JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. expects months of intense fighting in Ukraine-Russia war” – Washington Post

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

“… U.S. officials expect intense fighting … as both sides attempt to put themselves in the best possible position before … winter makes transport and combat more difficult. Russian forces still control vast sections of Ukraine … and U.S. officials anticipate Putin may use the coldest months to refit his spent, demoralized military before launching a renewed campaign in the […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Getting the job done; Vladimir Putin’s war is failing. The West should help it fail faster” – The Economist

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

“… Ukraine has also recaptured two transport hubs, Izyum and Kupyansk, which Russia needs … to complete its conquest of the Donbas …. [] Putin’s plans to stage phoney ‘referendums’ … [in] parts of southern and eastern Ukraine are now on hold, as Ukraine counter-attacks in both areas. … Russia’s occupation is everywhere held in check, and Ukraine is … […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Punishing Russians Won’t End the Ukraine War” -Washington Post

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

“… Economic boycotts … are one way for democratic governments to demonstrate … opposition to tyranny and military aggression without … having to go to war. They also represent an effort to turn people against their autocratic leaders. Some European politicians have claimed that stopping Russians from travel[]ing to Europe will encourage them to demand an end to the war. […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Army Is Winning But Its Economy Is Losing” – Bloomberg

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

“The U.S. has been generous with military and financial aid, the Europeans less so. But both must step up the effort to keep Kyiv fighting.” “… Zelenskiy and his team are acutely aware that the next three months will bring … economic and diplomatic dangers …. Economically, [Ukraine’s] … fiscal and monetary situation is … [heading towards] high inflation if […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “In Russian Border City, Pro-Kremlin Ukrainians, Soldiers Regroup After Retreat From Ukraine” – WSJ

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

“Belgorod is on edge after Moscow’s forces vacate northeastern Ukraine. ‘We ourselves don’t understand what happened.’” “… Russian troops occupying … [Kharkiv] towns … promised locals they would stay forever. Instead, Ukrainian forces drove Russian troops out of most of the region this month, retaking about 3,500 square miles of territory in … days. The lightning advance left Russian troops […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Kremlin Must Placate Its Supporters Amid Outrage Over Kharkiv Retreat” – Carnegie Endowment for Endowment Peace

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

“Having radicalized Russian ultra-patriots with imperialist slogans and actions, the Kremlin now risks its most vitriolic supporters turning against it.” “… Active Russian supporters of the war … blame their country’s military leadership …. demanding … Putin take decisive action … even questioning how serious his intentions in Ukraine really are. … [Invading] Ukraine, Putin won over … ultra-patriots and […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukrainians Move to Unravel Russian Occupation in Recaptured Villages; Residents have wasted no time in erasing the marks of Russia’s presence” – WSJ

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

“… Within days, Moscow lost more territory than it … gained in months of grinding combat … more than 3,500 square miles … as Ukrainian forces seized the initiative. … [M]ost were celebrating[;] those who collaborated with the Russians were lying low … or … on the run. … In towns and villages retaken by Ukraine, residents … wasted no […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Vladimir Putin’s total defeat is now within reach; Liz Truss and her Foreign Secretary will have to work hard to maintain Western unity in coming months” – The Telegraph (UK)

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“… [With] Russian forces … in a desperate battle to hold … the meagre gains … made … since … Putin launched the invasion, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine is continuing its attempt to indoctrinate the Russian people … [into believing that] Moscow is vanquishing its foes. … [S]tate-controlled news channels … pump out a Panglossian view of the Ukrainian conflict […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russians ‘fled like Olympic sprinters’ as Ukraine retook north-east; Offensive was months in the making and relied on western military equipment” – Financial Times

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

“[A] Ukrainian commander … [says] gritty determination, careful planning and astute use of limited western military equipment … [are the reasons for] … Ukrainian troops … liberat[ing] 3,000 square kilometres in … six days …. Many Ukrainians hope the rout could mark a turning point …. [reportedly] push[ing] Russian forces back to within 50km of the border in the north-east[]  […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Waging Psychological War Against Russia; The U.S. has a real opportunity to erode Putin’s propaganda” – Politico

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

“… For all the high-tech weaponry the West has delivered, psychological war against Russia remains a key opportunity for the United States. Historically, such an approach focused on selling Russians on the American dream. … a relic of the Cold War, ill-suited to present-day Russia. Instead of pitching … Levi’s and Hollywood, U.S. information operations should use Russian nationalism to […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Ukraine Setbacks: Putin’s threats and scramble for arms show he’s under pressure” – Wall Street Journal

