Category: Eurasia Center

Putin doesn’t have enough troops to defeat Ukraine and defend Russia

The Ukrainian invasion of Russia is now in its third month with little indication that it will end any time soon. Despite a series of Russian counterattacks since the invasion began on August 6, Ukraine continues to control an area of around one thousand square kilometers inside Russia’s Kursk Oblast. This unprecedented Ukrainian occupation of

The West must learn defense tech lessons on the Ukrainian battlefield

The Russia-Ukraine War has become the proving ground for some of the latest innovations in military technology. This is most immediately apparent in the rapid evolution of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. These range from reconnaissance and surveillance drones, which maintain an “eye in the sky” above the battle space, to combat UAVs that

Ending Russian impunity: Why Ukraine needs justice as well as security

With no end in sight to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some members of the international community are now advocating for a negotiated settlement that risks rewarding Moscow for its aggression. The idea of offering the Kremlin concessions is dangerously shortsighted and overlooks the central importance of justice in any future peace settlement. Failing to

Ukraine is slowly but steadily weakening Russia’s grip on Crimea

With international attention firmly fixed on the Russian army’s advances in eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian invasion of Russia’s Kursk region, it is easy to overlook important developments taking place further south in Crimea. During 2024, Ukraine has achieved a number of strategic successes in and around the Russian-occupied peninsula that are worthy of closer

Kyiv’s allies should boost Ukraine’s ability to strike deep inside Russia

As the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches its third winter, the biggest topic of debate is the reluctance among Kyiv’s key partners to sanction long-range attacks inside Russia using Western weapons. According to skeptics in Washington DC and elsewhere, deep strikes would pose an unacceptable risk and could spark a far wider war. In

Ukraine needs international investors to maintain defense tech momentum

A Ukrainian company that creates AI solutions for drones recently secured funding from a consortium of four foreign investors worth almost $3 million. This deal is one of the largest individual investments in the Ukrainian defense tech industry since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. It is part of a growing trend as investors increasingly

Russia’s political prisoners must not be forgotten

In August 2024, the largest prisoner exchange between Moscow and the West since the end of the Cold War took place, drawing much-needed attention to the issue of political prisoners in Putin’s Russia. While the release of high-profile opposition figures in August was certainly welcome, it is vital that the international community does not forget

The storm clouds may be parting after Zelenskyy’s tumultuous US visit

It has been quite a week for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He arrived in New York on Sunday to address the United Nations General Assembly and meet with world leaders. But his real agenda was to meet with US President Joe Biden and presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. From Biden, he wanted permission to

Putin will keep escalating his nuclear blackmail until it stops working

Vladimir Putin has this week proposed changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine that would significantly lower the threshold for the country’s use of nuclear weapons. Addressing a September 25 meeting of senior Kremlin officials, he presented a series of draft amendments aimed at expanding the scope for possible nuclear strikes. Putin emphasized that if these revisions

History is a key battleground in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

History is at the very heart of Russia’s war on Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently using historical narratives to justify the invasion. Western academia can help combat the Kremlin’s weaponization of the past by paying significantly more attention to the field of Ukrainian history. Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began ten