Karolina Hird

Position: 
Russia Deputy Team Lead and Analyst and Evans Hanson Fellow

 

Karolina is a Russia Deputy Team Lead and Analyst and Evans Hanson Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War. Karolina is a senior member of the team that produces the daily Russian Campaign Assessments since spring 2022. Karolina particularly focuses on Russian operational campaign design and the humanitarian aspects of the war in Ukraine, particularly the issue of forced deportations and adoption of Ukrainian children. Karolina has been quoted in Reuters, The Telegraph, NPR, The Daily Beast, Task and Purpose, Newsweek, Voice of America, and others. Karolina regularly briefs senior military and political decision-makers. Karolina received a BA in International Affairs from The George Washington University, where she focused on international security, international law, and gender analysis.

In the Media:

Ukraine warns Russia might attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. How worried should we be? CNN, July 5, 2023

Has Ukraine's Long-Awaited Counteroffensive Begun? Here's What We Know, TIME, June 6, 2023

Where does Russia expect Ukraine’s counterattack? Overview of defensive linesThe Kyiv Independent, May 17, 2023

Why Russia and Ukraine are fighting over BakhmutThe Washington Post, March 3, 2023

"Gross Human Rights Violations due to the Aggression Against Ukraine," United Nations Briefing, February 22, 2023

US spies lag rivals in seizing on data hiding in plain sightThe Associated Press, January 12, 2023

Putin’s Pre-Emptive Strike Plan Exposed in Satellite PhotosThe Daily Beast, January 27, 2023

The War in Ukraine: Open Secrets, The Hayden Center, January 3, 2023

External Publications:

Ukraine and the Problem of Restoring Maneuver in Contemporary War, August 12, 2024

Assessing Russian plans for military regeneration, Chatham House, July 9, 2024

If Putin wins, expect the worst genocide since the Holocaust, The Telegraph, May 31, 2024

How the Ukraine Counteroffensive Can Still SucceedTIME, August 3, 2023

ISW Briefing Room:

Special Report: The Kremlin's Occupation Playbook

Episode 31: Russian Offensive Actions in the Kupyansk Direction, January 25, 2024

ISW Publications:

The Kremlin's Occupation Playbook: Coerced Russification and Ethnic Cleansing in Occupied Ukraine, February 9, 2024

Russia’s Military Restructuring and Expansion Hindered by the Ukraine War, November 12, 2023

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 23, 2023

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 19, 2023 

Ukraine Conflict Updates 

Follow Karolina on Twitter: @KarolinaAHird

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