Ukraine Crisis 2022: A Polish Perspective

02/14/2022
By Robert Czulda Despite numerous alarmist tones, average Ukrainians do not panic – shops are open and people gather at restaurants and pubs. Ukrainian security expert Yevgeniya Gaber, whom I interviewed recently for the Polish media, said that there are no signs of any chaos and the Ukrainian intelligence community…

A Nordic Perspective on the 2022 Ukraine Crisis: A Discussion with Hans Tino Hansen

02/13/2022
By Robbin Laird I have had the opportunity over the years to visit what I refer as the defense arc from the UK through the Nordics to the Balts to Poland. The CEO of Risk Intelligence, Hans Tino Hansen, has been a key guide to thinking through the process of…

Franco-German Defense Industrial Cooperation: A Strategic Failure or Necessity?

02/07/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - France would do well to discard Germany as a military and industrial partner and strike out on its own, Vauban, an anonymous group of defense specialists, said Jan. 24 in La Tribune, a French business news website. “Three years after the signature of the Aix le…

The AUKMIN Sydney Meeting: January 2022

02/01/2022
By Peter Jennings The immediate significance of the recent AUKMIN gathering in Sydney (January 21, 2022) was that it took place while a Russian military assault on Ukraine is imminent. Given the threat from Moscow, no one would have been surprised had the UK foreign and defence secretaries delayed their…

Is it Time for the U.S. to Engage with the Taliban?

01/30/2022
By James Durso Afghanistan’s Taliban recently proposed it take a role in aid distribution via the creation of a joint mechanism with international aid organizations to coordinate the distribution of food aid to the country. According to the Taliban, "The goal of this committee is coordination on a higher level…

Europeans and the 2022 Ukraine Crisis

01/27/2022
Some recent news stories highlight a variety of European actions and reactions in the current Russian-generated Ukraine crisis. Ukraine is composed of a variety of ethnic groups, and those ethnic groups are largely from its proximate neighbors. The graph below provides an overview. Source: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/major-ethnic-groups-of-the-ukraine.html The Hungarian government is one…

The Czech Republic Rallies Support for Ukraine

01/23/2022
“Czech Republic is, historically, politically, and alliance-bound to take the side of Ukraine. If Ukraine needs this, we will try to help”, said the head of the Czech MoD, Jana Černochova, stressing the help would be provided based on requirements expressed by the Ukrainian government. The government in Prague noted…