Philly Inquirer Opinion Columnist Trudy Rubin quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John Herbst and uses the Atlantic Council’s recent report, Hiding in Plain Sight, to make the case for further action on behalf of the United States and the European Union in the conflict in Ukraine:
Even without access to western satellite photos, it is possible to pierce the fog of Kremlin denials. The Atlantic Council, an independent Washington think tank, has produced a report, called “Hiding in Plain Sight: Putin’s War in Ukraine,” that uses publicly available sources to counter Russian propaganda. Using Google’s Street View, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, satellite photographs, Vkontakte (Russia’s Facebook), and Russian documents and media reports, it documents the role of Russian troops and weapons in Ukraine. It also contains interviews with Russian soldiers who have fought in Ukraine.
The report’s purpose, says Herbst, who now directs the council’s Eurasia program, is “to help stir a stronger response to very serious Russian aggression.”
“Western political leaders should speak clearly about . . . Russian forces fighting in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s direction of the campaign,” the report says. “To do otherwise buttresses Putin’s attempt to obfuscate Russia’s direct role in the conflict.”