Expert Survey: Does Russia’s Presidential Election Matter to U.S. and Its Allies?

Kremlin and River

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – March 15, 2024) Russia’s presidential election, whose outcome is near certain to grant Vladimir Putin a fifth term, got underway on March 15. Given the inevitability of Putin’s victory in what one Kremlin-connected insider has described as a “well-designed simulation,” one might wonder what impact the Russian election has on the U.S. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Rattled Nuclear Saber Ahead of Presidential Elections” – WSJ

Russian Tactical Missile on Mobile Launcher, adapted from image featured by army.mil and defense.gov

“Raising specter of nuclear confrontation allows Russian leader to keep his population on edge and convinced of need for militarism, analysts say.” “… Putin warned publicly … of the possibility of nuclear confrontation with the West, a saber … [Putin was] rattling with increasing frequency ahead of presidential elections this weekend. The comments — part of an interview with a […]

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West Mistakenly Thinks Russia in Terminal Decline While Moscow Elites Even More Wrongly Believe They can Restore Russia’s Superpower Status, Pastukhov Says

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Mar. 11, 2024) Many of the mistakes Western elites have made about Russia and that Moscow elites have made about their own county arise from misconceptions each has about Russia’s future, Vladimir Pastukhov says. The West has mistakenly assumed Russia is in terminal decline while Moscow elites think they can restore the […]

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RUSSIALINK: “What’s the Kremlin Scared Of? Pro-War Ultranationalists” – Moscow Times

File Photos of Law Books and Gavel, adapted from image at fjc.gov

(Moscow Times – Lucy Birge – March 15, 2024) The killing of Alexei Navalny four weeks before the Russian presidential election appears to portray an increasingly brazen and self-assured Kremlin. Yet its treatment of ultra-nationalist Igor Strelkov tells a different story, that the Kremlin is afraid of ultra-nationalism as a political force. On Jan. 25, 2024, Ukraine and Russia became […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Pointed to War’s Economic Windfall With Russia Set to Vote” – Bloomberg

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

“Wages are soaring, unemployment falling amid labor shortage Budget deficit, dwindling reserves pose long-term challenges” “… Though the war has left hundreds of thousands killed or wounded, and long-term challenges continue to build with officials still wrestling [with] inflation … , for now, [Putin] is pointing to the economy and claiming success. The government is spending massively on social support […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia Bans Entry to 227 Americans for ‘Anti-Russian’ Actions” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Wendy Sherman and Sergei Ryabkov Standing In Front of U.S. and Russian Flags, adapted from image at state.gov

(Moscow Times – March 14, 2024) [Complete list: mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1938555/] Russia has banned entry to 227 U.S. citizens, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow announced Thursday. The Foreign Ministry accused the banned individuals of playing a role in steering Washington’s “Russophobic policies” and being directly involved in “anti-Russian actions.” The latest additions to Russia’s “stop list” include State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The drama in Russia’s election is all about what Putin will do with another 6 years in power” – AP

Kremlin and River

“… [Russian] voting … conclud[ing] … Sunday is all but certain to allow Putin to remain in office until 2030, giving him a full three decades of leading Russia as either president or prime minister. … [T]hat long tenure and the thorough suppression of effective domestic opposition voices gives Putin a very strong — and perhaps unrestrained — hand … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s 2024 Presidential Election: What to Know” – New York Times

Vladimir Putin file photo, adapted from screenshot of video at shareamerica.gov

“[Russia’s] presidential vote … begins Friday and lasts through Sunday … but is more of a predetermined, Soviet-style referendum. … Putin, 71, will undoubtedly win a fifth term, with none of the three other candidates … permitted on the ballot presenting a real challenge. The main opposition figure who worked to spoil the vote, Aleksei A. Navalny, a harsh critic […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Forever Putinism: The Russian Autocrat’s Answer to the Problem of Succession” – Foreign Affairs

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

“… Early-stage Putinism was marked by … public complacency and indifference. Complacency flourished when the Russian economy expanded between 2000 and 2008 …  enabling the rise of a Russian middle class. Indifference, which the Kremlin inculcated in part by discouraging public participation in politics, assisted in the regime’s creeping authoritarianism. One need not love Putin; it was sufficient to merely […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Russian elections became a futile exercise for Putin’s opposition” – Christian Science Monitor

