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David R. Sands

David R. Sands

David R. Sands covered numerous beats, including international trade, banking, politics and Capitol Hill, and spent eight years on the foreign desk as senior diplomatic correspondent. He has authored The Times' weekly chess column since 1993.

Articles by David R. Sands

A refugee holding a small dog gives a sip of tea to a toddler after fleeing the conflict from neighboring Ukraine, as they sit in a bus at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, in Siret, Romania, Friday, March 4, 2022. The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine has now reached 1.2 million, the International Organization for Migration said Friday. This could become the "biggest refugee crisis this century," the U.N. has said, predicting that as many as 4 million people could leave. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

U.N.: Ukraine refugee flow may top 4 million

The number of Ukrainian citizens fleeing the fighting in their country may eventually top 4 million people, or nearly a 10th of the population, according to new estimates this week from the United Nations' top refugee agency. Published March 4, 2022

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks with European Council President Charles Michel as he arrives for an extraordinary EU foreign ministers meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, Friday, March 4, 2022. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Friday with his counterparts from NATO and the European Union, as Russia's war on Ukraine entered its ninth day marked by the seizure of the strategic port city of Kherson and the shelling of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

Stoltenberg nixes NATO ‘no-fly zone’ for Ukraine

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday firmly ruled out plans for the Western military alliance to enforce a "no-fly zone" over Ukraine, despite the pleas of the Kyiv government as it tries to hold back a massive invasion from neighboring Russia. Published March 4, 2022

In this file photo, Sergey Karjakin, of Russia, reaches in to take a white piece from his opponent, Magnus Carlsen, of Norway, in Game 12 of the World Chess Championship, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in New York. U.S. chess grandmaster Hans Moke Niemann, the target of cheating allegations at the highest level of the game, has made a counter-move against his accusers, filing a $100 million-plus lawsuit accusing world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, top U.S. grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura and one of the biggest online chess-playing services of "colluding to blacklist" him from competing. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) ** FILE **

Russian chess grandmasters slam invasion of Ukraine in joint appeal to Putin

Nearly three dozen top Russian chess players, including a recent challenger for the world crown, a former women's world champion and a grandmaster who has won the Russian national title eight times, have issued an "official appeal" to President Vladimir Putin condemning the invasion of Ukraine and calling for the fighting to cease. Published March 3, 2022

A boy holds Russian and Chinese flags before a welcoming ceremony for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 25, 2016. Three weeks ago, on the eve of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the leaders of China and Russia declared that the friendship between their countries "has no limits." But that was before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a gambit that will test just how far China is willing to go. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

China won’t join Western financial sanctions on Russia over Ukraine

China's communist government said Wednesday that it will not be joining a wide-ranging sanctions campaign by the U.S. and countries around the world against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, adding it opposes "unilateral" measures and doubts they would be effective. Published March 2, 2022

Swiss Federal President Ignazio Cassis speaks during a press conference in Bern, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. The Swiss president says Russias attack on Ukraine is unacceptable and Switzerland will adopt European Union sanctions, including asset freezes. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)

Famously neutral Swiss sign on to European sanctions against Russia

Switzerland, which has long jealously guarded its neutral status in the face of past world crises, said Monday it will join European Union sanctions against Russia and top officials including President Vladimir Putin in the wake of last week's invasion of Ukraine. Published February 28, 2022

A Russian armored personnel carrier burns amid damaged and abandoned light utility vehicles after fighting in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. The city authorities said that Ukrainian forces engaged in fighting with Russian troops that entered the country's second-largest city on Sunday. (AP Photo/Marienko Andrew)

Pressured Putin hints at nukes but agrees to talks with Ukraine

Facing a wall of global opposition and unexpectedly fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin played the nuclear card Sunday, ordering the country's vast nuclear arsenal be put on a "special combat readiness" status to persuade the U.S. and European nations not to come to Kyiv's aid. Published February 27, 2022

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks at the general assembly hall, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters. Russian President Vladimir Putin has received no support from members of the U.N. Security Council for his actions to bring separatists in eastern Ukraine under Moscow's control. At an emergency meeting Monday night, the U.S. called Putin's moves a pretext for a further invasion. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Ukraine sees win as Russia agrees on peace talks

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to emergency talks on ways to resolve their five-day war, with Kyiv officials saying the Kremlin's agreement to talk is already a sign things aren't going as planned for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Published February 27, 2022

Police detain a demonstrator during an action against Russia's attack on Ukraine in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. Protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine resumed on Sunday, with people taking to the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg and other Russian towns for the third straight day despite mass arrests. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

In Russia, protests of invasion persist despite Kremlin crackdown

Protesters again took to the streets of Moscow and other major cities to protest the war in Ukraine, defying a crackdown by the Kremlin in a rare outbreak of determined domestic pushback against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Published February 27, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 21, 2022. Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces put on high alert Sunday, Feb. 27, amid tensions with the West over his invasion of Ukraine. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Putin order puts Russian nuke deterrence force on high alert

President Vladimir Putin put Russia's massive nuclear arsenal on higher alert Sunday, citing what he said were military and economic moves by the U.S. and its allies in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Published February 27, 2022

Viktor Orban delivers his annual state of the nation speech in Varkert Bazaar conference hall of Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, Feb 12, 2022. He is preparing with his right-wing party FIDESZ for the upcoming elections on April 3. (AP Photo/Anna Szilagyi)

Putin’s friends in Europe turn on him after invasion

Some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's few sympathetic partners in Europe turned on him sharply Thursday in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, dimming further the Kremlin's hopes of creating new divides in the West as it responds to the crisis. Published February 24, 2022

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, center, participates in a media conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and European Council President Charles Michel at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb 24, 2022. NATO envoys met in emergency session Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a large-scale attack on Ukraine as the 30-nation military organization prepares to bolster its defenses in allies neighboring both countries. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

NATO plans Friday virtual summit to coordinate Russia response

The NATO military alliance will hold an emergency virtual summit Friday to coordinate its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while issuing new orders giving NATO commanders greater freedom to redeploy troops quickly to Eastern Europe. Published February 24, 2022