Attention to the Unseen

Emily Ferris writes: The war in Ukraine has prompted much soul-searching among Russia watchers and policymakers, to try to consider where we might have got Russia wrong, what we might have missed, and what this now means about how the West looks at Russia. One of the most pressing concerns highlighted by this war has been the growing acceptance in Russia of previously fringe views on both Ukraine and the West. Several particular events in the past few weeks have…

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The Guardian reports: Western leaders have said the war in Ukraine could last for years and will require long-term military support as Russia brought forward reserve forces in an apparent attempt to capture the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk. “We must prepare for the fact that it could take years,” Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said in an interview with the German newspaper Bild on Sunday. “We must not let up in supporting Ukraine.” The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, echoed…

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Dmytro Kuleba, minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine, writes: As Russia’s all-out war of aggression in Ukraine drags on for a fourth consecutive month, calls for dangerous deals are getting louder. As fatigue grows and attention wanders, more and more Kremlin-leaning commentators are proposing to sell out Ukraine for the sake of peace and economic stability in their own countries. Although they may pose as pacifists or realists, they are better understood as enablers of Russian imperialism and war crimes….

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Timothy Garton Ash writes: From the outset, Zelenskiy made candidacy for EU membership one of his three main asks to the west, alongside his urgent request for more weapons and sanctions. A recent opinion poll conducted in Ukraine’s western and central regions – polling was impossible in the east because of the war – found 89% support for EU membership. Who can doubt that Ukrainians have been fighting and dying for Europe? Explaining the commission’s positive recommendation, a senior Brussels…

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New Atlanticist reports: As Europe reels from Russia’s war against Ukraine, Lithuania—a Baltic country that’s intimately familiar with Kremlin domination—has emerged as a clear leader in responding to its aggression. For years, said Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė at an exclusive Atlantic Council Front Page event Thursday, her country has warned the West about the security dangers posed by a revanchist Russia—which she says “keeps on proving we were right” about seeing Moscow as a threat. “When people sometimes say, ‘Look,…

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The New York Times reports: Gesturing to the artillery shell lodged in the ground and a rocket protruding from the wall, Maksym Katerynyn was in a rage. These were Ukrainian munitions, he shouted. And it was Ukrainian artillery that struck his home the day before and killed his mother and stepfather. “The Russians are not hitting us!” Mr. Katerynyn barked. “Ukraine is shelling us!” But that was next to impossible: There were no Russian soldiers for the Ukrainians to shell…

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The Wall Street Journal reports: Russian forces have conducted a series of operations against the U.S.-led coalition in Syria this month, including one this week at a strategically located base in the southern part of the country, U.S. military officials said. The Russian actions have alarmed U.S. military officials, who are concerned that a miscalculation might escalate into an unintended conflict between the U.S. and Russian forces in Syria. Tensions between the two countries are already high following Russia’s invasion…

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Jeffrey Lewis and Aaron Stein write: Our reading of most nuclear crises from the Cold War is that, while both Washington and Moscow sought to avoid the use of nuclear weapons, there were always opportunities — by misperception, accident, or simply chance — for the nuclear powers to stumble into a nuclear war neither side wanted. Many officials in the Kennedy administration were confident that Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev would seek to avoid nuclear war under any circumstances, even if…

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Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard write: In the weeks and months since the invasion of Ukraine, Europeans have surprised both Vladimir Putin – and themselves – by their unity and decisiveness. Post-heroic European societies outraged by Russia’s aggression, and mesmerised by Ukrainians’ valour, provided the motivating force for Europe’s unexpected turn. They inspired their governments to adopt change on a historic scale; they opened their homes to millions of Ukrainians; they demanded tough economic sanctions; and they forced Western companies…

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