Russia News
Explore in-depth coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine, its global influence, and how American policymakers respond. The Daily Signal provides news and perspective on this critical issue.
-
- News
Eastern Europe Arms Itself Against Russian Military Aggression
KYIV, Ukraine—Countries across Eastern Europe are militarizing to defend themselves from Russia, underscoring how Kremlin brinkmanship could spark a regional conflict. “If you’re in Estonia, or Latvia, and Russia’s sitting there on your border, it’s scary,” Jill Russell, teaching fellow in the Defense Studies Department at King’s College London, told The Daily Signal. “And those…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Russia’s Missile Deployment Adds to NATO’s Worries in the Baltic
In an extremely worrying development for NATO, Russia earlier this month deployed several nuclear-capable Iskander mobile ballistic missile launchers in the Kaliningrad region. The location is a small Russian enclave on the Baltic between Poland and Lithuania that is home to Russia’s Baltic Fleet and several major military installations. The deployment is widely seen as…William Samuel -
- Opinion
Russia’s Information Warfare Continues
Speculation about Russian interference in the upcoming U.S. presidential election is flowing fast in the U.S. media. Russia was widely believed to be responsible for embarrassing email hacks at the Democratic National Convention. Speculation abounds in the media that the Russian government might try to throw the U.S. election this way or that with a…Helle Dale -
- Opinion
Report Confirms Russia’s Responsibility for Shooting Down Malaysian Airliner
In interim findings, a team of investigators says Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from an area controlled by Russian-backed fighters in eastern Ukraine. The team, comprised of investigators from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine, is conducting a criminal investigation into the downing of MH17 on July 17, 2014, which killed all 298…Daniel Kochis -
- Opinion
Sweden’s Smart Move to Return Troops to an Island Eyed by Russia
Sweden’s decision to reintroduce permanent troops to the island province of Gotland is wise in light of recent Russian aggression. Swedish soldiers exercising on Gotland received an order Sept. 14 not to leave. The 150 troops will remain on the island until mid-2017, when a planned permanent unit should be fully established there. Sweden, which…Daniel Kochis -
- News
Syria Cease-Fire Collapse Highlights How Far US-Russia Relations Have Fallen
KYIV, Ukraine—The story is depressingly familiar. On Friday, the cease-fire in Syria, which was brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, collapsed as Russian and Syrian warplanes resumed their scorched earth airstrike campaign in Aleppo. “Russia has no vested interest in stability in the Middle East,” Stephen Blank,…Nolan Peterson -
- News
Russia’s Military Exercises Fuel Fears of Continued Aggression
KYIV, Ukraine—As the late summer weather begins to cool, Russian military exercises have kept the tensions hot in Ukraine and across Eastern Europe. Periodic flare-ups in the ongoing war in Ukraine’s embattled Donbas region this summer have renewed fears of a full-on Russian invasion and spurred an unprecedented post-Cold War redeployment of NATO military forces…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Russia Continues to Dominate Arctic as US Struggles to Procure Icebreakers
The Arctic is shaping up to be one of the most strategically important regions in the 21st century. However, the United States has fallen far behind in building the specialized ships necessary to traverse the region’s treacherous waters. On June 10, Russia launched its first new military icebreaker in half a century. The Ilya Muromets,…Adam Lemon -
-
- News
Russia’s Moves, Terrorism Fuel Talk of War in Europe
KYIV, Ukraine—Whether referring to Russian aggression in the east or to the threat of Islamist terrorism in the West, Europe’s political, media, and religious elite are increasingly using the word “war” to describe the Continent’s security challenges. The day after the July 14 terror attack in Nice, in which a man drove a large truck…Nolan Peterson -
- News
Russia’s Pattern of Influencing Foreign Politics
KYIV, Ukraine—If the FBI proves Russia is behind Friday’s leak of embarrassing Democratic National Committee emails, the revelation would be consistent with Russia’s pattern of clandestine and overt gambits to influence the politics of its perceived adversaries. “In the Putin era, Russia has been aggressive on many fronts, including invasions of Georgia and Ukraine,” said…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Russians Turn Up the Diplomatic Heat on US Broadcasting Chief
The Russian government just turned the heat up a notch on U.S. officials in what is an already heated diplomatic climate. In the past few weeks, Russia and the U.S. have expelled several of each other’s diplomats. This past Tuesday night, U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) chairman Jeff Shell was summarily detained by Russian…Helle Dale -
- News
Russian Threat Takes Center Stage at NATO’s Warsaw Summit
WARSAW, Poland—Russian aggression, radical Islamist terrorism, the refugee crisis, Brexit, Afghanistan. The list of challenges NATO leaders faced at the biennial summit here over the weekend was diverse, highlighting what some consider to be a post-Cold War moment of truth for the alliance to prove it still matters. Speaking to reporters Saturday, President Barack Obama…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Snapshots From a Trip to Russia to Talk ‘New Era’ Journalism
I traveled halfway around the world earlier this month for a journalism conference in an unlikely place: Moscow. It was an invitation-only event, attended by about 300 international journalists, focusing on censorship and what was termed to be a “farewell to mainstream” by Russia’s state-run Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today) International Information Agency. We debated dicey…Sharyl Attkisson -
- Opinion
How Russia Is Lying to Us About Syria
What seemed like an encouraging headline a few weeks ago was really all smoke and mirrors—far from pulling out of Syria, Russia has been rolling in even more troops and equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again proven that he cannot be trusted. On March 14, Putin began ordering troops to return home from…Alexis Mrachek -
- News
Former Soviet Fighter Pilot: Russian Jets ‘More Aggressive’ Than During Cold War
KYIV, Ukraine—As the NATO-Russia Council prepared to meet for the first time in almost two years, U.S. and Russian officials traded barbs over who’s to blame for a recent spike in military tensions. The ambassadorial level meeting set for Wednesday at alliance headquarters in Brussels was to be the first time the format, which comprises NATO…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
The Russian Propaganda War on Reality
The Russian government’s reliance on propaganda to advance its aggressive agenda and control its own population should give the West pause before partnering with Vladimir Putin. In an April 14 three-hour marathon call-in show on Russian television, for instance, Putin attacked American “imperial ambitions”—hardly an accusation that fits the Obama administration’s approach to the world. It…Helle Dale -
- Opinion
Failed Obama ‘Reset’ Has Encouraged Russian Aggression
People seem a bit surprised—even perplexed—by the breathless news reports and video of Russian warplanes “buzzing” an American warship operating in international waters in the Baltic Sea this week. The reality is that they shouldn’t be. That, of course, isn’t to say that we shouldn’t be deeply troubled for the safety of our sailors on…Peter Brookes -
- Opinion
Russia and China Increase Defense Spending While US Continues Cutting
Every year at this time, we see the same kind of headlines: “U.S. biggest military spender in the world.” They’re all based on the release of the global military spending database, an annual report compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). What the headlines usually miss is that U.S. defense spending is going…Justin Johnson -
- Opinion
Russia’s Nuclear Treaty Violations and the Obama Administration’s Tepid Response
Russia continues to violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by fielding a prohibited ground-launched cruise missile system. Rose Gottemoeller and Brian McKeon, two high-level administration officials dealing with arms control issues, testified earlier this month before a joint hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees on how the Obama administration is…David Poortinga