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“Russia’s war against Ukraine seems to have taken a modest turn in Ukraine’s favor … [O]ne sign is … Putin’s new threats and his scramble for arms from his own client states. Russia expected its February blitzkrieg to end in … quick victory, but … has bogged down … Ukraine is now pressing a[] [southern] offensive … aimed at busting […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine military chief says ‘limited’ nuclear war cannot be ruled out” – Washington Post

Iskander Missile with Launch file photo

“Ukraine’s top military chief warned … that a ‘limited’ nuclear war between Russia and the West cannot be discounted …. ‘There is a direct threat of the use, under certain circumstances, of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian armed forces’ … Gen. Valery Zaluzhny wrote …. ‘It is also impossible to completely rule out the possibility of the direct involvement […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSLINK: “Does War in Ukraine Impact Vital U.S. Interests?” – Russia Matters

File Photo of Joe Biden at Podium with U.S. Seal, With Ukrainian and U.S. Flags in Background

In the more than six months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies have worked with surprising cohesion and efficiency to pass multiple rounds of sanctions on Moscow and ramp up military, economic and humanitarian aid for Kyiv. Still, conspicuously absent from these efforts are Western military boots on the ground. Although 40,000 troops under direct NATO […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin approves new foreign policy doctrine based on ‘Russian World'” – Reuters

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

“… Putin on Monday approved a new foreign policy doctrine … around the concept of a ‘Russian World,’ a notion … conservative ideologues have used to justify intervention abroad in support of Russian-speakers. [The published doctrine] says Russia should ‘protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World.’ … [I]t enshrines … ideas around Russian politics and […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “John Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, leaves Moscow to retire” – New York Times

John Sullivan file image, adapted from image featured at usembassy.gov

“John J. Sullivan, … U.S. ambassador to Russia [since December 2019], left Moscow … Sunday[,] … retiring from public service after serving under five American presidents …. [] Sullivan oversaw … the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia during its most difficult period in decades — after … Putin … ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine … prompting the United States […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Forces ‘Confused’ by Ukraine Strikes, Headed for Surrender: General” – Newsweek

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

“… Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive to take back … critical port city [Kherson]. … [Videotaped] footage [reportedly] indicated ‘extremely poor soldier discipline’ and “horrible fieldcraft/training’ in the Russian army. … [with] lower-level leadership … in crisis while senior leaders were not circulating information …. [Reportedly Russian] morale was plunging and the potential for disease … rising …. [Retired […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin’s Bombers Could Devastate Ukraine But He’s Holding Back. Here’s Why” – Newsweek

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“… U.S. observers agree[] that Putin and his generals overestimated their own military prowess while grossly underestimating Ukraine’s defenses. … [Meanwhile,] Russia, [a] DIA analyst [suggests], has … been careful not to cause escalation onto Belorussian or Russian territory, or to provoke NATO. Despite operating from Belarus, Russian ground and air operations have mostly been confined to the southeastern portion […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Gorbachev died shocked and bewildered by Ukraine conflict – interpreter” – Reuters

File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at Table Signing Documents

“Mikhail Gorbachev … [reportedly] was shocked and bewildered by the Ukraine conflict in the months before he died and psychologically crushed in recent years by Moscow’s worsening ties with Kyiv …. [Interpreter] Pavel Palazhchenko, who worked with [him]  for 37 years … at his side at numerous U.S.-Soviet summits, spoke to Gorbachev a few weeks ago by phone and said […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “How history caught up with my Russian academic friends” – Financial Times

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

“From post-Soviet freedoms to resurgent autocracy: a historian reflects on the plight of Russia’s beleaguered intelligentsia.” “… When I think of the situation of my friends in Russia, of the future they have been denied by Putin’s war, I feel shame, frustration, anger and most of all sadness on their behalf. They all, I’m sure, abhor this war — even […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Mikhail Gorbachev, the man who changed the world” – Christian Science Monitor

File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at Table Signing Documents

“Mikhail Gorbachev helped end the Cold War and oversaw the demise of the totalitarian Soviet Union, offering freedom and hope. But his dream of a ‘common European homeland’ has died.” “… Gorbachev … lived long enough to witness his greatest legacy, the peaceful unwinding of the USSR into 15 sovereign nation states, being destroyed. The current war in Ukraine is […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. war-gamed with Ukraine ahead of counteroffensive and encouraged more limited mission” – CNN

