Why & How & If

In a matter of weeks, the Russian autocrat has erased his country’s prosperity in a feckless attempt to rebuild a doomed empire.

Top U.S. intelligence officials were questioned Tuesday about why they misjudged the durability of governments in both Afghanistan and Ukraine, and whether they need to reform how intelligence agencies assess a foreign military’s will to fight.

In a new book, the political theorist offers a stout defense of liberalism against threats from left and right — and predicts that Ukraine will revive “the spirit of 1989.”

It has become an annual event - the military parade in Red Square in Moscow and cities across Russia on 9 May, when the country marks its victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

Under Vladimir Putin, Victory Day has become a show of strength of troops and military hardware, as well as a chance to remember the sacrifices of World War Two. Twenty-seven million Soviet citizens died, by far the greatest loss of any country, in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.

Among Russia’s most costly mistakes when it invaded Ukraine was the expectation that it would dominate the electronic warfare part of the battle. Instead, Russia has stumbled and lost its way in the little-known realm of intercepting and jamming communications, an increasingly essential element of military success.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and its full-scale war against civilians has led Russian leaders to engage in the worst kind of conspiracy theories to justify their crimes. They have repeatedly accused Ukrainian leaders of being authoritarians and even “Nazis,” trying to evoke sympathy for Russia as if it were fighting World War II all over again.

...the world should shift some sanctions to target positions in the Russian government, state-owned enterprises, political parties and state-controlled media. Russians in these jobs then have a choice: They can stay in their government and government-affiliated roles and face the consequences — or resign and avoid sanctions

A generation of former East Germans, hand-picked to go to the then Soviet Union to study and work, could have used their insights to guide current foreign policy and help avert the government’s embarrassing gaffes. Why were they never consulted?

President Biden says the rhetoric coming out of Russian officials shows 'desperation,' and the president asks Congress to approve a massive $33 billion aid package for Ukraine. MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell speaks to former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.

Ret. General Jack Keane urges other nations to send military aid to Ukraine, breaks down the strategy and landscape of the second phase of the war.