Canadian artist Ivanka Siolkowsky paints flowers and butterflies around the many bullet and shrapnel holes in the war-torn suburb of Bucha on May 23, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. Silolkowsky is of Ukrainian descent and initially left Toronto at the beginning of the Russian invasion to help with refugees at the Polish border, eventually volunteering to help in Bucha. She painted her first flower around a bullet hole after speaking to a resident who said, “The bullet holes in my fence remind me of all that I’ve lost," which gave her the idea. (Chris Furlong, Getty Images)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is aiming to lead the international bloc opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into a broader coalition to counter what it sees as a more serious, long-term threat to global order from China.
In a Washington speech outlining the administration’s China policy, Blinken will lay out a three-pillar approach to competing with Beijing in a race to define the 21st century’s economic and military balance.
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While the U.S. sees Russia as the most acute and immediate threat to international stability, Blinken says in excerpts of the address released by the State Department the administration believes China poses a greater danger.
Here’s what things look like overseas this week:
A children's cuddly toy sits on top of a destroyed Russian main battle tank, next to war-damaged homes, on May 24, 2022 in Hostomel, Ukraine. As Russia concentrates its attack on the east and south of the country, residents of the Kyiv region are returning to assess the war's toll on their communities. The towns around the capital were heavily damaged following weeks of brutal war as Russia made its failed bid to take Kyiv. (Getty Images)Heavily damaged Hotel Ukraine is shown on May 25, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, was an early target of Russia's offensive after its Feb. 24 invasion. While they failed to capture the city, Russian forces battered large parts of Chernihiv and the surrounding region in their attempted advance toward the capital. (Getty Images)Someone named Vitalii, 49, inspects shoes that people left on the burnt car for others to take, on May 25, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)Vitalii, 49, inspects shoes that people left on the burnt car for others to take, on May 25, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)Clothes are seen on the balcony of the heavily damaged apartment block on May 25, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)People walk pass by the heavily damaged apartment block on May 25, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. (Getty Images)Soldiers from the Royal Welsh Battlegroup take part in maneuvers during NATO exercise "Hedgehog" on the Estonian Latvian border on May 26, 2022 in Voru, Estonia. Military personnel from 14 countries have 15,000 troops taking part in one of the largest exercises to happen in the Baltics. Among them are British units from the Royal Tank regiment and Royal Welsh Battlegroup, UK military presence has doubled in Estonia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Getty Images)Reservists from the 2nd Estonian Infantry Brigade take part in maneuvers during NATO exercise "Hedgehog" on the Estonian-Latvian border on May 25, 2022 in Voru, Estonia. (Getty Images)Relatives attend the funeral of Ukranian soldiers Olefir Igor and Grygorash Mykhailo in their home village on May 24, 2022 in Synyak, north of Kyiv. The soldiers were killed in a Russian missile strike on their military base in Desna in the Cherniv region on May 17, 2022. (Getty Images)Soldiers from the Royal Welsh Battlegroup take part in maneuvers during NATO exercise operation Hedgehog on the Estonian Latvian border on May 24, 2022 in Voru, Estonia. Military personnel from 14 countries see 15,000 troops take part in one of the largest exercises to take part in the Baltics. Among them are British units from the Royal Tank regiment and Royal Welsh Battlegroup. UK military presence has doubled in the Estonia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Getty Images)Residents of Kyiv make their way to work and go about their daily business on the Kyiv Metro as Ukraine marks three months since the Russian invasion on May 24, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Following Russia's retreat from areas around the Ukrainian capital, signs of normal life have returned to Kyiv, with residents taking advantage of shortened curfew hours, businesses reopening, and foreign countries promising to return their diplomats. (Getty Images)Food and other items are distributed to people, many of whom are recent refugees from Ukraine, at a distribution center in the Coney Island neighborhood on May 23, 2022 in New York City. The event was organized by ICNA Relief USA and included food, clothing, bedding, baby supplies, home goods and medical services. (Getty Images)A memorial to fallen soldiers stands at a Finnish war cemetery on May 23, 2022 in Rovaniemi, Finland. At the cemetery lie the graves of more than 600 Finnish soldiers killed in the three wars Finland fought during World War II. The first, the Winter War, echoes similarities to Russia's current war in Ukraine: in 1939, the Soviet Union, with an overwhelming advantage in tanks and aircraft, invaded non-threatening Finland, ostensibly on security grounds. The campaign initially faltered, leading to massive Soviet casualties in men and equipment. The Winter War ended in 1940, with both sides signing the Moscow Peace Treaty that ceded approximately 9% of Finnish territory to the Soviet Union. Today, Finland, after decades of neutrality and alarmed by Russia's war in Ukraine, is seeking to join the NATO military alliance. (Getty Images)
