Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is nearing the one-year mark. In the first of two Power Vertical episodes marking the anniversary, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Volodymyr Dubovyk, an associate professor in the Faculty of International Relations at Mechnikov National University in Odesa and a visiting professor at Tufts University about the war’s major milestones, where it may be headed, and what European security might look like when it is over. Continue reading
Vladimir Putin may be a lot of things, but a historian is not one of them. Continue reading
As Russia’s war against Ukraine drags on into its 11th month and as its battlefield losses mount, cracks are becoming increasingly evident in the centralized top-down political system that Vladimir Putin has built. Continue reading
Vladimir Putin will travel next week to one of the only countries in Europe where he is still welcome in order to meet with one of his few remaining international allies. Continue reading
Ukrainian special forces and guerilla units strike deep inside Russian-occupied Crimea, hitting two airfields and a munitions depot, challenging Moscow’s control of the peninsula. Continue reading
So what happened? And why? On the Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with veteran journalist Michael Weiss, news director at the New Lines magazine, contributing editor at The Daily Beast, and director of special investigations at the Free Russia Foundation, about Russia’s flailing propaganda effort and the latest developments on the ground. Continue reading
Alyaksandr Lukashenka warned the West this week that it was risking World War III by continuing to arm Ukraine, even as he allowed Russia to deploy nuclear-capable missiles on Belarusian territory near the Ukrainian border. Continue reading
the famously mercurial Lukashenka, of course, the bar for what constitutes erratic behavior and over-the-top contradictory rhetoric has always been exceedingly high. But in recent weeks, he seems to be clearing it with ease. Continue reading
Lukashenka, of course, calculated wrong. Instead of a rapid and triumphant campaign, Russia’s blitzkrieg has turned into a quagmire. Continue reading
Open the unlikely scenario: The year is 2023. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is the president of Belarus. And Belarus has been invited to join the European Union… Continue reading
