Commentary Recently, a prominent American holder of high office and an eminent American academic and historical biographer proposed similar methods for resolving the war in Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who in an administration that had more capable and articulate spokespeople on foreign and strategic matters wouldn’t opine on the subject of war in Central…

Commentary On March 27, Hungary’s parliament overwhelmingly approved Finland’s application to join NATO. Finland and Sweden, both Cold War neutrals, applied to join NATO in May 2022. NATO has 30 members and requires unanimity to admit a new member. Hungary made 29 for Finland. The alliance awaits Turkey’s decision. On March 17, after opposing Finnish…

Commentary Ukrainians, and many Europeans and Americans, are defining an envisioned Ukrainian victory as the complete expulsion of all Russians from its 2013 borders. Or, as a Ukrainian national security chief put it, the war ends with Ukrainian tanks in Red Square. But mysteries remain about such ambitious agendas. What would that goal entail? Giving…

Commentary March 2022’s Ukraine war videos of exploding Russian tanks showed the world that Ukrainian soldiers armed with modern anti-tank weapons knew how to ambush and destroy Russia’s mightiest armored fighting vehicles. Wire service photos of Russian vehicle graveyards confirmed Ukrainian military units knew how to defeat and destroy entire Russian military units—entire formations, not…

Commentary As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heads into its second year, the American-led strategy of handing off weapons to Kyiv and hoping the underdog can defeat the overdog needs adjustment. Both U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Milley have expressed concerns about the U.S.-German tank deal for Kyiv. But U.S….

Commentary Russia versus Ukraine: It’s an unexpected “near-peer” war. Eleven months of combat and suffering demonstrate that on the battlefield Ukraine can defeat a Russian invasion then launch limited but sustained (and thus effective) local counter-offensives. As Month 12 begins, satellites photograph trenches and shell holes, wire services report artillery slugfests and cable TV experts…

Commentary The Ukrainian war has had far-reaching consequences. It has wreaked incredible suffering in Ukraine and caused widespread destruction. It has also stoked inflation globally, upended energy markets worldwide, and exposed the dangers of Europe’s reliance on Russian natural gas exports. Its geopolitical consequences have been equally profound. It has exposed fundamental weaknesses in Russia’s…

Commentary The Ukrainian war has entered a second, more dangerous phase. This phase is marked by a significant Russian escalation of hostility, a call up of roughly 300,000 reservists, renewed Kremlin threats that all options are on the table, including the potential use of theater nuclear weapons and a Russian declaration that, following a plebiscite,…

Commentary The Ukrainian war is now in its eighth month. To date, its progress has defied all predictions. The widely expected Russian victory proved elusive. It’s dangerous to speak of the legacy of the Ukrainian war when all the signs point to a long, bitterly fought warzone whose final act is still months, if not…