New Atlanticist

Putin’s Foreign Policy: The Case of Africa

By New Atlanticist

Russia Has Reversed Its Yeltsin-Era Retreat from Sub-Saharan Africa In the two weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised governments and publics by invading Ukraine, writers have launched a veritable industry of analysis that has included his worldview, his KGB roots, his penchant for shirtless photos, and his foreign policy ambitions. Non-stop coverage of the […]

In Ukraine, the End of Act One

By R. Nicholas Burns

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is nearing the end of Act One with this weekend’s trumped-up Crimean referendum for reunification with mother Russia. As we look ahead to Acts Two and Three, what have we learned so far?

Convene Major Transatlantic Powers to Stop Russia

By Richard Burt and Lee Feinstein

It now seems almost certain that this weekend’s referendum by the Crimean parliament on joining the Russian Federation will pass. There is also a real threat that Russian president Vladimir Putin will seek to follow up that referendum by announcing Russian plans to incorporate Crimea into the Russian Federation. These moves would represent not only […]

Putin’s Illusion of Victory in Crimea

By James Rupert

Two weeks after Russian forces began seizing control of Crimea, the daily news from there suggests that Vladimir Putin has won a virtually uncontested victory in his mission to re-absorb former lands of Russia’s empires. Russian troops in Crimea steadily have taken military posts and facilities where Ukrainians refused to surrender their loyalty to the […]

Ukrainian Leaders Gather Support in Washington

On his fourteenth day as Ukraine’s interim prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk hustled through Washington today to gather support for his country against Russia’s invasion of Crimea. He visited the White House, the State Department, Congresss, the Atlantic Council, and the International Monetary Fund. At the White House, President Obama welcomed Yatsenyuk by commending the Ukrainian […]

A Ten-Point Plan for Ukraine

By Rajan Menon

President Obama’s inbox is doubtless packed with proposals for stopping the standoff between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukraine’s Crisis Government Seeks a Strategy Against Russia

By James Rupert

Despite Crimea Invasion, Kyiv’s Mood Is Moderate, Pragmatic, Non-Violent Ukraine’s interim government took office twelve days ago to face a Russian invasion, a national bankruptcy, and deep regional and political divides. As its top officials prepared to visit Washington this week to seek support, an Atlantic Council delegation first went to Kyiv to meet them, […]

Lost in Space

By Bharath Gopalaswamy

The Crimean Crisis highlights America’s Dangerous Dependence on Russian Space Technology. The Crimea crisis, the sharpest conflict in decades between the United States and Russia, is raising concerns about the future of the U.S. space program. The cooperation in space that Washington and Moscow fostered in the quarter-century since the Cold War ended is now […]

Russia is Playing a Weak Hand Very Strongly

A regular contributor to CNN.com, Ambassador-in-Residence Michael Oren writes that in both Syria and Iran, Russia has played its relatively weak strategic hand exceedingly well and is threatening to outmaneuver the United States in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the United States has paused its effots to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace in order to generate pressure on […]

Don’t Give Up on Crimea

By Damon Wilson

Ukrainian Troops Sustain Symbols of Sovereignty That Could Weaken Russia’s Grip Twenty-four hours after being named to command Ukrainian forces in Crimea, Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky switched allegiance to the Russia-installed Crimean puppet government. Accompanied by Russian special operations troops and unidentified gunmen, he strode into the Ukrainian military’s Perevalne base demanding that its soldiers […]