“Wars of attrition, … what large-scale conflicts between militarily sophisticated adversaries such as Russia and Ukraine tend to become, are usually decided by … the better arms industry. Russia’s economy is nearly 14 times the size of Ukraine’s, but the combined resources of Ukraine’s allies are so much greater that it should be able to win. … Both America and […]
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“Leaders of talks on … Zelenskyy’s peace formula … said a growing number of countries are working to help set the groundwork for Russia to join one day, a[] … distant goal as the nearly two-year war grinds on [with] neither side willing to cede ground. The fourth such meeting of national security advisers takes place in … Davos, where […]
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“The report found that American officials and diplomats had failed to quickly or fully account for all of the nearly 40,000 weapons sent to the front.” “More than $1 billion worth of shoulder-fired missiles, kamikaze drones and night-vision goggles … sent [by the United States] to Ukraine have not been properly tracked by American officials, a new [DOD Inspector General] […]
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“[Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council] warned … Thursday that … Ukrainian attacks on missile launch sites inside Russia with arms supplied by the United States and its allies would risk a nuclear response from Moscow … [also saying] that some Ukrainian military commanders were considering hitting missile launch sites inside Russia with Western-supplied long-range missiles. … Putin […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Simon Saradzhyan – Jan. 11, 2024) Since December, my colleagues at Russia Matters and I have been monitoring1 how Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and its commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi have sparred over who should assume prime responsibility for the plan to conscript up to 500,000 Ukrainians. As we watched the two employ what Sun Tzu would […]
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“Rout of elite Ukraine forces in counteroffensive is a lesson in why the war effort is stalled” “… Because the West had dithered for months over the provision of tanks and other armored vehicles, the Russians were ready. They had dug in on the flat [southeastern] farmland … laying hundreds of thousands of mines and setting up firing positions for […]
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“Sullivan likely to raise strategy issue with Ukraine leader Tensions seen as war heads into third year with aid stalled” “The U.S. wants Ukraine to sharpen its plan for fighting Russia’s invasion as the war heads into its third year and is expected to raise the issue with … in Davos … and continue to push the point in the […]
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“… Ukraine has mastered the production of short-range drones, which both sides have used extensively throughout the war. Now Ukraine is stepping up the development of drones that can strike more distant targets in Russia, Crimea and the Black Sea. These attacks typically involve around a dozen drones, often accompanying cruise missiles. Since December Ukraine has carried out some attacks […]
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“… Israelis and Palestinians have been battling for more than 50 years without gaining lasting security. Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine began as a fever dream of … Putin. He failed to conquer Kyiv … but the bloody war of attrition has cost Russia an … 320,000 casualties and Ukraine … 170,000 to 190,000. The biggest national security question for […]
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“Funding for more weapons and ammunition is held up in fight over border policy; ‘We’re out of money’” “The Washington stalemate over U.S. [border] policy … is … reverberat[ing] on the Ukraine battlefield, where Kyiv’s troops are running out of ammunition and the Pentagon says it can’t provide more without emptying its own arsenal. … [T]he Pentagon has run out […]
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“Investigators hope Warsaw’s new government will shed light on gas-pipeline attack after previous administration’s reluctance to disclose potentially crucial evidence.” “Polish officials have resisted cooperating with an international probe into the sabotage of the Nord Stream natural-gas pipelines and failed to disclose potentially crucial evidence, according to European investigators …. [They reportedly] have been slow to provide information and withheld […]
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“The country’s forces along a broad stretch of the front say that, with Russia pushing forward, the war has never been so dangerous.” “… Ukrainian troops along most of the 600-mile front … are officially in defensive mode. Only in the southern region of Kherson are they still on the offensive … across the Dnipro River. … [F]ighting has not […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and its commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi have continued their indirect struggle over which of them should assume prime responsibility for the unpopular decision1 to conscript up to 500,000 Ukrainians. The tussle began on Dec. 19 when Zelensky claimed that the Ukrainian army chiefs had requested the conscription of up to 500,000 men, according […]
