World

Global military spending soared to an unprecedented $2.71 trillion in 2024, according to SIPRI — a surge fueled by years of underfunding in national defense, a rising urgency to defend national borders, and escalating wars driven by a new “Axis of Evil”: Russia, Iran, and North Korea. In a dramatic turn, North Korean troops have been fighting on European soil since fall 2024.

Europe has nuclear weapons—and not just American ones. As France and the UK maintain their independent arsenals, the question now is whether these silent forces can evolve into a collective European deterrent.

In Russia, religious groups that do not belong to the Orthodox Church are often framed as foreign influences and regarded less as spiritual communities and more as threats to national security.

In February 2022, Russian troops stormed Chornobyl and held its workers hostage. In February 2025, they rammed a drone into Chornobyl’s steel sarcophagus. Today, the Russians still occupy Zaporizhzhia NPP, Europe’s largest nuclear plant. One by one, Russia is turning nuclear sites into weapons.

As Western powers struggle to rein in a defiant Iran, one option remains largely unexplored: targeting its powerful backers—like Russia.

Russia calls its Pacific Fleet the crown jewel of its navy—stronger than the Baltic, Northern, or Black Sea fleets—and continues to expand it.