US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned on October 15 that the United States and its allies will “impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression” if the war in Ukraine does not end. Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Hegseth emphasized that Washington “stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can.”
His comments come as tensions between Moscow and Washington remain high, marking the latest turn in a relationship defined by shifting strategies and uneasy alliances; from cautious cooperation to open confrontation. Click through the following gallery to trace the complex and often volatile history between Russia and the United States, and the figures who have shaped it.