A game of chess is an apt visual metaphor for Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s clash with the West over Ukraine. Seattle Times editorial cartoonist David Horsey draws it that way in the main image of this week’s cartoon gallery.
US officials said Putin had amassed up to 190,000 troops in and around Ukraine. The United States, Europe and NATO continued their diplomatic efforts to avoid a war. President Joe Biden has said he believes an invasion is imminent.
The cartoonists also commented on the doping scandal which has cast a shadow over women’s figure skating competition. Fifteen-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete despite testing positive for a banned substance. This created an uproar given Russia’s history of state-sponsored doping. The pressure got to Valieva, who stumbled in the free skate and did not win a medal.
The Canadian government has decided to end the three-week protest in Ottawa against the Covid-19 mandates. They arrested protesters and began clearing snow and towing the large rigs that had paralyzed the capital’s downtown area.
Other hot events in the gallery include the policy to drop mask mandates; a $73 million settlement in the Sandy Hook school shooting between families of some victims and gun maker Remington for marketing assault-style weapons; the legal issues plaguing former President Donald Trump over his finances and the mishandling of government records sought by the National Archives; and the popularity of cryptocurrency.
The cartoons were drawn by Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Joel Pett, and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and AF Branco, Mike Luckovich and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate.