Ukraine

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NATO Needs a Plan for Military and Nonmilitary Instruments of Power to Work Together

To adapt to changes in warfighting, NATO is developing a multi-domain operations warfighting concept. But for this concept to be successful, it must include a plan to manage military operations' increasing reliance on and interaction with nonmilitary instruments of power.

Ann Marie Dailey

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Winning the Irregular World War

If the United States hopes to prevail in an asymmetrical world war, it must upgrade its abilities to provide self-defense and resistance support to its allies and partners, and better coordinate its disparate efforts to counter Russia and China across departments and agencies.

Alexander Noyes @alexhnoyes, Daniel Egel

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The Black Sea and the Changing Face of Naval Warfare

Uncrewed surface vessel and uncrewed underwater vessel technologies will continue to mature and be employed for an ever-wider range of missions. Today's struggles in the Black Sea may herald a changing face of naval warfare, in which large warships are increasingly vulnerable even to nations that lack substantial navies.

Scott Savitz, William Courtney @courtneywmh

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Israel-Hamas War, Overdose Deaths, Striking Health Care Workers: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on historical context for the Israel-Hamas war, the link between education and fatal overdoses, why U.S. health care workers are striking, and more.

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Negotiating with Russia Is Still a Bad Idea

Since the very outset of Russia's war against Ukraine, there have been calls for the United States to negotiate with Russia. As the war has dragged on, the rationale for negotiations has morphed with each phase. Once you scratch below the surface, however, the case for negotiating with Russia quickly falls apart.

Raphael S. Cohen, Gian Gentile

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Nuclear Deterrence, Russia and Iran, Deepfakes: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how much is “enough” for U.S. nuclear forces, the budding Russia-Iran partnership, the challenge of detecting deepfakes, and more.

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F-16s Are No Magic Bullet for Ukraine, but They Are a Game Changer with the Right Munitions

Will F-16s win the war for Ukraine? No. Only ground victories and unacceptable Russian losses will force Putin to negotiate. However, a long-term commitment to supporting a well-equipped, sizable F-16 force will improve the likelihood of Ukrainian success even if an F-16 never shoots a Russian fighter.

Michael Bohnert @mbohnert

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Rightsizing the Russia Threat

A proper understanding of the threat Russia poses must begin with an accurate appraisal of Russian power. Putin might harbor fantasies of world conquest. But his military cannot even fully conquer any of the four Ukrainian provinces he claims to have annexed last year. Ultimately, those are the constraints that should bound the debate about the extent of the threat.

Samuel Charap @scharap, Kaspar Pucek

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Trauma in the Intelligence Community, Climate Change, Cybersecurity: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the toll that trauma takes in the intelligence community, how climate change will affect the federal budget, why it may be time for a new cybersecurity standard, and more.

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Landmines in Ukraine: Lessons for China and Taiwan

In shaping patterns of future warfare, militaries across the world will be seeking to absorb the key lessons of the Russia-Ukraine War. Chinese strategists are particularly attuned to the major role that landmines have played in the conflict.

Lyle Goldstein, Nathan Waechter

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Poland and Ukraine: Defending Europe's Future

In the Cold War, West Germany, with robust NATO support, stood guard at the center of the Iron Curtain. Looking ahead, Poland and Ukraine along with NATO will defend Europe's center at the front line. Insights from the West German experience might help them.

William Courtney @courtneywmh, Peter A. Wilson

blog

Escalation in Ukraine, a Trilateral Imperialist Threat, Disaster Recovery: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the risk of escalation in Ukraine, the threat of a North-Korea-Russia-China partnership, the economics of disaster recovery, and more.

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Why Improve Ukraine's Deep-Strike Capability?

Coordinated deep-strike capabilities—air-launched and ground-launched—will be most effective in degrading Russian forces and operations. Using air and ground launchers would force Russian commanders to devote substantial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to attempt to find these systems.

John Hoehn, Hunter Stoll, et al.

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Looking Beyond the War: Planning for Ukraine's Reconstruction

More certain than the outcome of the war is the need for an extensive post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. It is likely to be the largest post-war rebuilding effort since the one in Europe after World War Two. The United States and its allies and partners have an intense interest in the success of reconstruction.

Charles P. Ries @charles_ries, Howard J. Shatz @HowardJShatz

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China Ponders Russia's Logistical Challenges in the Ukraine War

Any attempt by China to use military force to seize Taiwan would be an immense logistical undertaking requiring moving large quantities of troops and materiel across the Taiwan Strait. What then, are Chinese observers learning from the logistical realm of the war in Ukraine?

Lyle Goldstein, Nathan Waechter