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Gen Z shuns Putin’s war and quietly mourns lost freedoms and vanished opportunities. Photo: TASS / Kirill Kuhmar Russia’s Supreme Court decision to remove the only registered party openly campaigning for peace, Yabloko, from the ballot for September’s State Duma election has revived the question of how many Russians oppose the Kremlin’s war and how much space remains to express that opposition. It is certainly a signal of the regime’s resolve. After all, if a Western-style l

In the latest wave of climate-related narratives spread by the Kremlin, climate change is a vehicle to reinforce familiar disinformation tropes: the alleged authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the EU, Europe’s supposed self-inflicted decline through sanctions against Russia, and, ultimately, the claim that Europe has no choice but to restore relations with Russia as a supplier of affordable oil and gas. Climate change used to be a fringe topic in Kremlin propaganda. It was rare

The increased focus on drones can assist militaries in many ways, but this technology is far from a panacea. Corsair Autonomous Vessel / Picture source: Saronic On July 12, three explosives-laden Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) motored into an enemy port, maneuvered past whatever defenses may have been in place, and blew up a drydock cradling a submarine undergoing maintenance. If the USVs had been Ukrainian and the target had been Russian, the robot raid would have been old

Building a supply chain independent from China is impractical. For now, leverage data, connectivity, and automation to reduce risk. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine How can the US and other democracies safely use drones, including those made in China or using Chinese components? Commercial and civilian drone use has expanded in recent years and will undoubtedly continue to grow as tech evolves. Drones use the airspace in ways that challenge existing regula

Ukrainian and foreign fighters with experience of the front are scouring the globe to find the best technology to see off Moscow’s forces. Ukraine, with limited manpower, needs asymmetric advantages wherever they can be found. Innovation is decentralized across many Ukrainian units, and across the country, volunteers, engineers, and soldiers are working hand-in-hand to develop new technology. But there’s a limit to commanders’ capacity to withdraw soldiers from the front to t

Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming the primary source of information for millions of people. For authoritarian states, control over generative AI has turned into a critically important element of controlling and managing the masses. This is precisely why Russian language-model developments and the services connected to them deserve close attention. But are they really a “sovereign” technology of Russian origin? Consider the example of YandexGPT – a large languag

This report traces how Russia sustains its war in Ukraine by recruiting foreign nationals, many of them deceived or coerced, through a global pipeline of social media advertisements, intermediaries and disposable websites. It centres on a recent investigation by the European External Action Service (EEAS), which uncovered a coordinated digital infrastructure behind this recruitment drive. The Kremlin has faced challenges in recruiting personnel for its war against Ukraine. Wi

Source: Darnytsia District State Administration Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has warned that Moscow is likely to expand attacks on the country’s civilian population and critical infrastructure in the coming months as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to finally break Ukraine’s resistance. “Russia’s goal now is to destroy our water supplies,” commented Shmyhal in an interview with Politico this week. “Last winter they targeted electricity and heating, but you c

Source: Lithuianian Armed Forces Lithuania’s security environment has fundamentally changed over the past decade. Public and institutional thinking, however, has not fully adapted. Lithuania is no longer operating in peacetime. Alongside sustained Russian rhetoric about a future conventional invasion, Lithuania is already facing an ongoing hostile campaign below the threshold of open conflict, eroding the distinction between peace and war. Those actions go beyond traditional

Foto: Vladimir Velengurin / KP As Russian President Vladimir Putin grows increasingly isolated domestically and internationally amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, there is renewed speculation over who might one day succeed him and what that this would mean for Russia. “For the first time since the conflict began, Russians are starting to imagine a future without Putin,” Britain’s Economist reported in May. The prospect of new Russian leadership provokes mixed reactions. Wh

