Faced with crisis, Vladimir Putin tends to freeze.
Moscow’s slow, fumbling military response to Ukraine’s surprise occupation of parts of the western Kursk region is the latest example of the Kremlin chief failing to respond with quick, decisive action to match his bellicose rhetoric.
The World Deciphered is a new weekly talk show brought to you by The Cipher Brief featuring experts on national security. This week: Why we’re still feeling the effects of a weak response to Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia.
Having completed the first week of Ukraine’s Kursk offensive one of the known knowns about the ongoing Ukrainian military operations inside Russia is that Ukrainian forces have seized control of the strategically important Russian city of Sudzha.
Currently, Russia and Ukraine, as parties to the armed conflict, along with third parties involved in the war to varying degrees, are proposing peace plans that could become the basis for negotiations to end the war.
Today, Volodymyr Zelensky tells Russia the war is “coming home” as Ukrainian troops made fresh advances as part of its week-long invasion of the Kursk region.
Environmental threats and challenges that Ukraine faced before February 24, 2022 did not resolve themselves; they only deepened. The war has had a global impact on Ukraine’s environment, leading to the degradation of natural ecosystems, chemical and industrial pollution, landmining, and devastating damage to biodiversity.