The week before this newsletter was published Alexey Navalny, the Russian opposition politician, died in prison.

On February 18th, the Washington Post referred to the recently captured city of Avdiivka as “strategic”. Is Avdiivka a strategic or pyrrhic victory for Russia? And is Russia’s significant commitment to its capture about the city itself, or the strategic leverage that comes with controlling it? I argue it is both.

Within nine days of the so called ‘special military operation’, the Russian military seized the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, a previously active station which lies on the banks of the Dnipro River.

The cost to rebuild Ukraine is estimated to be somewhere between 483€ billion and 927€ billion. Meanwhile, Russian financial asset frozen abroad amount to around 300€ billion. While not nearly enough, these assets constitute a potential source of aid to Ukraine that would not have to come out of the state budgets of Ukraine’s allies.

As the second year of Ukraine's full-scale invasion unfolded, Yandex reached a pivotal agreement, splitting its operations between Russia and the international arena. Here, I delve into the details of this deal, unveiling the new hierarchy governing Russia's foremost digital platform.

War is never restricted to just the frontline. As history and lived experience show us, its blood-soaked hands grasp onto every aspect of life in the afflicted countries.

This installment, marking the war’s second year, will examine the relationship between legislative gridlock within the U.S. political system, the U.S. Presidential election, and vital aid that Ukraine will need to endure a lengthening war of survival.

Every year the Folk och Försvar (Society and Defence) conference is held in Sweden bringing together the defence and security policy community. Most years the conference would, generally speaking, only attract those with a special interest in the field and certainly would not cause reverberations internationally. This year’s conference was different though...