Russian Drone Innovations are Likely Achieving Effects of Battlefield Air Interdiction in Ukraine

Russian UAV adaptations are enabling battlefield gains in Ukraine by disrupting Ukrainian defenses and achieving effects similar to air interdiction.

A Primer on Russian Cognitive Warfare

ISW's Nataliya Bugayova and Kateryna Stepanenko examine how Russia uses cognitive warfare against the United States.

The Strengthening China-Russia Nexus

The Sino-Russian relationship is closer and more interconnected in 2025 than it has ever been.

Russia has Failed to Break Ukraine


Russia dedicated staggering amounts of manpower and equipment to several major offensive efforts in Ukraine in 2024, intending to degrade Ukrainian defenses and seize the remainder of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

Russia's Weakness Offers Leverage

The United States can use the enormous challenges Russia will face in 2025 as leverage to secure critical concessions in ongoing negotiations to end the war by continuing and even expanding military support to Ukraine.

Latest from ISW

The Critical Importance of Ukraine’s Fortress Belt in Donetsk Oblast

Aug 12, 2025 - ISW Press

Kremlin officials are reportedly demanding that Ukraine cede to Russia strategically vital unoccupied territory in Donetsk Oblast and freeze the frontline in other areas as part of a ceasefire agreement. The surrender of the rest of Donetsk Oblast as the prerequisite of a ceasefire with no commitment to a final peace settlement ending the war would force Ukraine to abandon its "fortress belt," the main fortified defensive line in Donetsk Oblast since 2014, with no guarantee that fighting will not resume.

Iran Update, August 11, 2025

Aug 11, 2025 - ISW Press

Iranian Supreme Leader International Affairs Adviser Ali Akbar Velayati discussed the threats that Iran perceives to its regional influence in an interview on August 9 that underscored Iran’s commitment to its strategic goals despite recent setbacks. Velayati’s statements demonstrate significant continuity between Iran’s pre- and post-war approach to the region and its use of the Axis of Resistance.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 11, 2025

Aug 11, 2025 - ISW Press

US President Donald Trump expressed the United States' willingness to facilitate substantive peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in an effort to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine. Trump commented on August 11 about the upcoming August 15 US-Russia summit in Alaska and stated that "it is not up to [Trump]" to make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the end of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 10, 2025

Aug 10, 2025 - ISW Press

The United States and Ukraine's European allies agree that Europe, not the United States, will fund further military and security assistance to Ukraine. US Vice President JD Vance gave an interview to Fox News on August 10 and reiterated the Trump Administration's consistent position that the United States will no longer directly fund the Ukrainian military effort, but that Europe can continue to buy weapons from US manufacturers for Ukraine and Europe's own defensive needs.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 8, 2025

Aug 8, 2025 - ISW Press

Kremlin officials are reportedly demanding that Ukraine cede to Russia strategically vital unoccupied territory in Donetsk Oblast and freeze the frontline in other areas as part of a ceasefire agreement. The surrender of the rest of Donetsk Oblast as the prerequisite of a ceasefire with no commitment to a final peace settlement ending the war would position Russian forces extremely well to renew their attacks on much more favorable terms, having avoided a long and bloody struggle for the ground. Conceding such a demand would force Ukraine to abandon its "fortress belt," the main fortified defensive line in Donetsk Oblast since 2014 — with no guarantee that fighting will not resume.  Putin's reported proposal reportedly demands that Ukraine concede this critical defensive position, which Russian forces currently have no means of rapidly enveloping or penetrating, apparently in exchange for nothing.