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

“… [T]he U.S. [reportedly] urged [Ukraine] to keep [its counteroffensive] limited … [regarding] objectives and … geography to avoid getting overextended and bogged down on multiple fronts …. [D]iscussions [reportedly] involved … ‘war-gaming’ … to help … Ukrainian forces understand … force levels … need[ed] … to be successful in different scenarios. The Ukrainians … initially consider[ed] a broader counteroffensive, […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “A Draft for Russia’s Army? Putin Opts for Domestic Stability Instead.” – New York Times

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

“Western officials are puzzled by the Russian leader’s decision to avoid mass conscription. But analysts say he is intent on maintaining a sense of normalcy to prevent any public backlash.” “… Putin says Russia is fighting for its very existence … [b]ut … Russia continues to wage [its war in Ukraine] with a military … essentially at peacetime strength …. […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian politicians offer mixed view of Gorbachev’s legacy” – AP

File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at Table Signing Documents

“Russian officials and lawmakers treaded carefully … reacting to Mikhail Gorbachev’s death, praising … his role in ending the Cold War but deploring his failure to avert the collapse of the Soviet Union. … [S]tate television broadcasts … paid tributes to Gorbachev as a historic figure but described his reforms as poorly planned and held him responsible for failing to […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Six months into war, Russian goods still flowing to U.S.” – AP

U.S. Port File Photo adapted from image at state.gov

“… [AP] found [that] more than 3,600 shipments … have arrived at U.S. ports from Russia since it began launching missiles and airstrikes into [Ukraine]. … a significant drop from the same period in 2021 … but … add[ing] up to more than $1 billion … a month. … Russia and the U.S. were never major trading partners … so […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Russian ‘Liberators’ Are Seeing That We Live Better Than They Do” – New York Times/ Yegor Firsov

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

“… This war is … Putin’s fatal mistake. Not because of economic sanctions and not because of the huge losses of troops and tanks but because [] Putin’s soldiers are from some of the poorest and most rural regions of Russia. Before this war, these men were encouraged to believe that Ukrainians lived in poverty and were culturally, economically and […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “With Military Attacks and Mockery, Ukraine Pokes the Russian Bear” – New York Times

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“Driven by deep anger at Russia and the need to rally support at home and abroad, Ukraine is regularly goading its much more powerful antagonist.” “… Ukraine has delivered strikes into the heart of Russian strongholds once considered untouchable, including … Crimea …. [L]est their actions go unnoticed, the Ukrainian government[] … post[ed] a flurry of taunting one-liners that mocked […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why the Russian economy keeps beating expectations; Few thought it would be holding up six months into the war” – The Economist

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

“… [T]he Central Bank of Russia (cbr) and Rosstat … have stopped publishing data on everything from trade to investment; many question the reliability of those numbers that are still emerging. Investment banks … have pared back … research …. Multilateral organisations have pulled economists out …. A recent paper … [from] Yale … says … a retreat of Western […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine spy chief says Russian offensive slowing due to fatigue” – Reuters

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

“Ukraine’s top military intelligence official [Kyrylo Budanov] said … Wednesday that Russia’s military offensive was slowing because of moral and physical fatigue in their ranks and Moscow’s ‘exhausted’ resource base. … one of the strongest signals by Kyiv that it believes Russia’s offensive power may be waning. … Moscow claimed the capture of the eastern region of Luhansk in early […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Confounds the West by Recapturing Its Oil Riches” – WSJ

Oil Wells file photo, adapted from image at usda.gov

“Moscow is raking in more revenue than ever with the help of new buyers, new traders and the world’s seemingly insatiable demand for crude.” “Russia pumps almost as much oil into the global market as … before its invasion of Ukraine. With oil prices up, Moscow is also making more money. Demand from some of the world’s largest economies has […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia can’t stop war, even if Ukraine drops NATO hopes – Putin ally” – Reuters

Dmitri Medvedev file photo

“… [Dmitry Medvedev] said on Friday that Moscow would not stop its military campaign in Ukraine even if Kyiv formally renounced its aspirations to join NATO. … [N]ow deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, [Medvedev] also said … that Russia was prepared to hold talks with … Zelenskiy subject to certain conditions. Even before the February invasion, Moscow made clear […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Are sanctions on Russia working? The lessons from a new era of economic warfare” – The Economist

Portion of U.S. Treasury Department Building Facade, North Side, with Sculpture of Alexander Hamilton

