Russia

Destruction in Kyiv

Israel’s Strategic Interest in Ukraine Is Changing Because of Iran

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Despite frequent appeals and complaints from Ukrainian leaders, Israel has refused requests to provide weapons to Ukraine. Ukraine is now suffering barrages of cruise missiles and suicide drones hitting targets across Ukraine, weapons that are destroying Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Israel knows and is deeply concerned that Iran is allegedly supplying …

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Firing of Russian thermobaric MLRS

Russia’s ‘Dirty Bomb’ Claim Lights the Nuclear Fuse

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Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called his counterparts in the US, UK, France and Turkey on Sunday to warn that Ukraine could be preparing to use a “dirty bomb.” Is Shoigu also warning that the Russian army might be pushed into using nuclear weapons? A dirty bomb is commonly understood as a conventional …

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Crimean canal dam blown by occupying Russian forces

The Crimea Question

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Russia’s Black Sea position has Eurasian strategic significance because the Ukraine War is a Eurasian War, not a European one. As the balance shifts against Russia, escalation becomes more probable, and as the Indo-Pacific balance of forces shifts, U.S. policymakers must consider the facts. Ejecting Russia from Crimea should be …

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Who Gains Most from Nord Stream Sabotage?

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The US has long opposed NATO’s (especially Germany’s) dependence on Russian, formerly Soviet, natural gas. The United States, in fact, used export controls to block the original Yamal pipeline in the 1980s, believing the threat of a Russian cutoff would alter Europe’s political decisions. As recently as 2018, then-president Donald Trump …

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Cell Tower 5G

Networked Warfare

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The U.S. military stands at an intellectual and structural crossroads. It seeks to field new, transformative capabilities while maximizing the current force, optimizing itself for high-end combat against a peer adversary. In this quest for lethality, the U.S. can embrace a truly networked, distributed force – but only if it makes the …

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Putin’s Final Goal in Ukraine Has Demonstrably Shifted, As Has His Escalation Calculus

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Vladmir Putin’s September 21 Speech — alongside Russian mobilization and sham referenda in Ukraine’s occupied east and south — demonstrates that the Russian leader’s immediate war aims have shifted. As always, Putin seeks to let the context shift, grab what he can, and await a better set of circumstances. Putin’s …

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Photo: Kremlin Pool / Sputnik / Sergei Bobylev

SCO Summit Did Not Show What You Think It Showed

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Last week, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping met in person for the first time since February 4. When they spoke more than six months ago, the mood appeared rather different. On that occasion, the two kindred authoritarians produced a Joint Declaration proclaiming a “partnership without limits” and presented the outlines of …

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Putin and Xi at Beijing Olympics

Spasm Escalation: Russia’s Last Weapon has been Spent

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Russia has its back against the wall. Western analysts have missed this fact. Indeed, they have completely misinterpreted Russia’s “escalation ladder,” the technical term for the set of responses Russia sees at each stage of the Ukraine war. The “gas weapon” that Russia has just employed, a full supply cut, signals the Kremlin’s …

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