Rusia

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created a catastrophe for the people living there and an inflection point for the peace movement. In the last 5 weeks thousands of people have been killed and millions have fled their homes to escape the violence. Billions of people all over the world are now living under the greatest threat of conflict between nuclear armed states in a generation. Beyond the immediate suffering, events taking place right now in Eastern Europe will have an impact on peace issues and defense policy for years to come. Woefully, the peace movement in the United States, limited in its influence already, has been unable to unite around a message to oppose calls for more militarization.

The Ukrainians have used U.S. and NATO intel quickly and efficiently, inflicting heavy losses with missiles supplied by the West. Russia, meanwhile, is having difficulty coordinating its forces, forcing it to hit static targets. The two sides will soon face three options

As the West scrambles to maintain its united front against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union (EU) member states of Central and Eastern Europe have led the way as some of the continent’s loudest moral voices, sending arms and humanitarian aid to Ukraine while receiving streams of refugees.

As the losses of Russian troops continue to mount, including numerous generals who have been killed, there are reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin is purging elites within the security services.
With pressure mounting on Putin after his ill-fated invasion of Ukraine, including from the oligarchs who now find themselves under crushing sanctions, some have speculated about the possibility of a palace coup.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have advanced on Ukraine by land, air, and sea. Understandably, much of the analysis of Moscow’s capabilities has focused on its conventional forces. However, as fierce Ukrainian resistance frustrates Russia’s invading military, it is critical for the West to fully understand a fourth domain where the Kremlin might try to gain superiority through its toolkit of aggression: space. This is particularly vital since space capabilities also enable Moscow’s nuclear infrastructure, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has put on high alert.

Targeting Russia Was the Easy Part

The international sanctions campaign that countries and companies have mounted against Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine is a remarkable achievement of multinational diplomacy and corporate responsibility. Much of the world has voluntarily terminated business with Russia, severing trade ties and financial relationships with the country and shocking the Kremlin by freezing many of its foreign assets. The speed, scope, and scale of these punitive economic measures and the nature of their target—one of the world’s largest and most important economies—are all without precedent.

How Putin and Zelensky Have Defined the Ukrainian Conflict

If anyone doubts the importance of individual leaders in the shape of world events, surely the war in Ukraine has dispelled them. It is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war and no one else’s, just as World War II in Europe was Adolf Hitler’s. Both men wanted war; both embraced it as a test of virility against a decadent enemy.