May, 2022

• 14 May

  Ukraine To Hold First War Crimes Trial as Moscow Says Kyiv Shelled Russian City

  

  Ukraine announced it will hold its first war crimes trial over the Russian invasion, as Moscow accused Kyiv of shelling a Russian city in the war’s latest flashpoint. The conflict has devastated cities and displaced millions, with fears also growing of its broader international impact as gas supplies to Europe …

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• 14 May

  Russia takes losses in failed river crossing, officials say

  

  Russian forces suffered heavy losses in a Ukrainian attack that destroyed a pontoon bridge they were using to try to cross a river in the east, Ukrainian and British officials said in another sign of Moscow’s struggle to salvage a war gone awry. Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, opened the first war …

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• 14 May

  Ukraine War’s Geographic Reality: Russia Has Seized Much of the East

  

  Russia’s nearly three-month-old invasion of neighboring Ukraine has been punctuated by flawed planning, poor intelligence, barbarity and wanton destruction. But obscured in the daily fighting is the geographic reality that Russia has made gains on the ground. The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces in eastern Ukraine had …

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• 14 May

  Conflicts of Interest: The Environmental Costs of Modern War and Sanctions

  

  The war in Ukraine is placing significant costs on the environment not only through the destructive effects of modern warfare, but also from the unintended consequences of developing international sanctions on Russia. The devastating and ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has not only triggered significant loss of life and a …

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• 14 May

  Corruption in the Russian Armed Forces

  

  Corruption is endemic in Russia and is pervasive within its defence industrial sector and armed forces. Evidence from Ukraine suggests that it is costing Russian lives. Corruption in the Russian armed forces, and society in general, has been a long-acknowledged truism. The Russian public sector has consistently ranked near the …

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• 14 May

  Macron’s Pragmatism Ensures Line To Putin Remains Open

  

  French President Emmanuel Macron last week had his first conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin since March 29. This reestablishment of dialogue came three days after Macron had a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The phone call with Putin lasted for a reported two hours and 10 minutes. Macron …

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• 14 May

  Biden’s Disinformation Board Would Make Even Orwell Shiver

  

  It sounded pernicious enough on the face of it. But even though it represents, at least in principle, arguably the most explicit and chilling threat to the First Amendment that we may have witnessed, the establishment of a de facto ministry of truth — officially titled the Disinformation Board — …

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• 14 May

  Mounting Georgian-Ukrainian Tensions Harm Both Sides – Analysis

  

  The Russian war of subjugation against Ukraine has complicated Georgian-Ukrainian relations, officially described as a “strategic partnership,” in unexpected ways. While the two threatened Russian neighbors seemingly share the same regional security outlook, ongoing tensions between them have been exacerbated by Kyiv’s discontent over the scope and nature of the …

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• 14 May

  The EU Braces for a New Fight—Over Treaties

  

  While Europe gets ready to tune into this year’s Eurovision Song Contest taking place Saturday in Turin, Italy, European Union officials in Brussels are engaged in a competition of their own: to spin the outcome of the recently concluded Conference on the Future of Europe that EU leaders say will …

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• 14 May

  The Decline of Security Transparency Is Making the World Less Safe

  

  International security is inherently a secretive business. Governments and militaries like to hide their capabilities and plans from their rivals. Yet in the post-Cold War years, states began to become more transparent about their military postures, aiming to create a new sense of international cooperation and openness. This process has …

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