Developments across Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia and Crimea - the war's front lines, NATO involvement and diplomacy - from multiple perspectives.
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Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members. Each week, we bring you a curated selection of articles from…
Politics
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Ukraine’s push to freeze the front lines suggests that the writing is on the wall for Kyiv’s original war aims, while the West faces a reckoning overpromises it may struggle to keep. As Moscow turns battlefield gains…
China
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For decades the US has sought to prevent China’s rise, and the Philippines is becoming its “Ukraine” in Asia: the South China Sea conflict is engineered in Washington, not Manila. For decades the United States has…
Europe
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Two Ceasefires, Eleven Days Apart On 12 October, Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure. There was no text, no map and no monitor. Within a day…
Geopolitics
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The latest wave of strikes highlights Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians, with stores, shopping centers, and other civilian infrastructure among the targets. Epicentr, one of Ukraine’s largest home improvement…
Politics
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Having promised a resolution to the Ukrainian conflict within days, Trump now finds himself searching for a culprit rather than a solution. Designating Zelensky as a scapegoat is a discreet admission of strategic defeat…
Europe
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Relations between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have recently worsened, marked by mutual criticism. Trump has been critical of US involvement in Ukraine since he took office in…
Politics
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When the house is burning, the arsonists are the first to explain that the smoke was part of the design: as Ukraine and the Middle East rewrite failure into master plan, the real geopolitical trick is not winning but…
War & Peace
Asked at the White House whether he would sit down with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month’s APEC summit in Shenzhen, Donald Trump steered the conversation from Ukraine to warheads. “We would…
Commentary
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Since fall 2023, Ukraine’s supporters have fallen into a pattern: Ukrainians warn that Russia is targeting its energy infrastructure to prevent them from heating their homes, schools, and businesses in the coming winter…
Uncategorized
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The war in Ukraine can be ended permanently on terms that protect Ukraine’s statehood, meet Russia’s security concerns, and lay the foundation for a durable European security order. As another round of negotiations gears…
EU politics
This proposed settlement—designed to help end a conflict that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and carries a continuing risk of confrontation—addresses the causes of the war rather than only its symptoms. Jeffrey…
Economics
Four graphs that tell a bigger story Ian Proud was a member of His Britannic Majesty’s Diplomatic Service from 1999 to 2023. He served as the Economic Counsellor at the British Embassy in Moscow from July 2014 to…
Opinion
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The war in Ukraine can be ended permanently on terms that protect Ukraine’s statehood, meet Russia’s security concerns, and lay the foundation for a durable European security order. As another round of negotiations gears…
Analysis
Lithuania’s defence minister has confirmed that Ukraine is flying its drones via NATO nations’ airspace to attack the Russian city of St Petersburg, to prevent Russia destroying them en route. This act – and NATO nations…
Europe
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was due to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday as Kyiv seeks to repair deteriorating relations with Washington amid President Donald Trump’s increasingly…
Ukraine War
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Reports that SpaceX temporarily restricted its satellite internet service for Ukraine’s armed forces have generated serious concern in Kyiv and among the country’s allies. SpaceX operates the civilian Starlink system and…
Analysis
Political prisoners across Ukraine have carried out a series of historic hunger strikes in protest against the state ‘s torture and brutal treatment. Authoritarian cruelty Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s…
US immigration
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DHS says migrants ‘retain protections’ after temporary protected status was set to expire on Monday - Send us your questions about immigration and the midterms More than 100,000 people from Ukraine and Sudan can stay in…
Members
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Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members. Each week, we bring you a curated selection of articles from…
Opinion
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In recent days, a Ukrainian drone strike hit Russia’s largest data center, owned by bank and technology company Sberbank. The strike came after Ukraine hit three data centers belonging to the tech giant Yandex, which is…
Europe
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This week has seen a deterioration in the relationship between Ukraine and the United States, primarily due to US threats to reduce intelligence support for Ukraine and a diesel deal that could financially aid Russia’s…
Global Risk-Reward Monitor
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Subscribe now with a one-month trial for only $1, then enjoy the first year at an exclusive rate of just $99. China’s industrial rise fuels Japan’s machine tool boom Scott Foster reports that surging Chinese industrial…
Opinion
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s harsh words about US President Donald Trump were an emotional response after Zelensky deliberately thwarted Trump’s request that Ukraine not strike Russian refineries…
Ukraine War
