“Despite warnings that arming Ukraine will start a world war, President Biden continues to push the Russian leader’s limits — a strategy that brings risk and reward.” “… A key reason for brushing aside Putin’s threats, U.S. officials say, is a dynamic that has held since the opening days of the war: Russia’s president has not followed through on promises […]
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“Complex questions about if — and how — Russian athletes could return to … competition[] ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics looked far from being resolved when sports governing bodies met Wednesday. Different sports have varying sporting, political and logistical pressures, and there’s a lack of clarity about how to define neutral status for Russian and Belarusian athletes that is […]
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“In Moscow, it can be easy to ignore the devastating but faraway war in Ukraine. But that changes quickly when drones and anti-aircraft missiles start exploding in the skies overhead one morning.” “It’s been frustrating to report from Russia over the past 16 months, when the story has largely been one of prevailing calm, quiet, and outright normalcy, even as […]
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“… [T]here is a long-standing NATO policy … that countries aspiring to join NATO must first resolve their territorial disputes. … [L]et’s assume … that Ukraine’s counteroffensive plays out … with a Russian defeat. … [and] that Russia withdraws … from Ukrainian territory, including Crimea …. NATO will then have to deal with the Ukraine question … [with] three broad […]
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“Even while starkly divided over the war in Ukraine, Russia and the West show hints of being able to find common ground on other issues of importance, as evidenced by an imminent Armenian-Azeri peace treaty.” “A peace deal to end the bitter, three-decade-long conflict over the fate of the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh inside Azerbaijan appears almost within reach. … […]
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“… If Russia suffered … defeat in Ukraine and … Putin were removed as president, by the end of 2027 core features of Russia’s state system would be recognizable on the basis of what we see today. But even a managed leadership succession would unleash considerable uncertainty, leading to a broad spectrum of plausible [political, economic and foreign policy] outcomes […]
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“Airstrikes on Kyiv were an attempt to undermine morale. Instead, they will have strengthened it.” “Putin is in a panic over the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, which may already be in its preliminary ‘battlefield-shaping’ stage. He doesn’t know … when the offensive will be launched, where it will strike or whether it will succeed. … [H]e does know … that if […]
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“The attacks may be part of the highly anticipated counter-offensive.” “Ukraine’s armed forces are turning up the heat. In the past two weeks our analysis … has detected 907 fires likely to be war-related in Russian-held territory in Ukraine. … more than four times as many as in the two weeks before …. The last time something like this happened […]
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“Kremlin officials said Ukraine’s allies should have condemned the strike, and argued again that its real war was with the West.” “A day after a drone strike on Moscow, Kremlin officials jumped on the refusal of Ukrainian allies to denounce the attack as proof that Russia’s real war was with the West. … While none of Ukraine’s allies went so […]
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“Consistent with Russian military doctrine, the Russian military has used uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) extensively in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in Ukraine. … [giving drones] prominent roles in artillery, counter-battery, and precision strikes missions. … ISR drones play a central role in much of the Russian … targeting process, [but] it appears … the rate of response is […]
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“… [F]ighting in Ukraine is unlikely to subside any time soon; in Washington and Europe, officials are laying plans to add … to Kyiv’s defense capabilities over the next decade, assuming Russia’s aggressive designs will persist. [] Putin has … put Russia’s defense industry on a wartime production footing[] … [and] has indicated … he is willing to call up […]
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“… [T]he commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces ratcheted up speculation that a long-awaited [Ukrainian] counteroffensive … could be imminent. ‘The time has come to take back what is ours,’ said … Gen. Valerii Zaluzhyni [in an online video posted to Telegram] …. following weeks of speculation …. Zaluzhyni’s post made no explicit mention of an impending military operation […]
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(Moscow Times – Kirill Ponomarev – May 28, 2023) When animation artist Varvara returned to Russia earlier this year for the first time since fleeing abroad after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the main emotion she felt was surprise. Not by how much had changed in her homeland after over a year of war — but by how little. […]
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“If the crime is promoting distrust in institutions, the evidence is strongest against the FBI and media.” “… In response to fake and possibly planted Russian intelligence, the FBI improperly and insubordinately meddled in the Clinton email case (as per the inspector general) in a way that accidentally helped elect [] Trump. This story, still hidden in a classified appendix […]
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“… [A] Russian state television [anchor] … quickly interrupted … opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin after he suggested … Putin be ousted …. [O]n the [NTV] program Mesto Vstrechi (Meeting Place), Nadezhdin, who has opposed Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, said that under the current political regime … ‘there is no way for us to come back to Europe.’ ‘We simply have […]
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“Ukraine wants long-range missiles to regain Crimea and end the war. Why won’t Washington supply them?” “… Despite repeated pleas, the United States has not given Kyiv land-based missiles capable of hitting Russia. … Sustained Ukrainian attacks inside Russia’s territory could violate Putin’s red lines in a way that previous strikes haven’t. So could repeatedly hitting Crimea, the peninsula that […]
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“Vladimir V. Putin of Russia looks like a commander in absentia, treating the war in Ukraine as unfortunate but distant. His options have narrowed, but he is still betting on outlasting his foes.” “… [F]ighters stormed across the border into southwestern Russia … prompting two days of the heaviest fighting on Russian territory in 15 months …. Yet … Putin, […]
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“[S]enior [Putin] ally [Medvedev] … said … Friday the conflict in Ukraine could last for decades and that negotiations … were impossible as long as … Zelenskiy was in power. … ‘This conflict will last for a very long time. For decades, probably. This is a new reality,’ Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying by […]
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“… Friday … the intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry claimed … Russian forces would strike the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, and then report a radioactive leak … to trigger an international probe that would pause … hostilities and give … Russian forces … [needed] respite … to regroup ahead of [an anticipated Ukrainian] counteroffensive. In […]
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“… [Recently] two militias … oppos[ing] … Putin — the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Free Russia Legion — claimed to have ‘liberated’ several border villages [in the Russian region of Belgorod]. The groups appear to be based in Ukraine …. [and] Russia says … the militias are a front for the Ukrainian army; [but] Ukraine insists … they are […]
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“… [T]he arrival of more than 100,000 Russians in [Georgia] since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine … has left Georgians uncertain whether to welcome them as friends or shun them as foes. … Despite gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, a potential European future [for Georgia] is still struggling to be born. Georgia’s stance towards Russia […]
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“The Johns Hopkins University celebrated its commencement … with a surprise speech from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via livestream …. and [awarded] Zelenskyy an honorary doctorate …. The Class of 2023 offered him a standing ovation after the address …. Zelenskyy offered … a message centered around time, … ‘the most valuable resource on the planet.’ … He said the […]
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“Russia is integrating its military draft with its digitized, pervasive bureaucracy. That could make new mobilizations for its war in Ukraine more efficient – and much harder to evade.” “In Russia, it used to be that to get called up for military service, an eligible recruit had to be issued a draft summons in person. Not anymore. Under a new […]
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“Xi Jinping meets Russian premier among meetings signaling pushback against Western pressure” “China and Russia moved to solidify their partnership with high-level meetings … in a departure from recent efforts by Beijing to play down its alignment with Moscow as it seeks to play … peacemaker in Ukraine. … Xi Jinping met Wednesday in Beijing with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail […]
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“… The U.S. and other NATO nations are sending Ukraine tanks, drones and artillery … as [Ukraine] plans [its expected next] offensive. The West also recently pledged to meet Ukraine’s long-standing request for F-16[‘s], [a scenario still requiring] the Ukrainian air force [to spend months] … learn[ing] how to fly and maintain [them] …. … [T]his lengthy Ukrainian buildup has […]
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“Disputes in Russian society do not pose a threat to Vladimir Putin’s government, says Bruno Kahl, head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service. He argues Moscow has enough recruits and equipment for the war.” “… Kahl argued that public criticism of the management of the war amount to routine disputes within Russian society and do not pose a threat to the […]
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Russia’s military has been widely discredited and disparaged by the Western media since the start of its invasion of Ukraine. Russia was seen to have bungled the early phase of the war, suffering a series of setbacks and retreats. Defense analysts say Russia has adapted its tactics during the war, however, and a more structured, coordinated and reactive armed force […]
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“CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC repeatedly invited the top Democrat during the Mueller investigation” “… Durham’s conclusion was that since the original probe, … Crossfire Hurricane, was based on ‘raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence,’ the FBI was wrong in fast-tracking a full investigation …. While the DOJ was largely silent … there was no one in Washington as vocal about […]
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“Whether Americans like it or not, this country will have little choice but to begin planning for an emerging world order.” “… Amid the seemingly never-ending catastrophe of the war in Ukraine, it’s become increasingly evident that China and India are likely to shape its final resolution. Russia can’t keep fighting without … [their] support … thanks to their refusal […]
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“A new report shows how its tactics are improving. Ukraine can still beat it.” “Russian generals have been slow to learn from … strategic errors. … botch[ing] Russia’s initial assault on Kyiv, bungl[ing] an assault on the eastern Donbas … last summer and … fritter[ing] away tens of thousands of troops … on the same front [more recently] …. But […]
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“… Russia’s approach to nuclear weapons has evolved since the invasion … and not in comforting ways. The war further nuclearized the Russian establishment’s strategic thought and normalized nuclear weapons in the public’s consciousness. … Evidence … indicate[s] that over the last year and a half Russia’s military has doubled down on its conceptualization of deterrence strategy, and that it […]
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“Last weekend’s G7 summit must not be the high point of international support for Kyiv.” “… [D]iplomatic and military support offered … Zelenskyy at the G7 [summit] was a big boost …. [T]he danger is that it could be remembered as the high watermark of international backing …. The U.S. and the Europeans believe … their efforts have worked … […]
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“The nine-month battle for the small Ukrainian city of Bakhmut effectively came to an end … Sunday, as Russian forces finally captured the last significant Ukrainian strongholds …. Who has won and who has lost isn’t measured, however, in current control over the uninhabitable ruins … left from … a once prosperous city of 70,000 …. The answer will depend […]
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“Special counsel John Durham’s report on the Russia collusion fiasco deserves more attention … [C]ritics are dismissing it for one big reason: The 306 pages describe the great failure of original special counsel Robert Mueller. … [who] hunted for evidence that [] Trump was a Russian mole but couldn’t find it. Now the Durham report makes clear … the Mueller […]
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“Recent Pentagon leaks reveal that the shadow war between Russia and the U.S. over Ukraine is becoming more overt — and far more dangerous.” “On the eastern wall of the Kremlin, Spasskaya Tower rises high above the old gray paving stones of Red Square. Beneath its hipped roof are the ‘Kremlin Chimes,’ a 500-year-old clock with four broad 20-foot faces. […]
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“… [I]n the spring of 1991, I first came to New York, to attend the Glasnost in Two Cultures conference of women writers in Russia and North America. … my first real trip abroad. Going to America at the time was like going to the moon for Soviet people. … Thirty years ago, Russians and Americans discovered each other. … […]
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“The deluge of satellite imagery, drone footage, social media and smart phones has generated enough information to support any story you want to tell about what’s happening on the ground.” “… [T]wo relatively new contributions to the transparency of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict are widely available satellite imagery and social network posts. … [S]atellite data from private Western providers has lent […]
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“The $48 billion Ukraine aid package … Congress approved in December has about $6 billion left … U.S. funding for weapons and supplies could dry up by midsummer. … raising fresh concerns among lawmakers about … when the administration will ask for another major package and whether it will be enough. The funding, many members say, needs to continue … […]
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“Russian-language video on Telegram aims at Russians ‘on the fence’” The Wall Street Journal reports: “The [CIA’s] semipublic campaign to convince Russians disaffected by the war in Ukraine to spy for Washington has borne fruit, CIA officials said … as the spy agency released a new video aimed directly at Russian government officials. Since last fall, the CIA and [FBI] […]
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“Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has been engaged in very public criticism of Russia’s war effort. Experts say that it’s not a challenge to Vladimir Putin, but positioning for the post-war order.” “Russia’s most successful military leader in the Ukraine war … is not [even] a soldier …. Yevgeny Prigozhin is a former convict and Kremlin-connected entrepreneur whose private … […]
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“The Ukrainian historian shows how the Kremlin’s bloody campaign has backfired.” “The Russo-Ukrainian War. By Serhii Plokhy. W.W. Norton; 400 pages … [a] useful account of the origins and early progress of Russia’s war against Ukraine … very much worth reading ….” “…[T]he first six chapters [lay] out an excellent survey of unresolved regional tensions, going all the way back […]
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“Latvia is fighting to counter the spread of Moscow’s disinformation. Given its large Russian-speaking community, this is a tough task.” “… Latvia gained its long-awaited independence in the 1990s … then became a member of the [EU] and NATO. But … the country’s Soviet past still has a potent impact …. Even before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine … Latvian […]
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“Ukrainian president adds Britain to his tour of European nations as U.K. offers hundreds of attack drones.” “… Zelensky last week said Ukraine needed more time before it[s] … offensive because its military awaited equipment promised by Western partners … that proceeding now would cost too many lives. … [F]ace-to-face meetings with [European] counterparts … are designed to drive home […]
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“They can’t track every shell, but at a time of heightened scrutiny in Washington they know they can ill afford slips with the big ticket items.” “… Rocket launchers, precision-guided missiles and billions of dollars’ worth of other advanced American weapons have given Ukraine a fighting chance against Russia …. [I]n Washington, against a looming government debt crisis and growing […]
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“Success of NATO training programs could prove critical Counteroffensive needs surprise and ‘combined arms’ approach” “Armed with … over $30 billion in weapons freshly supplied by its allies, Ukraine is gearing up for a counteroffensive that may push Russia closer to ending its war, or show neither side has enough firepower to seize the advantage. Kyiv’s troops will leverage that […]
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“The Biden administration [reportedly] is scouring the globe for offers that could entice Russia to release two wrongfully detained Americans, Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan …. The U.S. [reportedly] does not currently have any high-level Russian spies in its custody … [and therefore is] approaching allied countries [holding] Russian spies …. U.S. officials [reportedly] have also been surveying allies without […]
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“… It seems … [Joe] Biden … [on election day] owed thanks not only to a cabal of former intelligence officials, but [also] to the [CIA][,] … [according to the] [U.S.] House committees detailing the origins of the October 2020 disinformation letter about Hunter Biden’s laptop. … Joe Biden’s campaign helped engineer a statement from 51 former U.S. spies that […]
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“Kyrylo Budanov, said Putin’s forces were focusing on trying to capture Bakhmut Intelligence boss said new attack will be a ‘landmark battle in Ukraine’s history’” “Russia has all but abandoned efforts to take more territory and is now focusing on defending its positions in preparation for a brutal counteroffensive by Ukraine, the head of military intelligence in Kyiv has said. […]
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“Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell held a call with a pair of Russian pranksters posing as … Zelenskiy, according to video shown on Russian state television. Apparently thinking he was speaking to Zelenskiy, the video shows Powell answering questions on topics ranging from the outlook for inflation to the Russian central bank. There were several clips lasting about 15 minutes […]
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“Russia has boosted … defenses in occupied Ukraine ahead of Kyiv’s anticipated counterattack, wagering its position on 800 kilometers of triple-fortified lines and a gush of manpower. … Ukrainian terrain, muddied by the spring thaw, has begun to dry and Russia’s latest wave of attacks has fizzled out[.] [A] counterstrike may be weeks or … days away. The Russian defensive […]
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