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“Moscow’s forces have adapted their tactics since last winter, preceding their missiles with waves of drones, whose mission is to saturate Kyiv’s air defense capabilities and deplete their ammunition reserves.” “… [T]his new campaign of Russian strikes could … be more difficult to counter than last year’s …. The Russian military, aware of Ukraine’s ground-to-air defense capabilities, has adapted its […]
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“Ukraine said it was defending territory behind the eastern frontline town. Its capture would be Russia’s most significant territorial advance in Ukraine in more than six months.” “… The battle for Marinka illustrated defining features of Russia’s invasion that analysts say have given Moscow’s forces a major advantage: bombing a place to ruins and then sending in wave after wave […]
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“The good news is it would open the door to eventual EU and NATO membership.” “According to a recent report …. [Ukrainian] troops on the front line are running out of ammunition. Artillery shells are being rationed, forcing the Ukrainians to cancel planned assaults and making it hard to hold defensive positions against Russian attacks. … As Ukraine struggles, its […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) The U.S. and its European allies “are quietly shifting their focus from supporting Ukraine’s goal of total victory over Russia to improving its position in an eventual negotiation to end the war,” according to a Biden administration official and a European diplomat interviewed by Politico. “Such a negotiation would likely mean giving up parts of Ukraine […]
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“By not arming Kyiv for a long-range campaign against Russia, the U.S. seems to be forcing a deal.” “… [W]hile Russia can strike anywhere in Ukraine, the U.S. has denied the Ukrainians the weapons they need to hit Russian targets, even in the parts of Ukraine that Russia occupies. This raises the question: Does [] Biden want Ukraine to win? […]
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“Blatant violations of international laws require a response and reparations would be in line with historical precedent.” “… [One] geopolitical flashpoint[] … may be … pressure to seize Russia’s reserves in foreign central banks to fund Ukraine. Western nations … reported[ly] … have been actively exploring the move …. rais[ing] worries about … consequences for the financial system, … that […]
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“… [I]f Putin is running as a wartime president, he has to massage the facts. Russia does not fully control the Ukrainian regions it claimed in September 2022; the war on the ground has been extremely costly in terms of Russian lives and equipment; and Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has taken a serious beating. … [T]he war has … come […]
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“The Soviet Union designed the S-300 … mobile, surface-to-air defense … system[] during the Cold War …. Russia unleashed 14 … offensively at cities in Ukraine …. part of a wave of missiles and drones … [in] the largest one-day aerial attack on Ukraine …. ripp[ing] into 45 multistory buildings, including schools, churches, hospitals, maternity wards, shopping centers and warehouses, […]
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“Shortfall in external aid would push a recovering economy back into survival mode, says deputy prime minister.” “Ukraine may have to postpone pay for public servants and pension payments to millions of its citizens if the EU and U.S. fail to deliver promised financial aid early next year … warn[s] [Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister] Yulia Svyrydenko …. [T]he […]
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“… 5. A stalemate in Ukraine. Thanks in part to sluggish support and political impasse from the United States and … Western allies, Ukraine didn’t have enough guns, equipment, or ammo to punch a hole in Russia’s well-fortified defensive lines in eastern Ukraine …. [N]either do Russian forces have the capability, morale, training, or effective fighting prowess to make significant […]
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“At the start of 2023, hopes were high that a much-vaunted Ukrainian counteroffensive would change the dial in the war …. It didn’t … 2024 could be even harder. Ukraine’s alliances with the U.S. and Europe could be destabilized further in 2024, putting the future of military aid packages in doubt. The amount of support and military hardware Ukraine receives […]
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“… Ukraine, … expected to fold in a few weeks [after the wholesale invasion], is not only alive … [I]t’s also managed to push Russia from half the territory … seized [early on]. While these gains may fall short of our hopes and expectations, they are not sufficient to produce the palpable despondence spreading throughout the West. … [T]he Ukrainians’ […]