“… [A] war of attrition is taking place along a thousand-kilometre front …. … [A]nother struggle is raging — an economic conflict of a ferocity and scope not seen since the 1940s, as Western countries try to cripple Russia’s $1.8trn economy with a novel arsenal of sanctions. … [I]t … reveals a great deal about liberal democracies’ capacity to project […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Is the U.S. mission to support Ukraine getting a named operation?” – Military Times

File Photo of F-22 Fighter and Ground Crew

“Six months into the U.S. effort to bolster Ukraine’s military with equipment, while reassuring NATO allies with troops and aircraft throughout Eastern Europe and Germany, the plan is for troops to remain activated for the foreseeable future. … [T]he Biden administration [reportedly] plans to put a name on this support effort …. [b]ut a Pentagon spokesman couldn’t confirm …. ‘I’m […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSLINK: “How Many of Russia’s Economies Can You Fit Into Germany’s?” – Russia Matters

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

One way geopolitics experts (and pundits) try to help the general audience size up a challenge posed by a less familiar country is to compare it to a better known country (or, in the case of an American audience, a U.S. state). That cognitive trick has been recently applied by Andrew A. Michta, an American political scientist at the George […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelenskyy says Ukraine has been ‘born again’ by resistance to Russian invasion” – Financial Times

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

“… Zelenskyy has vowed that Ukraine will fight Russia’s invasion ‘until the end’ … [speaking] on the 31st anniversary of [Ukraine’s] independence from the USSR. … in a video address from Kyiv’s Independence Square … Zelenskyy said his country had been ‘born again’ by its resistance to a war ordered by … Putin. … He pledged that Ukraine’s military, increasingly […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Car-bomb killing sows unease among cheerleaders of Putin’s war” – Washington Post

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

“… Dugina’s death rocked … Russian TV anchors, journalists and other commentators … serv[ing] up propaganda justifying … Putin’s invasion …. The killing immediately heightened a sense of vulnerability among Russia’s most elite and visible promoters of the war in Ukraine, who now realize that they might be targets and that the government is potentially unable to protect them. … […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Where Ukraine war stands after 6 months” – AP

Ukraine Map Highlighting Donbas, adapted from image at defense.gov, with photo credit to Peggy Frierson, DOD

“When … Putin invaded Ukraine … an unprovoked act of aggression, many expected a quick victory. Six months later, the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II has turned into a grinding war of attrition. The Russian offensive has largely bogged down as Ukrainian forces increasingly target key facilities far behind the front lines, including in Russia-occupied Crimea. […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Who Will Get Rid of Putin? The Answer Is Grim” – New York Times/ Oleg Kashin

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

“What’s easier to imagine … Putin suddenly declaring an end to the war on Ukraine and withdrawing his troops or a Russia without [] Putin that revises his policies, ends the war and begins to build relations with Ukraine and the West on a peaceful new foundation? … [P]rotests against the war have been completely choked off …. Critical public […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia rules out peace deal to end Ukraine war” – Financial Times

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

“Ambassador Gennady Gatilov warns Moscow expects a prolonged conflict.” “Moscow sees no possibility of a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine and expects a long conflict, a senior Russian diplomat has warned …. Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva … [said] the UN should … play[] a bigger role in attempts to end the […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. Steps Up Enforcement of Its Long List of Russia Sanctions” – WSJ

Portion of U.S. Treasury Department Building Facade, North Side, with Sculpture of Alexander Hamilton

“Biden administration pushes to close loopholes and lobbies countries like China and India to curb trade with Russia.” “The U.S. has imposed … powerful sanctions against Russia[] … to punish it for the invasion of Ukraine. Now, U.S. officials are pushing to ensure they are effective, closing loopholes, lobbying other nations for support, and cracking down on people abetting Russia’s […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Struggles: We explain why the last several weeks of the war in Ukraine have gone poorly for Russia” – New York Times

Ukraine Map Highlighting Donbas, adapted from image at defense.gov, with photo credit to Peggy Frierson, DOD

“… [T]he most recent phase of the war has gone better for Ukraine than many observers expected …. [H]ere are the three scenarios we described … Russia starts to win. … [and] continue[s] to take over more of eastern Ukraine, as … in the spring, and ultimately control[s] all of the Donbas … The war falls into a stalemate. … […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “5 things you need to know about Russia’s intelligence failures ahead of the invasion of Ukraine” – Washington Post

