Category: Russia

Putin’s pro-war majority: Most Russians still support Ukraine invasion

Despite some indications of war weariness, most Russians continue to support their country’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a comprehensive new report published this week. Based on polling and focus groups conducted by Russia’s only internationally recognized pollster, the Levada Center, and the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, the report found that the majority of Russians

Western leaders must choose: Arm Ukraine or enable Putin’s genocide

As the year draws to a close, there is a growing sense of Ukraine fatigue in Western capitals amid pessimistic forecasts, talk of a battlefield stalemate, and recriminations over the perceived failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. This grim mood is raising serious questions about the future of military aid to Ukraine and the prospects for continued

Russian War Report: Pro-Kremlin surrogates accuse the US of using ‘climate weapons’ in Crimea

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,

Putin has been accused of starving civilians as a warfare tactic. Will the ICC agree?

On November 16, international human rights law firm Global Rights Compliance (GRC) released a report alleging that, months prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces engaged in a “highly coordinated level of pre-planning” to weaponize Ukrainian grain. The new evidence suggests that these preparations—including the procurement of trucks and cargo ships to carry

What’s Charlie Sheen got to do with it?

In Season 1, Episode 9 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by the Russia analyst Sergey Sukhankin. They discuss the arrest in Libya of the Wagner Group operative Maksim Shugaley and the propaganda campaign to free him, broader information and media operations in Africa, and the re-emergence of Wagner Group

Putin debunks his own propaganda by disarming Russia’s NATO borders

For the past twenty-one months, Vladimir Putin has consistently blamed NATO for provoking the invasion of Ukraine. According to the Kremlin dictator, years of NATO expansion posed an escalating security threat to Russia that eventually left the country with no choice but to defend itself. This NATO narrative has proven far more persuasive among international

Many Ukrainians see Putin’s invasion as a continuation of Stalin’s genocide

As Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches the two-year mark with no end in sight, Ukrainian resolve remains unshakable. One entirely typical recent poll found that 84 percent of Ukrainians reject the idea of ceding any territory to Russia in exchange for peace. What is driving this remarkable resistance? Ukrainian national pride is understandably booming thanks to

Expert panel: How will Russia’s invasion of Ukraine develop in 2024?

As winter arrives, Ukrainian officials are reflecting on the 2023 counteroffensive and attempting to anticipate the next stage of the war with Russia. In Washington, despite a strong bipartisan consensus in favor of continued military support for Ukraine, the House of Representatives has yet to vote on a new aid package following a series of

The role of nuclear weapons in a Taiwan crisis

download pdf Executive summary The potential for a conflict over Taiwan is increasing due to China’s nuclear and conventional military buildup and the threat of two simultaneous conflicts with China and Russia, which would severely stress the ability of US and allied conventional forces to win in both theaters. Nuclear weapons will cast a long

Arming Ukraine is the cheapest way to stop Putin’s resurgent Russia

As members of the US Congress continue to debate the future of their country’s support for Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has reminded everyone of the pragmatic argument for continued military aid. “If we walk away from the challenges of today, the risk of conflict could spread, and the costs to address them will only