Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have frequently framed the invasion of Ukraine as the first step in a Russian plan of broader European conquest. However, a close examination of Russian intent and military capabilities shows this view is dangerously mistaken. Russia likely has neither the capability nor the intent to launch a war of aggression against NATO members — but the ongoing brinkmanship between Russia and the West still poses serious risks of military escalation that can only be defused by supplementing military deterrence with a diplomatic effort to address tensions.
John Mearsheimer: Who Caused the Ukraine War?
The question of who is responsible for causing the Ukraine war has been a deeply contentious issue since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
Mackenzie Knight: Firing nuclear missiles from the pork barrel
One might assume that U.S. nuclear strategy and force structure are determined through serious deliberations among high-ranking officials in decorated uniforms considering adversary capabilities and targeting requirements.
Anatol Lieven: Biden team blows off deadline for Ukraine war strategy
PODCAST: Unintended Consequences: Ben Abelow: NATO, Russia and the Ukraine War
As the Ukrainian war rumbles on is it time to examine whether NATO and the influence of America in Europe has contributed to the escalation in Eastern Europe? Benjamin Abelow joins Unintended Consequences to discuss his book How the West Brought War to Ukraine.
John Hersey: Hiroshima
Today marks 79 years since the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. To mark the occasion, we are providing a link to John Hersey’s groundbreaking report from the scene, published August 23, 1946 in The New Yorker.
VIDEO: How many people were killed by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
The aftermath of the bombings was the complete devastation of both cities in which countless numbers of people lost their lives.
VIDEO: Katrina vanden Heuvel: Prisoner Swap with Russia “Offers a Possible Pathway” to Peace in Ukraine
Democracy Now! spoke with ACURA president and Nation magazine publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel about the prisoner swap between Russia, the United States and several other countries on Thursday that saw the release of 24 people, with 16 prisoners in Russia traded for eight Russian nationals held in the U.S., Germany and elsewhere.
Jeffrey Sachs: 10 Principles for Perpetual Peace in the 21st Century
Politico: US-Russia prisoner swap frees Evan Gershkovich, more than a dozen others
In exchange, Moscow received eight Russians who had been imprisoned in five different countries.
WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich Is Free
Release of 32-year-old American from Russia secured as part of largest East-West prisoner swap since Cold War.
Andrew Cesare Miller: Ukraine’s Double-Edged Sword?
What are the dangers of states using criminal groups for national defense? This article evaluates this question in the context of Ukraine’s response to the 2022 Russian invasion. It lays out what is currently known about Kyiv’s use of criminal groups as part of its defense efforts, specifically for intelligence-gathering and for bolstering military manpower. Wartime arrangements with criminal actors, however, could compound corruption concerns among citizens that undermine their trust in the state. Such arrangements might entrench a pre-war perception that criminal groups wield influence over state institutions. The state granting leniency to criminal actors in exchange for wartime support could also reduce already low confidence in Ukraine’s criminal justice system. While leveraging criminal groups may be necessary for defense purposes, Ukrainian authorities should remain cognizant of the trade-offs involved – some of which may not become evident until the post-war period.
Anatol Lieven: Stop treating Georgia as a creature of the US and the West
ACURA EXCLUSIVE: Franklin Spinney: The Russo-Ukrainian War: Speculative Impressions of Russia’s 2024 Offensive
On July 28, the New York Times carried a report by Constant Méheut,entitled “
Yet for readers who have been following this war in the alternative media, Méheut’s description of the Russian operational art in Ukraine is hardly news. Perhaps this report is another example of the New York Times (or more broadly, the mainstream media) positioning itself to hedge against an emerging reality that is at odds with its irresponsible pro-Ukrainian propaganda.
Mary Wareham: Report: US sending cluster munitions to Ukraine via Germany
All countries that are party to the convention should call for ending the transit and foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions.
Neutrality Studies Podcast: Ukrainian Journalist Reveals Unknown Truths
The idea that Ukraine is “defending democracy” or standing up for “western values” was never true, but now we are getting reports that publications critical of the Zelenskiy regime are getting purged and anyone who dares to utter opinions not in line with the regime are getting persecuted.
In this episode, Dr. Pascal Lottaz talked to Vasyl Muravytskyi, a Ukrainian journalist who has been publishing highly critical reports about his government. On August 1, 2017, he was arrested by Ukrainian law enforcement, charged with high treason and spent 11 months in prison.
Reuters: Putin warns the US of Cold War-style missile crisis
In a speech to sailors from Russia, China, Algeria and India to mark Russian navy day in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg, Putin warned the United States that it risked triggering a Cold War-style missile crisis with the move.
Ben Aris: The war in Ukraine is inching towards a ceasefire as pressures mount
Zelenskiy may be forced into talks as soon as December.
VIDEO: Ambassador Chas Freeman: The New, Multi-Nodal World Order
Based on a speech Ambassador Freeman gave to Chinese Attendees at the Cambridge Executive Leadership Program, on July 10, 2024.
Mason Letteau Stallings: Ukraine Reliant on ‘Conscription Squads’ as Casualties Mount
A BBC report has detailed how Ukraine increasingly uses “conscription squads” to find enough men to send to the frontline in the current war between Ukraine and Russia.