Tag Archives: Ukraine invasion 2022

Christoph Bluth, University of Bradford Since the invasion of Ukraine in February, the threat that weapons of mass destruction would be used has been a constant concern. Discussion of this threat has tended to focus on the possibility that Russia might resort to using its nuclear arsenal – something hinted at several times by the Russian president Vladimir Putin and …

Vladmir Putin is very popular in Serbia. Sasa Dzambic Photography Andi Hoxhaj, UCL Putin is the world leader that Serbs admire the most and 95% of Serbs see Russia as a true ally, compared to only 11% who see the EU that way, despite the EU being Serbia’s major financial supporter, according to a recent poll. And 68% of Serbs …

The bombed ruins of buildings in Mariupol after Russian attacks. Shutterstock Robert M. Dover, University of Hull The Russian military – under instruction from Vladimir Putin – is rewriting the rules of siege warfare for the 21st century. The classic definition of a siege is: “The process of surrounding and attacking a fortified place in such a way as to …

President Putin at an annual ceremony marking the Kyivian Rus. Sodel Vladyslav/Shutterstock Ievgeniia Ivanova, University of Aberdeen The issue of the Ukrainian language and who speaks it has become highly politicised during the Russian invasion. Vladimir Putin has even used it as a cover to annex some occupied areas of Ukraine with large numbers of Russian speakers. Based on the …

Joseph O’Mahoney, University of Reading Much of the international community has condemned Russia’s annexation of four provinces of Ukraine as illegal. Joe Biden accused Vladmir Putin of a “fraudulent attempt” to claim Ukrainian territory and said the move was “trampling on the United Nations charter, and showing its contempt for peaceful nations everywhere”. The UK’s human rights ambassador, Rita French, …

Jonathan Este, The Conversation There was a perceptible sense of relief on Monday when the Razoni, a Sierra Leone-flagged vessel, left the port of Odesa with 26,000 tons of grain bound for Tripoli in Lebanon. This was the first ship out of the port city since Vladimir Putin sent his military machine into Ukraine and Russian ships began its blockade. …

Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham An old dispute over a decision by the government of Kosovo in September 2021 to enforce the use of Kosovo-issued licence plates for Serbs in the northern municipalities – rather than allowing them to continue to use plates issued by the Serbian government in Belgrade – has flared up again and threatens to escalate into …

Supply chains were already in disarray thanks to overcongested ports, as in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes Tinglong Dai, Johns Hopkins University Francis Fukuyama, the American political scientist who once described the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “end of history,” suggested that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine might be called “the end of the end of history.” He meant …

Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham Facing economic and military difficulties in his invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president Vladimir Putin popped up this week in Iran’s capital Tehran. His plan was to show the world that, despite sanctions on Moscow and international aid for Ukraine’s resistance, he was not isolated. Putin got his photo opportunity with Iran’s supreme leader, Ali …

Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham and Tatyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy As the war in Ukraine is about to head into its sixth month, the ferocity with which it is fought shows no signs of abating – neither on the battlefield, nor in the rhetoric emerging from Moscow and Kyiv. Russian attacks continue to target Ukrainian cities such …