A honour guard soldier gives a flower to a girl on International Women's Day in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, March 8, 2024. International Women's Day on March 8 is an official holiday in Russia. Per tradition, men give flowers and gifts to female relatives, friends and colleagues, even though in the past two years flowers have gotten more expensive. Marches, demonstrations and conferences are being held the world over, from Asia to Latin America and elsewhere. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Women stand at a bus stop next to an advertisement for military conscription showing a Russian soldier, in Moscow, Russia, 08 April 2024. According to Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, almost 540 thousand people entered military service under contract in the Russian Armed Forces in 2023, and about 50 thousand since the beginning of 2024. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

Sniper of the 1st brigade of National Guard "Bureviy' takes part in a military training in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on July 9, 2024. Ukrainian snipers are highly trained and capable of causing damage, and are therefore a priority target for Russian troops. Their frontline tasks include shooting down soldiers at Russian observation posts, providing observation to assist artillery fire, and stopping Russian waves when they attack. (Photo by Pablo Miranzo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Michael Mathias Prechtl (April 26, 1926, Amberg – March 19, 2003, Nuremberg) was a German artist, illustrator and cartoonist. He served as a soldier on the Eastern Front during World War II and spent 1945-49 as a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union”. – Wikipedia

Photo: “Der Gestiefelte Kater (Puss in Boots)”, 1997. Artwork by Michael Mathias Prechtl

Nestled among the cocoa plantations of western Ivory Coast is a gold mine that does not feature on any official maps. It is not run by an industrial mining company, nor does it pay taxes to the central government. The unlicensed mine is a key part of a lucrative business empire headed by the deputy commander of the West African nation's elite Republican Guard, United Nations investigators allege. Here: A gold prospector sits and eats close to a soldier at a gold mine near the village of Gamina, in western Ivory Coast, March 18, 2015. (Photo by Luc Gnago/Reuters)

Chinese soldiers leave after Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected troops of People's Liberation Army (PLA) Hong Kong Garrison at the Shek Kong Barracks in Hong Kong, Friday, June 30, 2017. Xi landed in Hong Kong Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of Beijing taking control of the former British colony, accompanied by a formidable layer of security as authorities showed little patience for pro-democracy protests. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

“G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The term G.I. stands, in popular usage, for Government Issued and after the First World War became a generic term for U.S. soldiers. The origin of the term dates to World War I, when much of the equipment issued to U.S. soldiers was stamped “G.I.”, meaning that it was made from galvanized iron. The development of G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term “action figure”. G.I. Joe's appeal to children has made it an American icon among toys”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Vintage G.I. Joe figurers are on display at the 2003 Hasbro International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention June 27, 2003 in Burlingame, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

General view of the monument to memory of soldiers who liberated the city of Knin – in Knin, Croatia on November 10, 2014. Across the former Yugoslavia stand giant monuments to a state that no longer exists, once visited and celebrated during public holidays such as Republic Day on November 29, marking the creation of socialist Yugoslavia. Many are now neglected or ignored, aging symbols of a joint state forged during World War Two but torn apart by nationalism half a century later. Republic Day is no longer marked in any of the seven independent states that emerged from its ashes. (Photo by Antonio Bronic/Reuters)