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News & Analysis

Russia’s Foreign Fighter Pipeline: How Moscow Exploits Global Poverty to Feed Ukraine’s Frontlines

Russia’s Foreign Fighter Pipeline: How Moscow Exploits Global Poverty to Feed Ukraine’s Frontlines

DEEP DIVE — Moscow has spent nearly four years burning through human resources in Ukraine, and now they’ve found a new way to fill the gaps of loss: [...] More

RussiaEurope

The Latest

China’s Stunning Military Purge – and What It Means For Taiwan

China’s Stunning Military Purge – and What It Means For Taiwan

DEEP DIVE – President Xi Jinping’s latest purge of generals has eviscerated China’s military leadership, drawn comparisons to crackdowns carried out [...] More

ChinaAsia
Russia’s War Economy Lifeline: Inside the Sanctions Evasion Network

Russia’s War Economy Lifeline: Inside the Sanctions Evasion Network

DEEP DIVE — Nearly three years into the most comprehensive sanctions regime ever imposed on a significant economy, Russia’s defense industrial base [...] More

RussiaEurope
Two men in a serious conversation, one in a suit, the other in a military uniform.

The Kremlin Files: Russia’s Way to the Gray Zone

THE KREMLIN FILES / COLUMN — Russian hybrid warfare, often referred to in the West as “gray zone” conflict, has transitioned from theoretical concept [...] More

EuropeRussia
New Reports Reveal Years of Unaddressed Osprey Safety Risks

New Reports Reveal Years of Unaddressed Osprey Safety Risks

DEEP DIVE — It is one of the most lauded defense developments in recent decades, providing preeminent capability to U.S. military personnel [...] More

Americas
The Country’s First ‘Cognitive Advantage’ Chief: Influence Is the New Battlefield

The Country’s First ‘Cognitive Advantage’ Chief: Influence Is the New Battlefield

WEEKEND INTERVIEW — In an era when foreign adversaries can shape public sentiment with a well-timed meme and a handful of AI-driven accounts, the [...] More

Tech/Cyber
Russia Signals Minimal Desire for Peace

Russia Signals Minimal Desire for Peace

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — As Russia continues it's brutal bombardment of Ukrainian cities, talks between Moscow and the U.S. to end the war appear on very [...] More

RussiaEuropeUkraine
How China Built AI Dominance on Stolen American Silicon

How China Built AI Dominance on Stolen American Silicon

DEEP DIVE — Federal prosecutors in Texas, in December, unsealed charges and related details exposing a sprawling scheme that quietly siphoned some of [...] More

ChinaTech/CyberAsia
After Maduro’s Removal, the U.S. Faces Its Hardest Test Yet in Venezuela

After Maduro’s Removal, the U.S. Faces Its Hardest Test Yet in Venezuela

THE WEEKEND INTERVIEW — As Venezuela faces a moment of profound uncertainty following a dramatic U.S. operation that removed longtime strongman [...] More

AmericasLatin America
The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

The Kremlin Files: Russia, the Modern Surveillance State

THE KREMLIN FILES / COLUMN — Ask any Russian intelligence officer about “naruzhka,” and you’ll see them nod knowingly. It’s the term for physical, [...] More

RussiaEuropeIntelligence
The U.S. Says it Will “Run” Venezuela. What Will That Mean?

The U.S. Says it Will “Run” Venezuela. What Will That Mean?

DEEP DIVE – As audacious and complex as it was for the U.S. to extract Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela – and to do so without a single U.S. casualty – [...] More

AmericasLatin America
Venezuela’s Key Takeaways for the World

Venezuela’s Key Takeaways for the World

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT INTERVIEW – While the U.S. operation to detain Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro took just hours to execute, a full assessment [...] More

AmericasBrad ChristianLatin America
After Venezuela, What Is Next in 2026?

After Venezuela, What Is Next in 2026?

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT Q&A — President Donald Trump said the U.S. is "in charge" in Venezuela after U.S. forces detained President Nicolas Maduro on [...] More

AmericasBrad ChristianLatin America