FSB Headquarters file photo

“… 1. A clandestine branch of Russia’s security service was deeply involved in the Kremlin’s failed war plan, assuring officials … that Ukraine’s government would fall quickly and deploying operatives to install a puppet regime. … 2. FSB officers were so confident … that they spent the final days before the war arranging [Kyiv] accommodations …. 3. The FSB’s Ukraine […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Europe’s powers gave Ukraine no new military pledges in July, data shows; Europe’s military support for Ukraine has been decreasing since April, according to data from the Kiel Institute.” – Politico

Europe Map

“Throughout … July, Europe’s six largest countries[, the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland, reportedly] offered Ukraine no new bilateral military commitments … the first month that … happened since Russia invaded in February. … [D]espite historic shifts in European defense policy — which have seen  once reluctant countries like France and Germany ship arms to Ukraine — military […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSBLOG: “The war in Ukraine: Stay cool on Kherson: Why Ukraine’s army should not rush to recapture the whole province” – The Economist

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

“… There is growing chatter that the Ukrainian army is preparing a counter-offensive in and around … Kherson in the south. It has damaged or severed most of the bridges … connect[ing] the city to other Russian-held territory, isolating Russian forces …. It is pounding Russian ammunition dumps and command posts with rockets. Ukrainian generals are buoyant; one says the […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelensky faces outpouring of criticism over failure to warn of war” – Washington Post

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“Until this week, Ukrainians seemed to see … Zelensky as beyond reproach, a national hero who stayed in Kyiv … risk[ing] … personal safety to lead his country against invading Russian troops. Comments he made .. justifying his failure to share with Ukrainians details of repeated U.S. warnings that Russia planned to invade have punctured the bubble, triggering … public […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Black Sea deal also helps Russian farmers, economy” – AP

Wheat in Field, adapted from image at usda.gov

“… [S]hip after ship loaded with grain has sailed from Ukraine after being stuck … for nearly six months. More quietly, a parallel wartime deal met Moscow’s demands to clear the way for its wheat to get to the world, too …. While the U.S. and its European allies work to crush Russia’s finances with a web of penalties for […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Five takeaways from The Post’s examination of the road to war in Ukraine” – Washington Post

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

“… 1. The United States intelligence community penetrated multiple points of Russia’s political leadership, spying apparatus and military, and found … Putin preparing for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. … 2. Every decision on arming Ukraine was predicated on not giving Russia a reason to attack the United States and NATO. … 3. Biden dispatched his top intelligence official to […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian visa issue” – Anders Åslund

EU Map adapted from cia.gov image

(Anders Åslund Twitter – twitter @anders_aslund – Aug. 16, 2022 “I feel deeply disturbed by the agitation to refuse all Russians visa to the EU because most Russians support Putin’s war in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of liberal Russians who oppose the war have fled Russia. They must not be punished! Instead, the EU should interview all the Russian applicants for […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukrainians believe they’ll win the war, a survey finds” – Washington Post

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“They’re optimistic about the future, despite months of trauma.” “The Pentagon announced $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine last week …. [T]he U.S. treasury has authorized $4.5 billion in budgetary assistance …. … likely … welcome news in Ukraine, where a survey reveals citizens remain determined to repel Russia’s invasion, no matter how long they think the war may […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Playing With Fire in Ukraine; The Underappreciated Risks of Catastrophic Escalation” – Foreign Affairs/ John J. Mearsheimer

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

“Western policymakers appear to have reached a consensus … [that the] Ukraine … conflict will settle into a prolonged stalemate, and eventually … a peace agreement … favor[ing] the United States … NATO allies … [and] Ukraine. … Few imagine … U.S. forces … directly involved … or … Russia[n] … use [of] nuclear weapons. … Although disastrous escalation may […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Repeat Failures: Moscow’s New Strategy in Ukraine Is Just as Bad as the Old One” – Foreign Affairs/ Dara Massicot

Ukraine Map Highlighting Donbas, adapted from image at defense.gov, with photo credit to Peggy Frierson, DOD

“… Russia invaded Ukraine … put[ting] its military forces in an unsustainable position … tak[ing] on more operations than they could bear[,] … nearly all its soldiers surg[ing] simultaneously and rapidly into Ukraine … along multiple fronts. … without … necessary protective measures …. vulnerable to ambushes, counterattacks, and severe logistical problems …. Moscow was overconfident [on multiple counts] … […]

» Read more
1 17 18 19 20 21 54