Rethinking America’s Ukraine Policy
Kicking the can down the road has characterized America’s Ukraine policy for the last two decades. The can is about to stop at the doorstep of incoming President Donald Trump. The assumptions that have guided US policy, crafted under far different geopolitical and geoeconomic circumstances, are simply no longer valid. The new Trump national security […]
The Wars in Gaza and Ukraine Are the Same War
The deep partisan divisions in the United States affect many public issues, including the ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East. The Israeli war of self-defense in Gaza commands strong support among Republicans but elicits less enthusiasm among Democrats. By contrast, Democrats generally endorse Ukraine’s war of self-defense against Russia, following the lead of […]
Strategic Implications of Ukraine’s Kursk Incursion
Beijing has argued for a truce and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv since the Russian invasion began two and a half years ago. Ukraine’s occupation of parts of Russia’s Kursk region could lend new urgency to the Chinese position. If the Ukrainian offensive is not quickly and completely repulsed by Moscow, the Ukrainian bargaining positions […]
Global Dimensions of the Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War is a grand battle about both the future of Europe and the principle of inviolability of borders. In addition, the war’s course and outcome can accelerate, contain or reverse broader political, social and ideological trends across the globe. Stabilizing the International Order A Ukrainian victory would lead to a stabilization of the […]
Russia’s Targeting of Civilians in Ukraine: A Ukrainian Response
On July 8, Russia launched a barrage of missiles that hit the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, killing at least 38 persons. One missile demolished the ward which cared for child patients on dialysis. The explosion was so powerful that the top floor of the building collapsed; the shockwave and secondary shrapnel destroyed two other […]
A New Era of Long Wars
The conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine signal a shift in the nature of warfare. The advent of long wars will affect both military strategy and broader national decision-making. Long wars require not just military readiness but also economic planning, especially civilian and military long-term logistical planning. For Israel, this is a particularly challenging development, as […]
Eastern European Views of the Upcoming US Presidential Elections
Despite Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Eastern Europeans feel secure today. They have confidence in NATO as an organization led by the United States and thus appreciated in Moscow as strong. At the same time, some politicians and diplomats in Eastern Europe wonder what might happen to their countries if Donald Trump wins the presidential elections […]
A Truce to End the War in Ukraine
Public support in the West for the war in Ukraine rests upon three frequently repeated assumptions: Russia’s invasion was unexpected and unprovoked.Ukraine is a unified and democratic nation.Ukraine can win the war and regain its lost territory. None of these is true. The United States strongly opposed the Soviet Union placing missiles in Cuba. Washington […]
Protest, Colonization, and the Ukrainian Nation
Many observers of the pro-Gaza/Hamas demonstrations at college campuses throughout the U.S. have been taken aback by the rhetoric and behavior of the protestors and their advocates. Masked faces and widespread refusals to self-identify display the protestors’ reluctance to face real consequences for their actions. What is most troubling, however, is the contention that Israeli […]
The Collective West Needs to Stand up for Ukraine
I am a child of the Cold War. Growing up in Sweden, I was acutely aware of the occupation and suffering of the Baltic peoples. I visited Estonia and Latvia for the first time in 1974. In Riga I met a young Latvian who told me instantly: “We live in an occupied country.” My dream […]
After Two Years of the Russo-Ukraine War: The Role of Private Corporations
One lesson of the Russo-Ukraine War is the growing role played by private corporations, both through participation in or circumvention of economic sanctions and business decision-making that directly affects the course of the fighting.
