Category: Defense Policy

How Ukraine can pin down Russia in Crimea without a land campaign

Crimea is the location that most often captures international attention when it comes to Ukraine’s fight to regain all its lost territory. But it would be militarily foolish for Ukraine, as part of the counteroffensive that is now underway, to charge into the Russian-occupied peninsula. Instead, there are ways for the Ukrainians to render Crimea

Short-lived Wagner mutiny will undermine Russia’s Ukraine invasion

As suddenly as it had begun twenty-four hours earlier, Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s rebellion against Russia’s military leadership came to an abrupt end on Saturday evening. The details of the deal struck between Prigozhin and the Kremlin remain murky, but the Russian warlord appears to have emerged from the drama relatively unscathed, at least for

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is a marathon not a blitzkrieg

Less than two weeks since he first confirmed that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive was finally underway, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy already finds himself forced to hit back at criticism over the pace of military operations. “Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not,” he told the BBC on June 21.

Should NATO extend Stoltenberg’s term as leader?

As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meets with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday, there is a lot for them to discuss. Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive has just begun, and key decisions will face allies at the NATO Summit in Vilnius less than a month away. One of those decisions may be

Russia’s failing Ukraine invasion is exposing Putin’s many weaknesses

Vladimir Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine is exposing all of his personal weaknesses as a ruler. It is also casting an unforgiving light on the extensive damage he has done to Russia. In the early 1990s, I encountered Putin several times at international meetings in St. Petersburg, but I never really met him. I talked

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

How NATO can take a 360-degree approach to the Vilnius summit

This article is part of the Transatlantic Security Initiative’s Stronger with Allies series, which charts the course forward for the Alliance in conjunction with the 2023 NATO Summit. Last year, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched a brutal war in the heart of Europe. Russia’s unrelenting aggression has been repelled by brave Ukrainians—with assistance from