• Geography is Destiny: Ukraine’s Options Are Limited

    Russia is much stronger militarily than Ukraine. When Russia suffered setbacks on the battlefield, it never hesitated to launch massive, indiscriminate, and destructive attacks on the civilian population and infrastructure, as was demonstrated in the two Chechnya wars. If there is a war between Russia and Ukraine, Russia, one way or another, will win it. This is important to note as the crisis over Ukraine deepens, and as many – too many – voices in the West are, in effect, urging Ukraine: “You fight Russia, and we’ll hold your coat.” This is a cavalier, and likely exceedingly costly, advice.

  • Nord Stream 2 Will Not Move Forward If Russia Invades Ukraine

    U.S. said it would work with Germany to ensure that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany does not begin operations if Russia invades Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the pipeline a “private sector project,” as did his predecessor Angela Merkel, but he has hardened his position in the past few days.

  • U.S. Developing Energy Contingency Plan for Europe in Case of Russia’s Cuts in Oil, Gas Exports

    Moscow provides approximately 40 percent of Europe’s natural gas, and European energy stockpiles have been significantly lower in the past few months because of reduced Russian supplies. The Biden administration has been working with European countries and energy producers around the world on ways to supply fuel to Western European countries should Russian President Vladimir Putin slash oil and gas exports in retaliation for sanctions imposed for an invasion of Ukraine.

  • Putin “Playing Poker Rather Than Chess”: Former U.K. Spy Chief

    In an interview Tuesday with the BBC, former head of Britain’s MI6 external intelligence agency, Alex Younger, said he cannot see how the Russian leader can back down as fears mount that Putin is poised to order a Russian invasion of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.

  • Why NATO Has Become a Flash Point with Russia in Ukraine

    Russian leaders have watched with mounting resentment as the transatlantic alliance has nearly doubled its membership since the end of the Cold War. President Vladimir Putin has drawn a red line in Ukraine.

  • U.S. Cyber Officials Bracing for Fallout from “Log4j” Vulnerability

    More than a month after the Log4j software vulnerability was first discovered, U.S. cybersecurity officials are still warning about it, saying that some criminals and nation state adversaries may be waiting to make use of their newfound access to critical systems.

  • Germany Responds to Putin's Weaponization of Russian Gas

    Germany is pumping Russian gas back into Poland as Gazprom cuts supply to the EU. As Russia plays its hybrid war games with an increasingly divided EU, the new front appears to be the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.

  • What Will Taiwan Do If China Invades?

    China claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island 160 kilometers away and has not dropped the threat of force, if needed, to capture it. The two sides have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s. The specter of a war has captured attention since mid-2020 when the People’s Liberation Army began almost daily military aircraft flyovers over a sea west of the island, which experts said is China’s attempt to normalize its military operations near Taiwan.

  • To Intervene or Not to Intervene: That Is the Question

    When a crisis or conflict threaten U.S. interests, a direct military intervention is one of the options American decisionmakers must consider. A new report offers a framework that can be used to rigorously consider the trade-offs between intervening militarily early in a war or crisis, intervening later, and not intervening at all, as well as the trade-offs involved in decisions regarding the size of the potential intervention force to be employed.

  • How China Could Cyberattack Taiwan

    China has the means to launch a disabling cyberattack against political rival Taiwan ahead of any military invasion, experts say, as the technology is already targeting the island’s political leadership. A straight-up military invasion would cost lives and mobilize U.S. forces for Taiwan’s defense. Disruptive cyberattacks could sow chaos and soften Taiwan’s defenses, potentially making an invasion less costly for Beijing, experts say.

  • Can Europe Compete with China's Belt and Road Initiative?

    The European Union this week launched a $340 billion “Global Gateway” fund to boost global infrastructure, which analysts say is aimed at rivaling China’s Belt and Road Initiative. But can the EU’s project compete with Beijing’s billions?

  • U.S. and EU, Wary of China, Forge Alliance on Technology

    With Beijing on the rise as a tech superpower, Brussels and Washington want to close ranks. But divisions loom over the new “Trade and Technology Council” alliance — and previous efforts have a mixed track record.

  • Iran-Afghanistan Water Dispute: A Test of Tehran's Ties to Taliban

    An old dispute over water rights could be the first test of Iran’s planned pragmatic cooperation with the Taliban. Without a functioning environmental agency, though, it is unclear who in Afghanistan can address the conflict.

  • China’s Response to the Taliban’s Takeover

    “The primary interest for China in Afghanistan is ensuring stability so that no unrest would spill over into the wider region and China in particular. In this sense, the U.S. presence in Afghanistan has been a positive for China as it has played the security role at no cost to China. Now, China will have to develop its own relationships with the Taliban,” says Harvard’s China expert Tony Saich.

  • China Used Vaccines, Trade to Get Ukraine to Drop Support for Xinjiang Scrutiny

    On 22 June, Ukraine signed a UN-sponsored document, along with more than 40 other countries, calling for China to allow independent observers immediate access to Xinjiang, where Beijing is operating a camp system that UN officials estimate has interned more than 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities. Two days later, Ukraine withdrew its signature after China threatened to limit trade with Ukraine and withhold Ukrainian access to COVID-19 vaccines.