More than three months since the start of Ukraine’s much hyped counteroffensive, the slow progress of the Ukrainian military is fueling a new round of calls for a return to the negotiating table. But while many in the West are now arguing that some kind of compromise agreement with the Kremlin is inevitable, it would
Vladimir Putin’s September 13 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was accompanied by plenty of pomp and platitudes, but even the Kremlin’s top spin doctors could not disguise the sense of quiet desperation that hung over the event. Indeed, while the summit itself concluded without any formal announcements, the mere fact that the
On the night of August 29, Ukrainian kamikaze drones penetrated more than 370 kilometers into Russia in a bold attack on Russian airfields. The attack destroyed two of Russia’s roughly one hundred IL-76 heavy transport aircraft and damaged two other planes. Up to twenty drones may have been involved, reportedly launched from within Russia with
War can bring out the best in people, but it also sadly takes away many of the best among us. Around one-third of the more than six hundred member companies at the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (AmCham Ukraine) have seen employees killed during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Almost half of all
The venue is known for lofty ambitions that result in destructive failures. At the Vostochny Cosmodrome just last month, Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft took off, set out for the moon, and ended as a spray of debris across the lunar surface. At the same cosmodrome on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted North Korean leader Kim
In early September, Russia staged sham parliamentary elections in occupied regions of southern and eastern Ukraine as Moscow attempted to legitimize its earlier illegal annexation of five Ukrainian provinces. While the international community strongly condemned the ballots, Russian officials are expected to use the rigged elections for propaganda purposes as the Kremlin seeks to disguise
For months, Ukraine has been asking the United States to supply long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). In early September, a flurry of media reports emerged suggesting that the Biden Administration may now be about to give the green light for the long-range missiles. If confirmed, this would be the latest in a series of
On Wednesday, Russia’s central bank announced new measures to speed up its sale of foreign currency ten-fold to prop up the wobbly ruble. Although the drop in the ruble’s exchange rate since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is an imperfect indicator of true financial health, there is no denying that the West’s financial sanctions, export
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,
In the weeks following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, many Western leaders indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had passed the point of no return. Most notably, US President Joe Biden declared that Putin “cannot remain in power.” Those sentiments, however, have since been significantly diluted, with Washington, London, Berlin,