Ukraine
Danger Will Robinson: Warfighting robots fast approaching
Ernest Hemingway famously wrote bankruptcies happen “gradually, then suddenly”. Given two events last week, this might also succinctly describe the rise of robot warfighting. A…
Europe’s last war
Sometimes, watching the latest news, Europe’s last war comes to mind. At this time 30 years ago, the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the deadliest chapter in the violent break-up…
The Baltic response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been some of the most significant supporters of Ukraine following the invasion by Russia in February 2022, contributing the…
Fake news, propaganda, and the withering of commitment to truth
Book review: Alan Philps, The Red Hotel (Headline, 2023)
In war, truth is supposed always to be the first casualty. We owe that insight to an isolationist American Senator,…
Moscow, we have a problem
On 22 July, Igor Girkin, a hardline pro-war Russian nationalist with an extensive history of involvement in Ukraine, was arrested by the Kremlin on charges of “public incitement…
Exploring an end game in Ukraine? Not yet
Nearly 18 months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there is little prospect of an early end to the fighting. Ukraine’s long-awaited counter-offensive, now underway, is making…
Cluster munitions: A necessary defensive strategy for Ukraine
Concerns over potential breaches of international humanitarian law in cluster munitions use in Ukraine are based on a misguided interpretation of the legal position. More so, the…
Why China tripled its heavy truck shipments to Central Asia: Unravelling the influence of Russia’s war in Ukraine
Trade data shows Central Asia’s imports from China are up sharply, as the region is progressively integrated into a Beijing-Moscow economic axis.
Central Asia is increasingly a…
Why the Black Sea Grain Initiative must be restored
Earlier this week, Russia announced that it would suspend its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the landmark diplomatic deal brokered by the United Nations and…
Putin is Xi’s useful idiot
Almost from the moment Russia invaded Ukraine, analysts have debated China’s role in the conflict. The fact that Xi Jinping met Vladimir Putin in Beijing only a few weeks earlier…