Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alyaksandr Lukashenka met in Minsk on May 23 and 24 to discuss synchronizing the second and third phases of their joint non-strategic nuclear exercises. The composition of forces and means involved in the exercises suggests... MORE

Executive Summary: The Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland did not provide much substantive progress in signing a peace agreement, but the wide participation of the international community demonstrated a sharp rebuttal to the Kremlin’s efforts to hijack the agenda. Russian President Vladimir Putin hastily presented... MORE

Executive Summary: The Russian special services are conducting a broad disinformation campaign in disseminating an alleged narrative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s illegitimacy. The primary goal of these psychological operations is to undermine unity within Ukrainian society and dissuade further Western support for Ukraine.  A... MORE

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is increasing efforts to work with foreign youth, journalists, and politicians through the federal agency Rossotrudnichestvo by offering training from leading Russian propagandists. Simultaneously, in Russia itself, raids on conscripts, illegal assignments to the front, and coercion to sign contracts with... MORE

Executive Summary: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attendance at the 80th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy highlighted Ukrainian and Western resolve against the real and immediate Russian threat to European security. Many European leaders have seemingly learned their lesson from offering concessions to Putin,... MORE

Executive Summary: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s term technically expired in May, but the constitution and other laws allow him to continue until elections can be held, leading the Kremlin to speculate about Zelenskyy’s status and Ukraine’s presidency. Russian President Vladimir Putin aims to impose his... MORE

Executive Summary: Since February 2022, the number of parishes and other religious institutions in Ukraine has risen by almost 10 percent, with most growth occurring in Catholic and Protestant denominations. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has lost more than 1,000 parishes and... MORE

Executive Summary: The ban on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia significantly disrupts the country’s defense capabilities. Preemptive strikes on Russian assembly areas and air bases would be easier and more cost-effective than countering troops and bombers along the contact line.... MORE

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is trying to impede any Western resolve in allowing long-distance Ukrainian strikes on military targets within Russia to avoid destabilizing energy infrastructure and disrupting the lives of everyday Russians. Moscow uses the fear of escalation and nuclear saber-rattling to inflame worries... MORE

(Part One) Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin is actively trying to involve Ukraine in bilateral political talks without clarifying the purpose of such discussions to present Kyiv with terms of surrender that involve de facto acceptance of Russia’s territorial gains. Moscow also aims to... MORE