The strategic implications of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine far transcend Ukraine, Russia, Poland and the Baltic States. They also prominently include the entire Black Sea littoral, including the Balkans, and even the Eastern Mediterranean. Historically, domination of the Black Sea opened... MORE

Not surprisingly, most people have focused on the consequences that Moscow’s Anschluss of Crimea has had for the people of that Ukrainian peninsula, for Ukraine, for Russia’s relations with the West and for the international system as a whole. But some of the most serious... MORE

Considering Russia’s shocking transformation in the course of just half a year, it is easy to forget that last February the country was united in the joy of hosting the Sochi Winter Olympic games. The issues that dominated the political agenda at the start of... MORE

Beyond the newly imposed partition lines, Russian regular and irregular forces are incessantly attacking Ukrainian positions in the Debaltseve salient, the Donetsk airport, and around Mariupil on the Azov Sea. Capturing these positions—a centrally located rail and road transport hub, the international airport, and the... MORE

Since Russia occupied Crimea with its strategically important naval port and the Russian military base in Sevastopol this past February (UNIAN, February 27), life there has become increasingly dangerous for those who do not share the political views of the Russian leadership. It was the... MORE

As a result of the confluence of two developments, one welcome and encouraging and the other dangerous and worrisome, the airline that had maintained a route between Simerfopol (the capital of Crimea) and Turkey is ending that service. Andrey Sokolov, the Russian deputy minister for... MORE

After meeting consistent Ukrainian military opposition in Luhansk and Donetsk, following a largely non-violent annexation of Crimea, Russian planners seemed to have reassessed Ukraine’s resolve to directly resist the Russian military. At the military college of the Russian Ministry of Defense, held on September 16,... MORE

On September 14, 2014, Crimea held its first post-annexation local elections. Since after the takeover, all the political posts of the Crimean parliament were filled with self-appointed actors. For pro-Russia groups, these so-called democratic elections to the local legislatures of Crimea and Sevastopol as well... MORE

After annexing Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, Russia is now rebuilding its Black Sea Fleet (BSF) to ensure its regional dominance, to exclude all rivals, and to lay the foundation for further external power projection, threatening other littorals like Romania and Bulgaria. In April 2014, Putin directed... MORE

On August 24, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attended a naval parade in the Black Sea port city of Odesa (UNIAN, August 24). In his remarks that day, President Poroshenko argued that “technical re-equipment” as well as “true Ukrainian patriotic morale” were necessary for the Navy’s... MORE