After Two Years of War:
The West’s Strategic Choice in Ukraine
The West’s Strategic Choice in Ukraine
With support from Europe, the United States, and others, Ukraine has held off – and in part, beaten back – Russia’s campaign of conquest and subjugation. But Ukraine has not won, Putin seems determined to fight on, and the West seems beset by doubts as to whether continuing to back Ukraine is practical or worth […]
The Ukraine War After Two Years: Initial Military Lessons
As the war approaches the end of its second year, unless some dramatic development occurs to shift current trends – for instance, a collapse of NATO support for Ukraine or the death of Putin – it seems that the war is a long way from being decided or brought to an end. Initial lessons on […]
Looking Beyond the War: Planning for Ukraine’s Reconstruction
The outcome of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the provisions of a final settlement are as yet unknown. Ukraine may prevail in pushing Russia back to the 1991 borders, as President Zelenskyy intends. The conflict might result in a settlement with a divided Ukraine, both countries exhausted from the effort. It could grind on for years […]
What’s Next for Russia?
The war in Ukraine was supposed to be over in just a few days, according to US intelligence sources. One and a half years later, both sides are preparing to continue fighting in the months to come. The war is taking an incredible toll on Ukraine. Its men and women are fighting instead of working […]
Russia-Ukraine Information Warfare
On November 15, 2022, NATO and Russia had a tense moment that might have escalated into a military confrontation. A missile hit a Polish village near the Polish-Ukrainian border, killing two civilians. Associated Press cited unnamed Western officials that it was a Russian missile. It might have been the basis for Poland invoking Article 5, […]
American Military Guarantees Boost Ukraine’s and NATO’S Long-Term Prospects
Introduction In a hard-hitting essay published here in the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, A Year of War, the Washington Institute’s Anna Borshchevskaya paints a sobering picture of what Ukrainians, and all in NATO, face. She argues that Russians view the war as an existential struggle for their future. Washington and the rest of NATO are now rightly ensuring that at a minimum […]
A Year of War
A year after invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin defines the war as an existential battle for Russia’s survival. In a classic case of the aggressor blaming the victim, Putin says the West invaded Russia using Ukraine. “It’s they [the West] who have started the war. And we are using force to end it,” he said on […]
How Russia Used Gas Exports to Try to Overthrow a Government
To avoid receiving an energy bill she couldn’t afford, Zinaida Negruti, like countless others in Moldova, began spending more time in the dark as fall transitioned into winter. “Most of the time I don’t turn on the lights because I am worried it will be too expensive,” she says. “I try to use as little […]
Lessons of the Russo–Ukraine War
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has been underway for almost nine years and is closing on one year in its current, full-scale form. What we can learn from the war’s origins and initial stages may assist us in finding the right policies to help end it on the best possible terms for Ukraine and […]
Ukraine: The Supreme Foreign Policy Issue of the Biden Administration
Putin’s threats intensify the dilemma that has haunted the Biden administration and has influenced the degree of its support for Ukraine, almost from the outset of the war.
How to Fix Ukraine’s Economy
The Ukrainian economy is in dire straits after Russia’s attack on the country on February 24, with current forecasts of a 35% drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022. The primary challenge is to stop Russia’s aggression, which is costly, but the next issue is to rebuild Ukraine and complete its post-communist reforms, which […]
At the Front in Ukraine
Report from a Former US Congressman and Army Artilleryman
What Makes the Russia–Ukraine War Significant?
The Russian invasion of its neighbor has a very strange feel to it. It is not just on the wrong side of history; rather, it is a bad reenactment of the worst parts of it.
The Seismic Effects of the War in Ukraine
A dangerous, uncertain transition to a different global system may lie ahead, due to structural and economic reasons, which bring the impact of the war to practically every doorstep worldwide.
Walking a Very Fine Line: The Caspian Countries and Ukraine
Russia’s war against Ukraine has put the Caspian countries in a quandary, as they are seeking to maintain their fragile independence.
New World Disorder
A Letter From the Publisher
The Russian—Ukrainian War 2022
Initial Observations and Lessons
Putin’s Risky Gamble in Ukraine
The decision-making process and situation assessments by the Putin regime made the risky decision to invade Ukraine possible. But what exactly does Putin intend to achieve?
The First TikTok War
The 2022 Russian–Ukraine war presents a dramatic landscape of information warfare.
