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Russia

While Washington Looks to Iran, Putin Gains Ground

Rob Dannenberg

While Washington Looks to Iran, Putin Gains Ground

OPINION - After the joint U.S. - Israeli strikes against Iran’s nuclear program last June and after the spectacular raid that resulted in the capture [...] More

RussiaEuropeExpert View

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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

Russia is Targeting Civilians in Ukraine

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

Russia is Targeting Civilians in Ukraine

OPINION — The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that 14,383 civilians were killed in Ukraine, 673 of them children, [...] More

RussiaEuropeAmbassador Joseph DeTraniUkraine
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
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

Uber Krysha: How Russia Turns Crime into Power—and Poison

Gregory Sims

Uber Krysha: How Russia Turns Crime into Power—and Poison

OPINION — Current discussion of Russian "hybrid warfare" tends to revolve around concepts like disinformation, proxy militias, cyber operations, [...] More

RussiaEuropeAlternative Perspectives
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

Putin Again Bungles Strategy: Why His War of Attrition will Sink Russia

Gregory Sims

Putin Again Bungles Strategy: Why His War of Attrition will Sink Russia

OPINION — On February 14, 2022, with Russia poised to invade Ukraine, I questioned whether Vladimir Putin’s reign to that point had revealed him to [...] More

RussiaUkraineEuropeAlternative Perspectives
Russia is Waging a Sabotage Shadow War on Europe

Russia is Waging a Sabotage Shadow War on Europe

DEEP DIVE — In the darkness of night on November 15, a massive explosion ripped through a stretch of the Warsaw-Lublin railway line close to Mika, [...] More

RussiaEurope

Putin Sees “Useful Meetings”, the U.S. Should See a Trap Set for Inexperienced Negotiators

Rob Dannenberg

Putin Sees “Useful Meetings”, the U.S. Should See a Trap Set for Inexperienced Negotiators

EXPERT OPINION / PERSPECTIVE -- Reports from Moscow suggest that U.S. representatives Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are “optimistic” about the [...] More

RussiaUkraineEurope
The Kremlin's Kill List: Inside a Culture of State-Sponsored Murder

The Kremlin's Kill List: Inside a Culture of State-Sponsored Murder

EXPERT OPINION / PERSPECTIVE — The 2024 spy swap between Russia and the West exposed a brutal truth: Moscow still treats innocent civilians as [...] More

RussiaEurope

The U.S. Needs to Restore Deterrence Credibility Against Putin

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

The U.S. Needs to Restore Deterrence Credibility Against Putin

OPINION — President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace plan is a humanitarian attempt to halt the killing and destruction in Ukraine, although Russia’s [...] More

RussiaAmbassador Joseph DeTraniUkraineEurope
Do Oil Sanctions Still Work?

Do Oil Sanctions Still Work?

DEEP DIVE — On October 22, 2025, in his boldest move yet to force Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table, President Trump unleashed sweeping [...] More

RussiaEurope