Europe & Eurasia

Russia vs. Ukraine: The Cyber Front Unfolds

By Jason Healey

Russia’s battle with Ukraine is being fought partly in cyberspace, where it may have greater room for escalation because nations increasingly accept covert cyber attack as a valid form of international pressure when more traditional options are too violent – or too visible. So far, the Ukraine cyber conflict appears to have pitted the strong […]

Finland Frets Over Russian Military Drills on Its Doorstep

By Alexander Smith, Alastair Jamieson, and Albina Kovalyova, NBC News

Russian military drills near neighboring Finland have provoked concern that northern Europe may be the next focus of Moscow’s seemingly renewed appetite for redrawing its borders.

Ukraine Crisis: Poland Calls for 10,000 NATO Troops on its Territory

By Financial Times, New York Times, Telegraph

From Financial Times:  The violation of Kiev’s security guarantees by Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders has prompted Warsaw to ask for a deployment of two heavy brigades of Nato troops to Poland.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine Could Succeed in 3 to 5 Days: NATO General

By Adrian Croft, Reuters

Russia has massed all the forces it needs on Ukraine’s border if it were to decide to carry out an “incursion” into the country and it could achieve its objective in three to five days, NATO’s top military commander said on Wednesday.

SACEUR Weighs Options To Strengthen NATO’s Eastern Defenses

By Bloomberg News and Wall Street Journal

From James G. Neuger and Gopal Ratnam, Bloomberg News:  NATO’s top military commander is exploring ways to strengthen collective security in Europe

Details of NATO Plans for Increased Military Cooperation with Countries Near Russia

By Ian Traynor, Guardian

Nato has drawn up plans to strengthen military co-operation with the former Soviet states on Russia’s southern flank after the Kremlin’s seizure of Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.

NATO Suspends Low and Mid-Level Cooperation with Russia

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

We have just discussed the crisis in Ukraine with NATO foreign ministers, and the foreign minister of Ukraine.

As Russia Growls, Swedes, Finns Eye Defense Options, NATO

By Alistair Scrutton and Sakari Suoninen, Reuters

When Russian warplanes staged a mock bombing run on Sweden last year, air defences were caught napping. It was the middle of the night and no Swedish planes were scrambled.

Senator Warner Discusses Ukraine, Transatlantic Policy, and American Domestic Debates

After several years in which the Defense Department has struggled with continuing resolutions and budget uncertainty, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the interplay of such budget battles — particularly over defense — and geopolitical developments. US Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) spoke on this intersection of America’s domestic politics and its international power at an […]