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Displaying 244 comments for topic Ukraine War
September 2026
Putin’s ‘Special Electoral Operation’ could backfire
Elections in Russia over the two and a half decades of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule have never been free and fair. The scope of electoral manipulation has been steadily rising to the point that the recent system that selected members of the Russian State Duma from September 18 to 20 cannot meaningfully be described as an election.
Putin’s Eastern voyage highlights Russia’s setbacks
Russian President Vladimir Putin has lately visited at least seven cities in Russia’s Siberian and Far Eastern regions.
Is Europe up to Putin’s challenge – and vice versa?
For Europe, the challenge may no longer be only to deter Russia, but also to overcome the internal divisions that Russia seeks to exploit.
August 2026
Only Moscow lacks new ideas for ending war against Ukraine
The July 23 meeting in Manila between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lasted only 35 minutes and produced no new momentum, according to the Kremlin (The Moscow Times, July 23).
The Ukraine War takes new turns in the Black Sea theatre
Wars of attrition are supposed to be static and predictable, but the Ukraine War definitely departs from this pattern. Its transformation is constant, and during this summer, new surprises have come, delivered primarily by Ukraine, which puts priority on neutralization of Russian capacity to generate mass of manpower by technological innovations.
July 2026
Ukraine ramps up drone strikes in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea
Since early July, Ukraine has expanded its middle- and long-range aerial and naval drone strikes from isolating the Crimean Peninsula to also disrupting Russia’s maritime traffic in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
Putin intensifies missile attacks against Kyiv ahead of NATO summit
The Kremlin paired the July attacks with exaggerated battlefield claims and messaging aimed at the July NATO summit.
Ukraine’s expanding strike campaign undercuts Putin’s claims of steady progress
Russian President Vladimir Putin has a reputation for lashing out when cornered. According to some analysts, Putin’s pattern of responding to setbacks with escalation has made many Western leaders hesitant to supply heavy-impact weapon systems to Ukraine.
June 2026
Shadow of Anchorage no-deal looms over Ukraine peace no-talks
The long-deadlocked Ukraine war has from the start of 2026 changed quite drastically in the tactical, strategic and geopolitical dimensions, but has remained immobile on the diplomatic track.
Do we need peace research when Norway is threatened by war?
War once again threatens Norway’s security. One might ask what we need peace research for at this moment.
SPIEF’26 highlighted Russia’s growing economic troubles
Russia’s business elites went through the motions of demonstrating loyalty to Putin by attending SPIEF’26 amid mounting economic and security challenges.
Russia hits strategic ceiling with attacks, strikes, and bluffs
Each attempt at nuclear blackmail exposes the disarray in Russian elites and society.
May 2026
Surge in nuclear brinksmanship cannot regain Russia’s position of strength
The accumulation of setbacks in Russian economic, military, and foreign policies this spring has reached such a scale that the pattern of deadlocked war is beginning to shift toward the prospect of defeat
Putin missed another potential chance to work toward peace
Russians are tired of the Kremlin’s deadlocked war against Ukraine. Neither the keenest Russia observers nor analysts inside the Kremlin, however, have an accurate measure of this tiredness.
April 2026
Russians appeal to Putin that he is misinformed about reality
After 50 months of the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine, Russia is facing accumulating military, economic, and social problems.
Deadlocked war subtly changes to Russia’s detriment
This year’s 32-hour-long Easter truce for Russia’s war against Ukraine did not lead to a lasting ceasefire nor a resumption in peace talks.
March 2026
Putin’s war calculus keeps oscillating as spring offensive stumbles
The effect of the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf on Russia’s war against Ukraine grows more complex as the parties of both conflicts experience attrition of various kinds
Moscow calculates benefits of Gulf conflict, coming short
As the aerial conflict in the Persian Gulf moves into week three, assessments generally assume Russia is a key beneficiary.
The wars of misconstrued opportunities and bad choices
Trump’s assertion of an “imminent threat” from Iran is no more convincing than President Vladimir Putin’s perennial claim that he had no other choice but to invade Ukraine.
February 2026
Kremlin struggles to project global relevance amid peace talks
Vladimir Putin may persist with his “military victory” war plan, but he also wants to keep the diplomatic attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who wants to bring the war against Ukraine to an end.
‘Energy truce’ could be preamble to Ukraine peace deal
In the January 30 “energy truce” Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure until at least February 1.
January 2026
Putin’s irrelevance at Davos Forum is irreversible
The agenda of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland on January 19–23, is extensive. The absence of official Russian participants appears politically motivated.
Putin stalling ninety percent complete peace deal
The recent surge in diplomatic activity intended to draft an agreement to end Moscow’s war against Ukraine has yielded U.S. and Ukrainian assertions that the deal is 90 percent ready.
December 2025
Quality of mediation is a major issue in the Ukraine peace process
The ongoing talks between the US, Russian and Ukrainian teams of negotiators may yet produce a “peace deal” – so desired by President Donald Trump – by the end of the tumultuous year 2025, or at least before the disastrous war comes to the four-year mark.
Flaws in Putin’s art of no-deal for peace become apparent
In November, a 28-point U.S.–Russia draft peace proposal was leaked that heavily favored Moscow, sparking backlash from Ukraine and the European Union.
October 2025
Putin returns to brinksmanship after new U.S. sanctions
With hopes for a personal rapport with Trump fading, Putin has returned to nuclear brinkmanship.
Putin–Trump call stalls Tomahawks but reactivates ceasefire discussions
Putin’s phone call yielded a short-term advantage by prompting Trump to delay a decision on supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
Russia ignores global peace developments to focus on Putin’s war
Extraordinary international attention was focused on the Nobel Peace Prize announcement on October 10. Anxiety was palpable in Moscow, where official skepticism had dominated since the award of the 2022 prize to the Memorial Society.
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