All Policy Analysis by Anna Borshchevskaya

A video explainer on the war’s causes, Putin’s mindset, and the likely consequences if the West does not check his imperial ambitions.

Whether Putin aims to occupy the entire country or hold strategic areas as buffer zones, the West will likely need to rethink European security.

In Afghanistan, Syria, and other conflict zones, Moscow has made a habit of obfuscating its intentions and actions via fake withdrawal announcements.

Washington needs to show Putin that this will not be the limited intervention he was able to get away with in Syria, but rather a catalyst for dramatic NATO entrenchment and strategic setbacks.

If Washington wants Putin to act differently, it must demonstrate less risk aversion, whether in Ukraine or in Middle East conflict zones like Syria and Iraq.

The Russian troop deployment to Kazakhstan demonstrates how the Kremlin's principles depart from those of its Western rivals.

The lessons Moscow learned from the 1991 Gulf War and the 2015 Syria intervention reveal much about the strategy, tactics, and weapons systems it might use (or already be using) in Ukraine.

Washington’s tacit acquiescence to normalization with a war criminal has shown the world who won the Syria war—and, by extension, what can be gained from challenging U.S. policy.

The UN aid mechanism is alive for another six months, but the threat of famine, Russian vetoes, and military escalation will persist unless Washington takes appropriate steps before the next round of renewal negotiations.

Some Western policymakers seem to believe that Russia can be helpful on Iran even as it threatens to attack Ukraine, but they’re missing the bigger picture.

Reflecting on the thirtieth anniversary of the Soviet collapse makes clear that Moscow and its pragmatic anti-Western approach never fully left the region.

Israel seems to hope that differences between Moscow and Tehran will emerge with greater clarity as the fighting ends, but this view reflects wishful thinking more than reality.

Years of U.S. involvement visibly advanced the dignity and prospects of Afghan women, but wholly abandoning them now would risk undoing much of this progress.

Leading scholars examine the origins and current trends of Russian involvement in the Middle East, as well as implications for U.S. strategy in the region.

A former U.S. ambassador to Russia joins two experts for a discussion on what the six-year intervention can tell us about Moscow’s broader foreign policy.

The Russian leader defied expectations of a quixotic, costly outcome for his country’s 2015 intervention in Syria. As it actually played out, explains Anna Borshchevskaya in her recently published book, Russia leveraged the conflict and U.S. inaction to position itself as a leading power in the Middle East.

Putin has a long list of achievements in the Middle East and is not leaving the stage anytime soon, so Washington must respond to the hardnosed realism that drives him to undermine U.S. influence.

The coming violence could spill over into Russia, perhaps emboldening terrorist groups to recruit radicalized Muslims there.

Although Biden may not see Russia as his top priority, Moscow’s proxy military activities in the Mediterranean are directly aimed at diluting Washington’s leverage in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Whether or not Russian leaders genuinely believe the Taliban will turn into a responsible stakeholder, they will likely be rewarded with more international and regional clout at Washington’s expense.