In January 2025, after 15 months of grueling total war, Israel and Hamas finally agreed on a long-lasting Gaza ceasefire deal. In Ukraine, Russian forces made major territorial gains in the Donbas, capturing the towns of Toretsk, Velyka Novosilka, and most notably Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk province. In South Korea, the President who had declared martial law was arrested by authorities, after a six hour standoff at his residence. In Sudan, where the reignited civil war has been raging, the US concluded that the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, were guilty of genocide in Darfur, and that the Sudanese Armed Forces, or the SAF were guilty of using chemical weapons, and sanctioned them both. And finally, in the United States, the newly elected President Donald immediately caused major shake-ups in international relations, as he threatened to take both Greenland and the Panama Canal, including by force, to the resistance of the leaders of Denmark and Panama.

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In February of 2025, US President Donald Trump ushered in major changes in US foreign policy. In the wake of the war in Gaza slowly coming to an end, he called for the US to take over Gaza, and relocate Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt. The US also voted against a UN resolution condemning Russia for the invasion, while Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly reprimanded Zelenskyy, leading to a potential fallout in relations between the US and Ukraine. Israel began withdrawing from Gaza, while remaining in five positions in Southern Lebanon, despite the previous agreement to withdraw. And in the DRC, the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels marched into the city center of Bukavu, the provincial capital of the South Kivu province.

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In March 2025, with US military aid and intelligence frozen on orders by President Trump, Ukraine continued to lose territory in Kursk. In Turkiye, the PKK, a Kurdish militant organization, called a ceasefire with the Turkish government after decades of conflict. In Syria, in the wake of the toppled Assad government, new clashes erupted between new government forces and the Assad-loyalist Alawite community, killing over 1,300 over 3 days. Gaza’s future continued to hang in the balance as the Arab League proposed a postwar plan for the territory, including the removal of Hamas, and an ultimate state merged with the West Bank — which neither Israel nor Hamas publicly accepted.

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In April of 2025, Russia launched a massive renewed spring offensive. Multiple major Russian missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians behind the frontlines in Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, and Kyiv, killed dozens of people and injured scores more. The IDF was rocked by a scandal in which a video revealedIsraeli troops ambushing and massacring 15 Palestinian aid workers and paramedics in Gaza. Throughout the month, the IDF encircled over half of Gaza’s territory. The disputed Kashmir territory between Pakistan and India became the site of severely ignited tensions after gunmen massacred 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. And in Rwanda, with 7,000 people killed since January, the DRC and M23 agreed to an immediate ceasefire, with M23 still remaining in control of the eastern cities of Bukavu and Goma.

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Ukraine & Russia host their first direct negotiations in more than 3 years. Israel announces its plan to seize control over the entire Gaza Strip and to hold it indefinitely. The conflict in Kashmir explodes into a brief 4-day war between India and Pakistan. The PKK agrees to disband, North Korea loses a brand new missile cruiser, and the US agrees to a ceasefire with the Houthis.

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