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“… To understand Ukraine’s likely fate if Russia turns the tide, the best place to start is what the Russians actually say. … [Russian] regime propagandists assert that the Ukrainian state is a disease that must be treated and Ukrainians a society that must be ‘de-wormed.’ … Russia’s highly censored state television has … consistently promoted the rape of Ukrainians, […]
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“The Ukrainian Orthodox Church formally changed the main date for the festivities, departing from the Russian tradition of celebrating on Jan. 7, according to the Julian calendar.” “… After centuries of marking [Christmas] on Jan. 7 under the Julian church calendar, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church this year formally switched to celebrating on Dec. 25 with most of the rest of […]
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“… The advent of the war triggered fears of outright nuclear conflict between the West and Russia. That period of somewhat frenzied speculation has passed. The war has since settled into a grinding—but conventional—stalemate. To be sure, U.S. officials are still concerned that Russia may use tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. … The unfortunate truth is that Washington cannot […]
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“Russia and the U.S. could be headed for a major escalation, according to [Sergei Ryabkov, Russian deputy foreign minister responsible for ties with the U.S., arms control and non-proliferation.] … [Ryakkov] said … confiscation of frozen Russian assets could lead to diplomatic relations … being severed. … [R]eports emerged that the Biden administration could be close to seizing more than […]
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“… [W]hile outright criticism of Kyiv’s military strategy remains taboo, we are beginning to see frank debate on Ukrainian social media about the country’s postwar future and who will be left to build it. … The debate over Ukraine’s freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and minority rights … reveals that even if Ukraine manages to win the war, […]
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“… If [U.S.] aid is cut off and Ukraine is forced to accept a Russian victory, the result won’t be peace but Russian preparation for a new war. The war in Ukraine activated the Soviet totalitarian psychological inheritance in Russia … [that] never disappeared. … Russia is more dangerous than … since the height of the Cold War [with] [m]ilitarization […]
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“Russia’s ruling mechanism — bureaucratic institutions — may outlast the current personalism. This vast network of civil servants, technocrats, and administrators forms a modestly resilient framework that endures beyond individual political decisions, providing continuity and ensuring the steady day-to-day functioning of the government.” “A persistent question … has been whether Russia has transitioned from … authoritarian … to … totalitarian […]
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“…. A strong and free Ukraine, one that is capable of standing up to Russian aggression, is essential to peace and stability in Europe. If … Putin’s strategy of waiting for American resolve to falter is successful, he would then be in position to attack NATO allies and potentially draw American troops into a war ….” Click here for: “An […]
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“… Ukraine is fighting Russia alone. American aid — never timely or sufficient, but enough to help keep Ukraine alive and Russian invaders at bay — is about to run out. … Without American artillery, ammunition, missile systems, tanks, armored vehicles, humanitarian aid, or funds for reconstruction, Ukraine will be left to face the Russian onslaught with diminishing odds of […]
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“… Ukrainian and U.S. commanders are making cold and unsentimental assessments of the lessons of the summer’s failed counteroffensive …. a signal that the war in Ukraine is deadlocked. Drones and other high-tech weapons have made Ukrainian and Russian tanks largely obsolete. … As always after military setbacks, the failed counteroffensive has brought some recriminations. The Post series included a […]
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“The West needs to keep its nerve, recognize the stakes, and support Kyiv’s clearest path to victory.” “… The truth is that there is no easy way out. Moscow has repeatedly made it clear that it will only accept Kyiv’s surrender, and the latter’s underwhelming ground offensive will only have emboldened the Kremlin. The only way to force … Putin […]
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“[From October:] … Russia’s war against Ukraine began in 2014 with its militarized annexation of Crimea, and moved into its current phase … in February, 2022, …[with] Putin[‘s] … full-scale invasion. In the initial months [after], Ukraine, under … Zelensky … with support from NATO, scored some astonishing victories, including the defense of Kyiv. But, although the people of […]
