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A file picture taken 12 July 2007 shows the headquarters (aka Lubianka) of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the former KGB in Moscow.

Russia’s Intelligence Services After the War

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Russia’s intelligence services (RIS) have failed spectacularly in Ukraine: in planning, execution, and analysis, yet they will [...] More

The Latest

Viktor Orban’s Russia Problem Is Becoming Hungary’s Disaster

OPINION — Hungary’s prime minister does not seem to grasp the gravity of the moment. His ally, Russia, is bleeding by a thousand cuts from Ukrainian [...] More

Eighty Years On, Can the UN Meet Its Mission?

OPINION — The 80th ordinary session of the United Nations ended on September 8, 2026. During this year, the UN will have an opportunity to help [...] More

Ex-CIA Station Chief’s Firsthand Account from Ukraine’s Frontline

Cipher Brief exclusive: Former six-time CIA station chief Ralph Goff details the status of the frontlines in Ukraine and where Kyiv needs the most [...] More

Russia Pays the Price as Ukraine Targets Its Oil Refineries

OPINION — Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Vladimir Putin expected a swift victory from his “special military operation.” Instead, it [...] More

A US Air Force C-17A Globemaster aircraft is seen after landing at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico, on September 8, 2025.

US-POLITICS-DEFENSE-PUERTO RICO

7:24 America/New_York Tuesday, September 9 [...] More

Lies, Flattery, and Land-Grabs: Putin’s Tactics in Ukraine

OPINION — “The reason why I still remain pessimistic is that everything that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin says is he still wants those four [...] More

It’s Time to "Fight Like Hell" for Ukraine, Not Capitulate

OPINION — By now, much of the world has increasingly started to truly understand just how far Russia’s Vladimir Putin is from Ukraine and the West [...] More

It’s Time to Show Putin that the U.S. is Serious

OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – As we reach a temporary ceasefire in diplomatic progress aimed at ending the war in Ukraine - a war that has cost the [...] More

We Blinked When Russia Invaded. Naïve Diplomacy Won’t Fix it.

OPINION -- I am a pessimist when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine situation. Talks at the White House this week between President Trump, Ukrainian [...] More

Hard Truths Regarding an Unjust War

OPINION — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an illegal and brutal war of aggression. Moscow is solely responsible for unleashing this conflict, and the [...] More

Ex-Spy Warns of Case Officer Tactics in Trump-Putin Dynamic

EXPERT Q&A – After Friday’s meeting in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, former CIA senior officer and [...] More

Can the U.S. Stand Up to Putin?

OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE –The world is a much different place than it was in 2018, when Putin and Trump met in Helsinki. And the stakes for [...] More