Russia, Hamas and a Moment of Global Challenge
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE – Hamas thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support as it released 25-year-old Russian-Israeli dual national Ron Krivoi from captivity on Sunday in […] More
Europe
A Turkey by any other name
OPINION — On the eve of our most American holiday, let me wish all a hearty appetite as they carve their Roman chicken, Ethiopian rooster, […] More
A Nuclear North Korea Presents Opportunity for Global Leadership in a Complicated World
OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — This is the twentieth anniversary of the Six Party Talks, established in 2003, to resolve the nuclear issue with North […] More
The Price of Putin’s Unkept Promises
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — When Russian President Vladimir Putin rose to power in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, one of his promises to […] More
Ukraine’s Big ‘Adventure Capital’ Opportunity
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — Early after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as Russian troops threatened Kyiv and Russian cruise missiles destroyed targets […] More
What are the Implications of the Growing Alliance Between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea?
SUBSCRIBER+REPORTING — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a rare trip out of the hermit country last month, to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledge […] More
The Ukraine Diaries: The Biggest Challenge is not Allowing Ukraine to Lose this War
The Ukraine Diaries is a series of personal writings by national security experts who took part in The Cipher Brief’s recent visit to Kyiv as […] More
The Ukraine Diaries: Ukraine Embodies the Values We Were Raised to Believe In
The Ukraine Diaries is a series of personal writings by national security experts who joined The Cipher Brief’s recent visit to Kyiv as part of […] More
The Ukraine Diaries: Is Ukraine a Vital U.S. National Security Interest?
The Ukraine Diaries is a series of personal writings by national security experts who joined The Cipher Brief’s recent visit to Kyiv as part of […] More
The Return of ‘Iron Felix’ and the Future of Russia’s Leadership
After originally being removed in 1997, a replica statue of “Iron Felix” Dzerzhinsky, has now been placed outside the headquarters of Russia’s foreign spy service. […] More
The Argument for Adopting a Reagan Strategy in Ukraine
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Today, as Western pundits and military experts monitor progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia’s occupation forces in Southern Ukraine, many correctly […] More
How the War in Ukraine is Driving a New Global Order
Is the Ukraine a Global Inflection Point? And if so, with what Consequences? OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Since early on in the Ukraine war, […] More
With Prigozhin Presumed Dead, What Happens to the Wagner Group Now?
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — The news was perhaps as unsurprising as it was shocking: Russian officials say that a plane that crashed northwest of Moscow […] More
Exclusive Interview: A Sobering Battlefield Assessment in Ukraine
ZAPORIZHZHIA, UKRAINE – AUGUST 11: A hole left by missile near a hotel. (Photo by Elena Tita/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) “The Cipher Brief […] More
Prigozhin’s Uncertain Fate
EXPERT PERPECTIVE — In the wake of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin’s 36-hour mutiny and the scant and the confusing smoke signals emanating from the Kremlin […] More
CIA Director: Putin’s Hold on Power Betrays “Significant Weaknesses”
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – A social contract that Russian President Vladimir Putin has engineered over the decades to cement his authority may now be showing signs […] More
Western Focus Sharpens on China Over Black Sea Grain Deal
EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER+ INTERVIEW — In the wake of a Kremlin decision to halt a U.N.-brokered Black Sea agreement, which allowed Ukraine to export tens of millions […] More
NATO’s Four Big Challenges: A Subscriber+Exclusive Interview
Exclusive Subscriber+Interview — This week’s NATO Summit in Vilnius may have fallen short of the clear path to membership that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has […] More