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

“Russia’s presidential election appears largely a rote exercise, as a popular, unchallengeable leader faces only nominal competition from three ‘systemic’ opponents. The Kremlin has worked for years to make it this way.” “… ‘[M]anaged democracy’ … under … Putin used to offer plenty of opportunities … to … members of various ‘loyal opposition’ parties, [including the chance to] get elected […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump and Ukraine: Ignore the press. They don’t know what he’d do because they forget how politics works” – WSJ

File Photo of Donald Trump Waving Before Large Crowd with Trump Signs, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“What survives of the mainstream press prides itself on delivering the anti-Trump message. … Anti-Trumpism is the gift that briefly arrested their decline, though the holiday may be running out for the Washington Post. … The media … can no longer be trusted to give a skeptical, realistic account of what [Trump] might do as president, preferring to put words […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Has Russian Elite in a Frenzy Over Their Political Futures” – Bloomberg

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“The government may feature new names and responsibilities, but there’s no sign Putin plans to alter the direction of policy.” “The Kremlin elite is feverishly jostling for position in [anticipation of] … Putin’s new term as the president surrounds himself with loyalists to pursue his war in Ukraine. Putin [reportedly] may carry out a significant government shake-up for the first […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Claims That Sanctions Hurt Europe More Than Russia Are Wrong” – Foreign Policy

EU Map adapted from cia.gov image

“A false narrative is being peddled by the Kremlin and its Western friends.” “… Russia has never been a major market for EU firms, with Russian businesses buying just 4 percent of EU exports in 2021. [A]bout half of EU exports to Russia fall under sanctions … [so] only 2 percent of EU exports are affected …. [S]anctions do not […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin, in Pre-Election Messaging, Plays Down Threat of Nuclear War” – New York Times

Russian Tactical Missile on Mobile Launcher, adapted from image featured by army.mil and defense.gov

“The Russian leader struck a softer tone in an interview with state television than in last month’s state-of-the-nation address. He is aiming to project stability before this weekend’s vote.” “… Putin … tried to play down fears of nuclear war in [a Russian state television] interview … and denied having considered using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine …. Putin […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Volodymyr Zelensky: ‘Your children are not going to die in Ukraine'” – Le Monde

Volodymyr Zelensky file photo, adapted from dhs.gov image

“Before the French Parliament debates support for Kyiv on Tuesday, the Ukrainian president, in an interview with Le Monde and BFMTV, reacts to Macron’s statement about sending troops: ‘We’re only talking about training.’” “In an interview … on Monday, March 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the idea of a “pause” in the fighting, which would only give Vladimir Putin […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Not so quiet; A grinding, difficult war on Ukraine’s southern front” – The Economist

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“The Russians want to take Robotyne. But while the ammo lasts, Ukraine can hold them off.” “… In the wake of the fall of Avdiivka Russian forces have captured outlying villages and attacked several other small eastern towns such as Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk. To Avdiivka’s south the front line turns and then slopes gently towards the Dnieper river just below […]

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2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community [Excerpt re: Russia]

DNI Seal and Smaller Seals of Agencies Related to DNI

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence March 11, 2024 Director Avril D. Haines Office of the Director of National Intelligence 2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community [Excerpt] [PDF: intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/hearings/unclassified_2024_ata_report_0.pdf] RUSSIA Regional and Global Activities Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has resulted in enormous damage at home and abroad, but Russia remains a resilient and capable adversary across […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The West Is Still Oblivious to Russia’s Information War; Paralyzed by free speech concerns, Western governments are loath to act.” – Foreign Policy

File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

“… Despite the tedium of Putin’s two-hour-long lecture about an imaginary Russian and Ukrainian history, the streaming and promotion of the [Tucker Carlson] interview by Western platforms is only the latest successful foray in Russia’s information war …. A decade into Russia’s all-out information war, the social media companies seem to have forgotten their promises to act after … 2016 […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden’s Armageddon Moment: When Nuclear Detonation Seemed Possible in Ukraine” – New York Times

Russian Tactical Missile on Mobile Launcher, adapted from image featured by army.mil and defense.gov

“For a few weeks in October 2022, the White House was consumed in a crisis whose depths were not publicly acknowledged at the time. It was a glimpse of what seemed like a terrifying new era.” “… [I]ntercepts revealed that for the first time since the war in Ukraine had broken out, there were frequent conversations within the Russian military […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine scrambles to fill U.S. funding gap” – Financial Times

