It is time for a serious conversation on how to hold Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka accountable for his participation in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Lukashenka has brutally terrorized his own people for decades, stealing elections, imprisoning tens of thousands, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee Belarus for their safety, and attempting to eradicate independent
While speaking at his security council on July 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “the western territories of Poland are a gift from Stalin to the Poles.” What he did not say is that the Soviet Union annexed Poland’s eastern territories as part of its partition of the country with Nazi Germany as agreed
DOWNLOAD The Rethinking Stability initiative was a partnership between Interpeace, the Atlantic Council, and the Bundesakademie für Sicherheitspolitik (BAKS). The initiative was made possible thanks to the generous contributions of the German Federal Foreign Office. In the last twenty years, stabilization has become perhaps the main approach through which international actors have engaged in conflict
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,
How is the business climate in Ukraine doing as Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches the eighteen-month mark? Available data indicates that the private sector is recovering and innovating, with a non-governmental consensus forecast of around 5% GDP growth this year (albeit from a much lower conflict-affected 2022 base). This is also the sentiment you feel whenever
Tensions have escalated in the region surrounding the Suwalki Gap, a strategically significant corridor linking Poland to Lithuania—and thus also to Latvia and Estonia. The narrow corridor is flanked by Russia’s heavily militarized Baltic enclave, Kaliningrad, and Belarus, whose leader, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, is a supplicating ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Were Putin to
On July 17, Russia withdrew from the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative, striking a devastating blow to Ukraine’s economy and undermining global food security. Yet the grain shutoff is just one symptom of a much broader strategic problem. The bigger issue is that Moscow is well on its way to turning the Black Sea, which
In recent weeks, Moscow has been hit by a series of suspected Ukrainian drone strikes. While the Ukrainian authorities typically prefer not to acknowledge responsibility for individual incidents, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly warned that the war is now “returning to Russia.” Speaking in late July, Zelenskyy described the growing number of drone strikes
Sending letters to your loved one during basic training is a powerful way to show your support and maintain a sense of connection during their time away. In today’s digital age, where emails and instant messages dominate communication, taking the time to send physical letters with cherished photos can make all the difference. Here’s how
With the start of the winter heating season now just a few months away, Ukrainian officials and energy sector experts are having trouble predicting whether the country is far enough along with infrastructure repairs, gas storage, and other measures to counter the threat of renewed Russian airstrikes on the country’s civilian energy infrastructure. Although Ukraine
