If Russia’s March 2014 annexation of Crimea serves as its nuclear blueprint, Russia can be anticipated to interrupt and terminate the IAEA’s ongoing and routine implementation of nuclear safeguards in any annexed Ukrainian territory.
It severely weakens political parties and opens the door for the president to prevent anyone who has criticized him from seeking office.
NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and NPR's Jason Beaubien about the implications of the explosion on the bridge.
Democrats have Saudi Arabia in the crosshairs, outraged at OPEC's slashing its oil output by 2 million barrels a day. Now there`s legislation in Congress to pause all weapons sales to the Saudis. Aaron David Miller, former State Department analyst, talks about if the U.S. could have leverage over Saudi Arabia.
Close co-ordination with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Nato is essential. The sooner honest, closed-door conversations start, the higher the chance of climbing down the escalation ladder.
Which brings us to military deterrence. Washington has made it clear that a military response is on the table. Options may range from kinetic attacks, perhaps on Russian targets in Ukraine, perhaps on Russian military sites responsible for the attack.
President Biden says Vladimir Putin is not joking about his threats to use nuclear weapons to get out of the war in the Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is explicitly demonstrating that he is going to do whatever it takes to win, even at the risk of undermining his own regime. Blindly believing in his own rectitude, Putin may resort to nuclear weapons if events in Ukraine continue to confound his ambitions.
The need to militarily assist Ukraine is another incentive for better coordinating defense investment at European level. The EU’s initiatives will only deliver if member states are guided by shared considerations.
Turkey’s positioning as the antithesis of European values, as well as its relationship with Russia, should raise questions about Ankara’s presence in the proposed European Political Community. The EU must not abandon its own principles and convictions in the name of realpolitik.