Eurasia

Ukraine Nuclear Firm Says It Still Controls Key Plants but Russians Nearing

Russian troops are within 35 km of the Zaporizhzhia plant and the South Ukraine power plant, although both plants are working normally Ukraine still controls two key nuclear power plants in the south of the country, including Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest, but Russian forces are closing in, the acting head of …

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Building Iraqi Army Will to Fight to Prevent Another Disaster

Conditions in Iraq have improved to the point that, in December 2021, the United States ended its combat support operations in the country. A residual force of about 2,500 U.S. military personnel remains to advise and train Iraq’s security forces. Operation Inherent Resolve—the U.S.-led campaign to defeat the Islamic State—has …

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China and Russia are proposing a new authoritarian playbook. MENA leaders are watching closely.

When President Donald Trump lost the 2020 US presidential election to democratic candidate Joe Biden, many leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) saw an ominous warning that democracy may again take center stage in US foreign policy, with autocrats trying to consolidate power in their hands. However, …

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Europe needs to prepare for a future without Russian energy

As Russia ramps up its invasion of Ukraine, it’s increasingly obvious that Europe and the United States need to build resiliency against further hostile actions from the Kremlin such as the weaponization of energy. Western states have been left scrambling for nonmilitary interventions—but the problem for NATO is that European …

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Russia Crisis Military Assessment: Why did Russia’s invasion stumble?

The bottom line During the first week of the war, Russian ground forces have become bogged down outside of the northern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv due to their failure to establish air superiority (which has resulted in significant aircraft and helicopter losses), too few troops to execute three …

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Inside Vladimir Putin’s criminal plan to purge and partition Ukraine

As Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate, many are asking what the Russian dictator ultimately hopes to achieve. During his March 3 phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Russian ruler made clear that he is committed to taking full control of Ukraine and “neutralizing” the country. …

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Pentagon establishes communication line with Russians amid war in Ukraine

The Pentagon has established a communication line to the Russian Defense Ministry in attempts to reduce the risk of dangerous misunderstandings as Russia wages war on Ukraine, a U.S. defense official said Thursday. The Defense Department set up the deconfliction line on Tuesday “for the purposes of preventing miscalculation, military …

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Russians seize nuclear plant after attack, Ukrainian officials say

Ukrainian officials said on Friday that fire at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe has been extinguished, but that the facility is now under Russian control after fighting. In a later development at a Friday news conference, the chief of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog said there had been no …

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“Let Them Kill as Many as Possible”- United States Policy Toward Russia and its Neighbors

In April 1941, four years before he was to become President and eight months before the United States entered World War II, Senator Harry Truman of Missouri reacted to the news that Germany had invaded the Soviet Union: “If we see that Germany is winning the war, we ought to …

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Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Outing the Iraq War White Washers

The guilty can be devious in concealing their crimes, and their role in them. The greater the crime, the more devious the strategy of deception. The breaking of international law, and the breaching of convention, is a field replete with such figures. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has presented a …

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