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Kyiv in talks with Japan and Canada for extra aid as Zelenskyy government considers spending cuts and tax hikes” “… [D]eadlock in … Congress over a $60bn aid package for Ukraine has left Kyiv desperately looking for alternative donors …. Ukraine has allocated nearly half of its $87bn budget … to defence-related expenditure, but its domestic revenues are just $46bn, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Is Pumping Out Weapons—but Can It Keep It Up?” – WSJ

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“Some Western analysts say Moscow’s arms-production figures mask various challenges and could be misleading” “Russia’s ability to churn out tanks, missiles and shells has surprised the West and heaped further pressure on Ukraine. The question … is how long it can continue. … Russia’s military production figures are [said to be] misleading and mask challenges including a shortage of labor […]

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RUSSIALINK: “’20 Days in Mariupol’ Brings First Oscar Home to Ukraine” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Reel of Film

(Moscow Times – March 11, 2024) Ukraine won its first Oscar for best documentary with “20 Days in Mariupol,” directed by Mstyslav Chernov, on Sunday night in Los Angeles. The film chronicles the harrowing Russian siege of Mariupol, a once beautiful port city, by the only journalists still on the ground, Chernov and the photographer/journalist Evgeniy Maloletka. At the Academy […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow plans its own mini-Olympics. Will Russians be satisfied?” – Christian Science Monitor

Olympic Rings Lit at Night, adapted from image at state.gov

“As the West has isolated Russia, Moscow has worked fervently to create alternatives to global commodities. But when it comes to Olympic-level athletic competitions, the Kremlin’s proxies may not pass muster with the Russian public.” “… In September, just a month after the 2024 Paris Olympics, Russia will launch the World Friendship Games, a Soviet-inspired extravaganza that looks like a […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Big Lesson From the West’s Last Invasion of Russia” – Foreign Policy: Theodore Bunzel

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“What the Allied intervention in the Russian civil war teaches us about Ukraine today.” “… Despite the current pall of pessimism pervading Western capitals, today’s war in Ukraine presents some of the more propitious circumstances a policymaker could hope for …. Ukraine is a worthy and competent ally, fighting to defend its territory with a highly motivated population …. The […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Mutual Frustrations Arise in U.S.-Ukraine Alliance” – New York Times

Pentagon Aerial View adapted from defense.gov image, with photo credit: DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. John Wright

“Ukrainian officials are disheartened about stalled aid. The Pentagon wants Kyiv to heed its advice on how to fight.” “… For the Pentagon, the exasperation comes down to a single, recurring issue: American military strategists … believe that Ukraine needs to concentrate its forces on one big fight at a time. Instead, … Zelensky, who has vowed to drive Russia […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Is Burning Up Its Future” – Foreign Affairs

Vladimir Putin file photo, adapted from screenshot of video at shareamerica.gov

“How Putin’s Pursuit of Power Has Hollowed Out the Country and Its People” “… Russia is neither stable nor normal. The [Russian] presidential election brings to maturity the late-stage Putinism that began with the [2020] constitutional referendum … when Putin’s potential mandate was extended until 2036. … Putin has made clear that Russia is fighting a permanent background war with […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s opposition and Ukraine find it impossible to unite against Putin” – Washington Post

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“… Russia’s liberals … walk[] a tightrope. Their opposition to the war puts them at odds with much of their own society …. [M]any Ukrainians still feel … the Russian opposition has not gone far enough in condemning the killing of Ukrainians and occupation of their lands, instead opposing the war from a Russian viewpoint, focused predominantly on the losses […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Kremlin Seeks to Suppress Navalny’s Influence, in Death as in Life” – New York Times

File Photo of Alexei Navalny Marching on Street with Others in Background; adapted from image at commons.wikimedia.org with credit to Evgeny Feldman, subject to Creative Commons license; original image at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEV_1795_(cropped1).jpg, with license information at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en and creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

“The Russian authorities vilified the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny with a viciousness that suggested he was more influential than Moscow would admit. Little has changed since he died.” “When … Navalny was alive, the Kremlin sought to portray him as an inconsequential figure unworthy of attention, even as … Russian authorities vilified and attacked him with a viciousness that […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Europe is at last adjusting to the new reality in Ukraine” – Financial Times

Europe Map

“… This was going to be a long war that Russia would do everything to win, and the west was not ready. This reality has now been sinking in, exposing new tensions among western leaders about how to confront it. … Hampered by an excruciating shortage of ammunition and artillery that its allies were too slow to provide, Ukraine’s troops […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Enters New Phase of War With Russia: Dig, Dig, Dig” – WSJ

