse, where 150 meters of mud and water block the way.
Archaeologists uncovered a new section of the Great Wall of China, proving it’s 300 years older than believed.
The Hindu has a good read on how a 1.4-metre Buddha head and centuries-old stupas unearthed in Odisha’s Ratnagiri have put the village on the map, revealing its past as a Tantric Buddhism hub.
Delhi’s new BJP government is set to review AAP’s legal battles with the Centre and L-G, signaling an end to the long-running feud between the union territory and central governments.
Thousands were left stranded on the Thai-Myanmar border after a crackdown freed foreigners trafficked into scam centers run by criminal gangs.
Global internet shutdowns hit a record 296 in 2024, with India topping government-imposed curbs. Manipur, obviously, led the way with the most number of curbs imposed in any state: 21 out of India’s 84.
India’s masala omelette cracked the world’s best egg dishes list, landing at #22 in TasteAtlas rankings alongside Japan’s Tamago Sando and France’s Quiche Lorraine.
A Kolkata exhibition has revived Bengal’s forgotten fabrics, tracing their global journey from Mughal gold to Mexican shawls and Portuguese colchas.

Three things to see

One: Pakistan’s newest $240 million airport in Gwadar is very shiny—and entirely funded by China. But here’s the weird thing: although the airport became operational last month, there is neither a passenger or plane in sight. Some experts claim China—which also developed and controls the Gwadar port—built the airport solely for its people. That’s kinda sad. Associated Press has more on the story.

Two: A record number of 6.5 lakh endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles were seen along Odisha’s Rushikulya beach—after a gap of two years. Finally, some good news! See the happy swarm below!! (The Hindu)

Three: The Hindi language version of critically acclaimed Malayalam film ‘Footage’ will get a nationwide release—backed by Anurag Kashyap. The thriller marked the directorial debut of veteran film editor Saiju Sreedharan—and stars Manju Warrier. The movie is told from the POV of a found-footage and follows “a YouTube couple as they uncover intriguing secrets in their apartment building during the Covid-19 pandemic.” The movie is set to release on March 7. Watch the trailer below. (Variety)