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“Putin’s endgame: The stakes beyond Ukraine,” an Atlantic Council documentary

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine may be closer to its end than its beginning. How it ends will matter not only for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe and the wider world. The first-ever documentary from the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, “Putin’s endgame: The stakes beyond Ukraine,” discusses the threat of Russian aggression beyond Ukraine and the dangers it poses to US interests today and in the future.

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Content

Inflection Points

Aug 14, 2025

When he meets Putin in Alaska, ‘heterodox’ Trump will face his biggest geopolitical test yet

By Frederick Kempe

The outcome of the meeting in Anchorage could have a long-lasting impact on geopolitics, Trump’s legacy, and his Nobel Peace Prize aspirations.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

UkraineAlert

Aug 14, 2025

Trump should insist on the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

By Mercedes Sapuppo

When US President Donald Trump sits down with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, he must demand the return of the thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Conflict Human Rights

In the News

Aug 14, 2025

Michta published in National Security Journal on China as the primary strategic beneficiary in Russia’s war against Ukraine

On August 14, 2025, Andrew Michta, nonresident senior fellow in the GeoStrategy Initiative, was published in National Security Journal where he argues that the key to ending the war against Ukraine lies in Beijing, not Moscow.

China Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Aug 12, 2025

Sacrificing Ukraine will only increase the cost of stopping Putin’s Russia

By Pavlo Zhovnirenko

Pressuring Ukraine to accept a Kremlin-friendly settlement may succeed in pausing the current war, but it will not bring peace. On the contrary, it will set the stage for international instability on a far larger scale, writes Pavlo Zhovnirenko.

China Conflict

UkraineAlert

Aug 11, 2025

Alaska Summit: Trump must press Putin over future Ukrainian security

By John E. Herbst

Trump-Putin Alaska Summit: If Moscow insists on the acceptance of Russian control over Ukrainian land for a ceasefire, it must accept strong measures to bolster Ukrainian security as well, writes John E. Herbst.

Conflict European Union

In the News

Aug 11, 2025

Ullman in The Hill on President Trump and President Putin’s meeting in Alaska 

On August 11, Atlantic Council Senior Advisor Harlan Ullman published an op-ed in The Hill on President Trump and President Putin’s meeting in Alaska. He argues that China and Russia have the leverage to disrupt Trump’s dealmaking.

China Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

In the News

Aug 10, 2025

Guenov quoted in the New York Times on the Trump-Putin Summit

On August 1, Tressa Guenov, director of operations and programs and senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, was quoted in the New York Times on President Trump’s and Russian President Putin’s perceptions of their meeting in Alaska.

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

Fast Thinking

Aug 8, 2025

Trump and Putin just announced a meeting in Alaska. What does that mean for the war in Ukraine? 

By Atlantic Council

As attention turns to the tête-à-tête in the last frontier, we turn to our experts for their insights on what to expect.

Conflict Russia

UkraineAlert

Aug 7, 2025

Ukraine’s expanding robot army can help address manpower shortages

By David Kirichenko

Robotic systems are in many ways an ideal battlefield solution for Ukraine as the country seeks ways to leverage its proven tech prowess in order to defend itself in a grueling war of attrition against a far larger enemy, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict Defense Industry

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2025

Dispatch from the Russian border: The Curonian Spit and the contest of the Baltic Sea

By Justina Budginaite-Froehly

A recent visit to Lithuania’s border with Kaliningrad reveals how the Baltic Sea has become one of Europe’s most contested maritime zones.

Eastern Europe NATO