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The drone has become the signature weapon of the Russo-Ukraine war. On any day in Ukraine, tens of thousands of drones are out hunting the battlefield for targets. These could be individual enemy soldiers or vehicles, or…
Europe
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When Donald Trump announced on 9 October that Vladimir Putin would release Russian diesel onto world markets, it read at first like another episode of an American president freelancing on Russia policy. The substance is…
Ukraine War
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Russia’s drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s population and infrastructure continue to dominate coverage of the conflict. But on the ground, Ukraine has been making significant, if still limited, gains. In…
Ukraine War
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The Ukrainian government on Tuesday night said that its access to the SpaceX-owned Starlink satellite internet service was throttled, prompting critics to question the wisdom of depending on any company owned by…
Members
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In 2022, Jeremy Shapiro warned in “We Are on a Path to Nuclear War” that the war between Russia and Ukraine was heading toward nuclear escalation. Four years into the war, we asked him to revisit that argument.Image…
Uncategorized
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President Donald Trump reignited a fierce debate within the American right on October 10, when he made some aggressive remarks about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Zelensky could’ve settled this war many…
Members
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Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members. Each week, we bring you a curated selection of articles from…
Ukraine War
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The deal struck by Donald Trump with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on October 9 to allow Russia to sell millions of tonnes of diesel is a major departure from US policy and runs counter to Ukrainian and…
Ukraine War
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During a quarter-century in power, Vladimir Putin has led Russia into three wars, in part aimed at restoring his country’s status as a world power via violent conquest . Each war began in a blitzkrieg-style display of…
Locations
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Park Ki-chang, South Korea’s ambassador to Ukraine, has returned to Seoul after being recalled in protest at Kyiv’s disclosure of information regarding the handover of North Korean prisoners of war to the South Korean…
Military
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The Russia-Ukraine War has become a real-time laboratory for the Chinese military, spurring rapid defensive modernization while exposing deep friction between its centralized command hierarchy and the decentralized…
Americas
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“Don’t Hit Refineries” On 10 October, standing outside the White House, Donald Trump gave Ukraine a targeting instruction. “Don’t hit refineries. There’s plenty of targets,” he said of Volodymyr Zelensky, adding that he…
Politics
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Volodymyr Zelensky probably did not expect two North Korean prisoners of war to create a diplomatic crisis with South Korea. That is nevertheless what happened. During his September address to the United Nations General…
Global Risk-Reward Monitor
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Subscribe now with a one-month trial for only $1, then enjoy the first year at an exclusive rate of just $99. France’s fiscal troubles shift Ukraine’s burden to Germany Diego Faßnacht reports that France’s worsening debt…
Russia
Let’s imagine a bit of “future history” in Ukraine. It is February 2027. The Ukrainian winter has been unusually cold, and Russian air strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, transportation grid, and communications…
War & Peace
Volodymyr Zelensky announced it in five short lines: “FP-7. First combat use. Thank you for the result. Next up: production. Glory to Ukraine!” On October 1, Ukraine fired its first homemade ballistic missile in combat…
Armed Conflicts
The effects of torture and ill-treatment seen on Oleksandr Savov, a Ukrainian marine who took part in the defence of Mariupol after his release from Russian captivity. Credit: Anastasiia Savova By Ed Holt BRATISLAVA, Oct…
Politics
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Behind the cacophony of the diplomatic rift between South Korea and Ukraine hides a fundamental question: what is the price Seoul has had to pay for access to North Korean prisoners of war and how will this affect…
Eurasia
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Two Bridges and a Warning At about 11:30 on 1 October, a Russian jet drone struck Kyiv’s Southern Bridge while a metro train was crossing it. Two days later drones hit the Northern Bridge, wounding two people and cutting…
Members
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Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members. Each week, we bring you a curated selection of articles from…
Opinion
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The Russians are struggling on land and at sea, and are having real difficulty protecting themselves from Ukrainian long-range attack. That has left them with one real strategic “advantage” and that is what we will see…
World News
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Russia has stated that it will continue to conduct targeted strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities as retaliation for what it calls acts of terrorism by Ukrainian Armed Forces against Russian civilians. The Russian…
Energy News
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The Trump administration’s discussions with Russia to end the war in Ukraine have included a potential multibillion-dollar oil deal. This deal would benefit Middle Eastern business executives linked to US negotiators…
World News
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Latvians are voting in a parliamentary election that could keep pro-Ukrainian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs in power, but political divisions may make forming a government challenging. Concerns about potential Russian…