Ideas

Defense One Radio, Ep. 96: The impact of Russia’s Ukraine invasion

We assess the economic uncertainty stemming from Vladimir Putin's invasion of democratic Ukraine.

Threats

Ukraine War Could Put Food Security on Pentagon’s Plate

Global leaders from UN to Congress warn low supplies, high prices could spark conflict elsewhere.

Ideas

How to Stop Putin Without Starting WWIII

The greatest risk the United States and European countries face right now is mission creep from their own desire to do more.

Threats

Why the US Won’t Give Patriot Interceptors to Ukraine

The Pentagon is still hunting “alternative options” to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against Russia’s brutal strikes.

Threats

US Officials Not Ready to Dismiss Russia’s Anti-Aircraft Missiles, Despite Shortcomings in Ukraine

The U.S. has invested heavily in expensive stealth aircraft that can evade detection from Russian interceptors.

Threats

Pentagon Could Need More Cash if Ukraine Support, NATO Border Mission Drags On

Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord also said allies are contributing more now than in the past.

Ideas

Establish a Zone of Peace in Western Ukraine

Sending foreign troops to defend so-far-uncontested territory is the only way to preserve a free Ukraine and prevent Putin’s next attack.

Threats

Poland Offers Fighter Jets for Ukraine, But US Rejects Swap-and-Send Idea

Warsaw said it would send its MiG-29s to a German air base, leaving delivery to Ukraine up to the U.S. and NATO.

Threats

Concern Rising That Putin Could Use Nuclear Weapons

Russian “escalate to de-escalate” doctrine suggests Putin is thinking the unthinkable.

Threats

Russia’s Rocket Barrages Reveal Bad Planning, Cruelty—and the Absence of Crucial Skills

“Everybody is surprised by the lack of combined arms capability in the Russian army,” said one general-turned-analyst.

Ideas

How the Ukrainian Military Went from 'Decrepit' to Surprisingly Strong

Four factors have turned the country's defensive capabilities around since Russia first invaded in 2014.

Ideas

Ukraine, Fight Your Fight—Not Their Fight

The Ukrainian military needs the weapons and tactics of an irregular conflict, not a conventional war.

Policy

If Russia Hacks a US Satellite, Is It an Act of War?

After a Russian official issued dire warnings against tampering with satellites, U.S. officials declined to follow suit.

Science & Tech

Putin Lost the Digital War Abroad. Will He Lose at Home?

Its diplomatic efforts in tatters, its agencies beset by cyber vigilantes, the Russian government is still choking off the information that fuels its homegrown protest movement.