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Under pressure after recent battlefield losses, Kyiv is bracing for a Russian spring offensive” “Russia is attacking Ukrainian forces at several points along the 600-mile front …. Moscow knows Ukrainian units are short on fresh soldiers and ammunition. The U.S. and Europe are failing to rearm Kyiv quickly. … Ukraine’s military … is husbanding its ammunition and seeking opportunities to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Free Boris Kagarlitsky: The Nation joins the global appeal for his release” – The Nation: Katrina Vanden Heuvel

Lit Candle with Reflection and Dark Background

“… [O]n February 13, a military court sentenced Boris Kagarlitsky, prominent sociologist, Marxist scholar and labor activist, to five years in prison for criticizing the war in Ukraine … after a Moscow court initially ordered him to only pay a $6,500 fine for ‘justifying terrorism,’ charges which Kagarlitsky denied. Prosecutors appealed … calling [the initial judgment] ‘excessively lenient.’ Kagarlitsky, … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “America’s New Twilight Struggle With Russia; To Prevail, Washington Must Revive Containment” – Foreign Affairs: Max Bergmann, Michael Kimmage, Jeffrey Mankoff, Maria Snegovaya

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

“… [C]containment should prioritize defending Russia’s threatened neighbors, especially those that do not have a clear and immediate path to NATO membership. Apart from Ukraine, Russia’s most vulnerable neighbors include [non-NATO] Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova …. The United States should offer … training and weapons … [and] bolster [their] resilience against Russian gray-zone threats, ranging from cyberattacks to election meddling. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Don’t seize: capitalise; How to put Russia’s frozen assets to work for Ukraine; Exploit them to the full, but legally” – The Economist

EU Map adapted from cia.gov image

“… About €190bn of [Russian] assets are controlled in Belgium by Euroclear, a custodian. … [I]nvestment returns and principal repayments it would pass on to Russia are instead piling up as a cash balance … currently … around €132bn … which Euroclear’s bank can profitably invest. The argument that Russia has no right to these returns is relatively uncontroversial, not […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Sending troops to Ukraine: A necessary but badly presented debate” – Le Monde

Macron file photo, adapted from image at usembassy.gov

“The subject of French involvement on Ukrainian soil, raised by Emmanuel Macron on Monday [Feb. 26], deserves to be considered, but only in consultation with the other nations concerned. Going it alone is not an option.” “… Macron’s remarks on Monday, February 26, concerning the possibility of sending military personnel to support the Ukrainian forces in their war effort … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s losses on the battlefield could make the war more dangerous for Russia” – CNBC

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“Russia’s advantage on the battlefield could prompt Ukraine’s backers to give it more of what it wants, and needs, to win the war. Defense analysts call this irony of conflict the ‘escalation paradox.’ French President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial comments on the possibility of NATO ground troops in Ukraine demonstrated this paradox.” “… With Ukraine now on the back foot, analysts […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Surprisingly Weak Ukrainian Defenses Help Russian Advance” – New York Times

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Sparse, rudimentary trench lines [reportedly] populate the area west of Avdiivka that Ukraine is trying to defend …. lack[ing] many of the additional fortifications that could help slow Russian tanks and help defend major roads and important terrain. … Ukraine appeared to have begun plans for new fortifications only three months ago, when government officials announced the creation of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelensky in bind over how to draft more troops as Russian forces advance” – Washington Post

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Even as he promises … that Ukraine will handle the fighting if given needed weapons and other support, … Zelensky and … top military commanders have failed … to come up with a clear plan to conscript or recruit many thousands of new soldiers … to defend against Russia’s continuing attacks. Zelensky’s inability to forge a political consensus on … […]

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Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken: “On the Retirement of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland”

File Photo of Victoria Nuland and U.S. Flag, adapted from image featured at usembassy.gov

(U.S. Department of State – March 5 2024) On the Retirement of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland PRESS STATEMENT ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE Victoria Nuland has let me know that she intends to step down in the coming weeks as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs – a role in which she has […]

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Russia Analytical Report, Feb. 26-March 4, 2024