The Kremlin’s propaganda is increasingly documenting the symptoms of a systemic crisis, while criticism of Putin is no longer an absolute taboo even among former supporters of the regime. After the failure of the “Kyiv in three days” plan, when Russian propaganda was filled with triumphant rhetoric, its propagandists mastered a peculiar genre: they could spend hours listing the problems facing their country, yet with almost mystical persistence avoided discussing the causes o

Screenshot form Tass WASHINGTON—On July 25, Ukraine struck an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea, killing a sailor in the attack. At the time, Ukraine stated that the ship was carrying military equipment to Russia, while Iranian officials claimed it was a commercial ship and warned Kyiv of reprisal. In the days that followed, Tehran reportedly considered carrying out a retaliatory strike, until Iranian Foreign Minister Abas Araghchi spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, An

The Kremlin’s on-again-off-again campaign to intimidate and disorientate European allies is picking up once more. Galati, Romania / Source: Digi24 Russia’s shadow war against NATO allies has moved southwards, with three drone breaches of Romanian airspace in as many days, and a surge of other incursions in recent weeks. Together with another attack on Poland, where a Russian cruise missile struck 100 km (62 miles) from the country’s eastern border on July 30, the incidents su

By Taine Noble / Unsplash Russia launched 126 ballistic missiles at Ukraine in July 2026, the New York Times reports. This figure represents a new monthly record since the start of the full-scale invasion as Moscow steps up the bombardment of Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure. The recent surge in missile attacks comes as Ukraine runs short of air defense ammunition, leaving the country virtually defenseless against the Kremlin’s ballistic blitz. Russian President V

As news from the front makes Vladimir Putin’s demands for peace with Kyiv look more absurd, Ukraine and its allies must push for justice. Why would Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, or any outside mediator, want to talk with Putin? Even if a ceasefire was achieved, as Serhii Plokhy argues in David and Goliath (Harvard Ukrainian Studies, February 2026), it would not bring lasting peace. Illustrative photo. A children's toy in a destroyed house in Sumy / Stas Yurchenko

Ukrainians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to voice their concerns over the sudden removal of the country’s reformist defense minister. Rolling protests in Kyiv and cities across Ukraine have sparked the biggest political crisis since the start of the full-scale war and have highlighted the continued strength of the Ukrainian population’s democratic instincts. Photo: Mykhailo Tyunkin, Graty The remarkable readiness of ordinary Ukrainians to defend their rights and h

The two neighbors are mutually dependent in fighting the Russian menace. They should remember this when historical disputes erupt. Photo: ТСН 2026 is the Year of Jerzy Giedroyć. Americans may be forgiven for not recognizing one of Central Europe’s leading 20th-century democratic intellectuals, but Poles have no excuse. The Polish Senate decided to honor him last year. Most of the country’s elite, including President Karol Nawrocki, a professional historian and former director

Russian Navy Day celebrations. July 26, 2026. Freeze frame from the IZ.RU video Russian President Vladimir Putin has faced widespread ridicule this week following Sunday’s dramatically downgraded Russian Navy Day celebrations, with detractors claiming the sorry spectacle has underlined his failure to secure Russian airspace against Ukrainian drones. Russia’s annual Navy Day festivities have traditionally served as an opportunity to flex the country’s maritime muscles. In the

When Putin’s mouthpieces talk about something, there’s always a reason. Russians have renewed cause to worry. It has been a long time coming, but ordinary Russians are now experiencing a fraction of the horrors inflicted by their regime upon their neighbor. Now too, they’re hearing their state-directed media hint about a darker future of mass mobilization for the despot’s war. Unlike Russia’s military, Ukraine’s armed forces are not targeting civilians, but everyday life is n

Simple geographic binaries cannot address the threats the US faces, especially as its enemies pursue a broad alliance across the globe. Zulfugar Karimov/Unsplash For much of the past decade, American strategic debate has been dominated by a single proposition. The United States is told it must choose between theaters of conflict. China is described as the pacing threat, and Washington should therefore commit its finite resources toward the Indo-Pacific. Europe, while importan