Month: May 2023

Russian War Report: Belgorod incursion brings deluge of online mockery of Russia’s defenses

As Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) is keeping a close eye on Russia’s movements across the military, cyber, and information domains. With more than seven years of experience monitoring the situation in Ukraine—as well as Russia’s use of propaganda and disinformation to undermine the United States, NATO,

Belgorod raid sparks border alarm for Russia ahead of Ukrainian offensive

Ukrainians woke up on Monday morning to the unexpected news of an unfolding military operation across the border in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. The incursion was reportedly the work of two Ukraine-based Russian opposition militias, the Free Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps, who claimed the attack marked the start of a campaign to “liberate

Ukraine’s coming counteroffensive has a good chance of succeeding

As the Ukrainian General Staff prepares for its much-heralded counteroffensive, retaking Crimea is at the top of the operational wish list. Some experts, including senior US officials, consider this an unrealistic aim. To be sure, there are many challenges. Attacking Crimea from the Kherson region would likely involve an opposed crossing of the Dnipro river,

China, Iran, Belarus, and Armenia all fear a Russian defeat in Ukraine

There is no question that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has dramatically undermined Russia’s global standing, but it is also true that international responses to the war have been far from uniform. The democratic world has almost universally condemned Russia’s invasion and has united in support of Ukraine, while many in the Global South have

A conversation with Hassan Abbas on his new book “The Return of the Taliban”

After the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the Taliban quickly seized control of Afghanistan. Since then, the group has slowly engaged with the international community in search of support while steadily eroding human rights and political freedoms at home. How will the Taliban navigate their return to power, especially following their proclaimed appointment of

Putin rejoicing his ‘pyrrhic’ victory in Bakhmut

Setting off the past week of tumultuous political developments supporting Ukraine in Putin’s war with Ukraine; the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, personally arrived in Japan to attend the current G7 Summit meeting. As reported by  Dasha Livitovna (right), “While the world awaits Ukraine’s spring battlefield offensive, its leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, has launched a diplomatic

Can Arab League states ‘get something’ for readmitting Assad?

As the Arab League began its thirty-second meeting on Friday in Jeddah, the summit’s agenda was as busy as ever. Center to the scene, however, was Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s return to Syria’s seat at the Arab League after being shunned for twelve years for turning his country’s 2011 revolution into the region’s most brutal