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 3 Ideas to Explore “Russia’s ability to absorb military losses, its deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and the limitations of its conventionally armed land-attack missile arsenal provides” at least two “potential insights into Russia’s theatre nuclear doctrine,” according to William Alberque of IISS. “Firstly, given Russia’s indifference to civilian casualties in Ukraine, it stands to reason that […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The West Can No Longer Hesitate on Ukraine” – Foreign Policy: Alexander Vershbow

NATO Meeting File Photo

“Allies must provide Kyiv with what it needs to win the war and secure the peace: arms supplies and a path to NATO membership.” “… [T]he West … need[s] … a clearer strategy for achieving victory and stopping … Putin from overturning the rules-based international order. … [H]esitation and incrementalism in providing Ukraine with the military capabilities … it needs […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Two Years After Russia Invaded Ukraine: Q&A with RAND Experts” – RAND

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… The … conflict has brought renewed focus on the regional threat posed by Russian revanchism and presents challenges to security and stability … in the region and elsewhere. The geopolitical implications are immense. The conflict has established new benchmarks … [for] modern warfare and demonstrated anew … how dangerous the world is. We invited a group of RAND experts […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Braced for Russian Disinformation Attacks on Zelenskiy” – Bloomberg

File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

“Kremlin campaign to focus on legitimacy as vote scrapped Ukrainian leader sensitive over issue as war footing shifts” “… With … Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation, millions … having fled … and [Ukraine’s] infrastructure battered … martial law has imposed restrictions on elections. Zelenskiy … would otherwise be campaigning for a vote held at the end of March if he […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Six-Year Manifesto Sets Sights Beyond Ukraine” – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Vladimir Putin file photo, adapted from screenshot of video at shareamerica.gov

“Putin’s state of the nation address should have been a mere pre-election formality, but it left an extremely chilling impression of an unraveling spiral of escalation.” “… The horizons of this ‘holy war’ have now expanded. If a year ago, Putin focused on protecting ‘our land’ and relied on defensive and even sacrificial rhetoric, this year he sounded victorious, speaking […]

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Russia in Review, Feb. 23-March 1, 2024

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 7 Things to Know Vladimir Putin used his annual address to the Russian parliament to not only rattle his nuclear saber at the West again, but also to accuse his Western counterparts of “spooking the world” with the threat of a nuclear war, all while claiming to be ready for talks on nuclear arms control. “We remember what […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s resilience to sanctions shows it is ‘costly and unattainable’ to isolate a large and globally integrated economy, economist says” – Business Insider

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

“Russia’s economy remains resilient against Western sanctions. Economist Elina Ribakova wrote about the limitations of trying to isolate a globally integrated economy like Russia. The West’s experience sanctioning Russia could help in crafting potential future trade restrictions against China.” “Despite sweeping … sanctions over … Ukraine, Russia posted … GDP growth of 3.6% in 2023 after contracting 1.2% in 2022. […]

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The War in Ukraine in a Transitional World Order

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Robert Legvold – Feb. 23, 2024) Robert Legvold is Marshall D. Shulman Professor Emeritus in the department of political science at Columbia University. The fundamental questions raised by the war in Ukraine are like the two sides of a coin: on one side, there is the overarching but largely ignored question of how the war […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Sees Risk of Russia Breaking Through Defenses by Summer” – Bloomberg

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Kyiv’s assessment of battlefield situation increasingly bleak Putin still aims to capture Kyiv, Ukrainian intelligence shows” “Ukrainian officials [reportedly] are concerned that Russian advances could gain significant momentum by … summer unless their allies can increase the supply of ammunition …. Internal assessments … from Kyiv are growing increasingly bleak as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold off Russian attacks while […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Leaked Russian military files reveal criteria for nuclear strike” – Financial Times

Russian Tactical Missile on Mobile Launcher, adapted from image featured by army.mil and defense.gov

“Doctrine for tactical nuclear weapons outlined in training scenarios for an invasion by China” “… Putin’s forces have rehearsed using tactical nuclear weapons at an early stage of conflict with a major world power, according to leaked Russian military files that include training scenarios for an invasion by China. The [29 secret Russian military files from 2008 to 2014] … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Frontline Is Collapsing” – Newsweek

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… [A]fter Ukraine’s retreat from [Avdiivka] … partly blamed on ammunition shortages … Moscow’s advances … have been incremental and are unlikely to be rapid in the short-term but hold-ups in Western aid for Kyiv threaten to hand … Putin the initiative. … Russian forces [reportedly] are exploiting tactical opportunities opened up by Avdiivka’s seizure … trying to push as […]

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