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“Kyiv’s counter-offensive has ended in failure. This could be NATO’s Suez moment.” “… Any deal that rewards Russian aggression will signal to the rest of the world that NATO, with all its collective wealth and weaponry, could not succeed in the minimal goal of rescuing a country that its two most powerful members, the US and the UK, had undertaken […]
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“… While the public is tired of the ‘special military operation,’ there are different views on how the fighting should end. … [T]he average Russian believes it is their duty to endorse what the state deems to be moral and right. … Some data … [reveals] doubts …. If they could go back in time, 48 percent of them would […]
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“… [Ukrainian] [o]fficials say almost all agreements … Kyiv entered into since the [Soviet] collapse … were scrapped by Moscow … that sitting down with Russia is pointless at best … dangerous at worst. ‘Putin is a habitual liar who promised international leaders that he would not attack Ukraine days before his invasion in February 2022,’ Ukraine’s foreign minister [Dmytro […]
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“President has been stalling on conscript rules since June Ukraine is grappling with dwindling number of volunteers” “A plan to draft more Ukrainian men into the army has been sitting on … Zelenskiy’s desk since June. … [He] so far has defied pressure from the military to sign it. Instead, Zelenskiy … asked his government and top brass for a […]
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“Ukrainian and eastern European officials are … trying to unstick Senate talks stalled over GOP demands to link Ukraine aid with U.S. policy changes on the southern border. … Zelensky dispatched his closest political allies — … president of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, and the head of his office, Andriy Yermak — to lobby lawmakers …. Politicians and officials […]
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“Ukraine signaled Monday that it is shifting its military tactics toward a more defensive footing after an analysis of Russia’s resource capabilities and as winter approaches. Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak noted … ‘on the front line and in the cities, we are already moving to a different tactic of warfare — effective defense in certain areas, continuation of offensive […]
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“… [A] number of Ukrainians straddl[e] two increasingly distinct worlds: the grim reality of a trench war; and an ever more waspish political battleground in Kyiv. … [C]ompetitive politics went into hibernation [after Russia’s wholesale invasion, yet] …. returned as the existential threat to Ukraine decreased later [last] year. … Cracks have emerged not only on political lines but, most […]
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“President Volodymyr Zelensky’s briefing, via a video call, will come a day after the White House warned that aid to his country would soon run out.” “… [A]n emergency funding package is stalled in Congress. The … Senate will vote … Wednesday … [on] more than $61 billion in Ukraine-focused assistance as part of a $106 billion national security package. […]
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“… Crimea … became crucial to Moscow’s strategy to dominate Ukraine and the Black Sea region. Critical to that domination is the bridge spanning the Kerch Strait … [between] Crimea [and] … mainland Russia. Built by Moscow at enormous cost, this bridge opened in 2018 … [and] has been a major conduit for … Russian soldiers and arms …. currently […]
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” … Zelensky will have to consider a call for … politicians and civil servants to be drafted to fight in the war … after a petition … reached the required number of signatures. After the start of … Putin’s full-scale invasion, Zelensky announced a general mobilization in which military reservists between … 18 and 60 were eligible for conscription. […]
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“The United States seeks to cut Russia’s oil and gas revenue by 50 percent by 2030 as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine …. according to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt[,] [who said that] … Washington hopes [oil and gas] sanctions … will hinder … Putin from … future military aggression …. Kremlin has managed […]
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“Russian forces are intensifying attacks on … Avdiivka, seeking to encircle Kyiv’s troops …. Kyiv and Western capitals … acknowledge[] that Russia’s full-scale invasion … could drag on into a much longer war. … Avdiivka … had a pre-war population of around 32,000[] [and] has been a frontline city since 2014, when it was briefly occupied by Moscow-backed separatists …. […]
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“New favorites have appeared in … Putin’s inner circle in recent years. Using their access … they come up with new projects to manage, promote themselves in the media, and try to impress everyone with their professionalism … distinguish[ing] them[selves] from veteran members of Putin’s entourage … [and] help[ing] shore up the system. … [T]hey are … starting to overshadow […]
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