Poland Says Key Infrastructure at Risk After Baltic Sea Incident
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Thursday that the Baltic Sea is becoming 'a new area of confrontation' with Russia, putting the country's critical infrastructure increasingly at risk.
His warning comes a day after Polish authorities said a sanctioned Russian ship was performing 'suspicious maneuvers' near the power cable connecting Poland and Sweden. The tanker left for an unspecified Russian port after the Polish armed forces intervened, they said.
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Czech President Warns Country May ‘Stay Behind' Without Euro
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Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Russia says it's winning. The data says otherwise.
Russia has paid an extraordinary price in blood and equipment for marginal gains in Ukraine. Last week, Ukraine carried out one of its most ambitious operations of the war using more than 100 drones to damage dozens of military aircraft at multiple air bases deep inside Russia. The attack, which was planned over many months and launched from within Russia, showed how Kyiv can use limited tools to achieve significant effects. Russia, by contrast, has spent the past 17 months attempting to grind forward in Ukraine with brute force — and according to new data, it has little to show for its efforts. Map of January 2024 JANUARY 2024 BELARUS RUSSIA Kyiv Kharkiv UKRAINE Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine in January 2024 MOLDOVA Odesa ROMANIA CRIMEA Black Sea Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies JAN 2024 RUSSIA UKRAINE Kyiv Kharkiv Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine in January 2024 CRIMEA Black Sea Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies JAN 2024 RUSSIA UKRAINE Kyiv Kharkiv Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine in January 2024 Odesa CRIMEA Black Sea Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies JANUARY 2024 BELARUS RUSSIA Kyiv Kharkiv UKRAINE Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine in January 2024 MOLDOVA Odesa ROMANIA CRIMEA Black Sea Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies Map of May 2025 MAY 2025 RUSSIA UKRAINE Kyiv Kharkiv Russia seized 1,800 square miles between January 2024 and May 2025 CRIMEA Black Sea Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies MAY 2025 RUSSIA UKRAINE Kyiv Kharkiv Russia seized 1,800 square miles between January 2024 and May 2025 Odesa CRIMEA Black Sea Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies MAY 2025 BELARUS RUSSIA Kyiv Kharkiv UKRAINE Russia seized 1,800 square miles between January 2024 and May 2025 MOLDOVA Odesa ROMANIA CRIMEA Black Sea Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies MAY 2025 BELARUS RUSSIA Kyiv Kharkiv UKRAINE Russia seized 1,800 square miles between January 2024 and May 2025 MOLDOVA Odesa ROMANIA CRIMEA Black Sea Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies The map shows Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine in January 2024. Since then, Russian forces have seized less than 1 percent of Ukrainian territory — an area smaller than the state of Delaware. Russian forces have advanced an average of only approximately 50 meters per day in their offensive around Kupyansk. And approximately 135 meters per day in parts of Donetsk Oblast, where Russia has made its largest gains since January 2024. These efforts have yielded fewer than 1,800 square miles of new territory seized since January 2024, an outcome that decisively falls short of Moscow's objective to greatly expand its control of Ukrainian territory. Russian advances in some areas have been slower than Allied forces during the grueling World War I offensive in the Somme, a battle which became a byword for costly and futile military operations. For these marginal gains, Russia has paid an extraordinary price in blood and equipment. Russian fatalities in Ukraine now exceed the total number of Soviet and Russian soldiers killed in every war since World War II combined. By this summer, Russia will likely pass 1 million total military casualties. Graphic shows fatalities of Russian soldiers in past wars Russian and Ukrainian soldiers killed in the current war February '22 - May '25 Russia 200K-250K Ukraine 60K-100K Russian (and Soviet) soldiers killed in wars since World War II Chechnya (1st and 2nd Wars) 12K - 25K Afghanistan 14-16K Ukraine (Crimea and Donbas) 6K-7K Hungary 669 Syria 264 Korea 120 Czechoslovakia 96 Georgia 64 Sino-Soviet Border Conflict 58 Ethiopia 34 Algeria 25 United Arab Republic (Egypt) 21 Vietnam 16 Angola 7 Mozambique 6 Yemen Republic 1 Source: Author's analysis from various sources Russian and Ukrainian soldiers killed in the current war 200K -250K Russia February '22 - May '25 Ukraine 60K-100K February '22 - May '25 Russian (and Soviet) soldiers killed in wars since World War II Chechnya (1st and 2nd Wars) 12K - 25K Afghanistan 14-16K Ukraine (Crimea and Donbas) 6K-7K Hungary 669 Syria 264 Korea 120 Czechoslovakia 96 Georgia 64 Sino-Soviet Border Conflict 58 Ethiopia 34 Algeria 25 United Arab Republic (Egypt) 21 Vietnam 16 Angola 7 Mozambique 6 Yemen Republic 1 Source: Author's analysis from various sources Russian and Ukrainian soldiers killed in the current war 200K -250K Russia February 24, 2022–May 1, 2025 Ukraine 60K-100K February 24, 2022–May 1, 2025 Russian (and Soviet) soldiers killed in wars since World War II Chechnya (First and Second Wars) 12K - 25K 1994–1996, 1999–2009 Afghanistan 14-16K 1979–1989 Ukraine (Crimea and Donbas) 6K-7K 2014–February 23, 2022 Hungary 669 1956 Syria 264 2015–Present Korea 120 1950–1953 Czechoslovakia 96 1968 Georgia 64 2008 Sino-Soviet Border Conflict 58 1969 Ethiopia 34 1977–1990 Algeria 25 1962-1964 United Arab Republic (Egypt) 21 1962-1963, 1969-1972, 1973-1974 Vietnam 16 1965-1974 Angola 7 1975–1979 Mozambique 6 1967, 1969, 1975–1979 Yemen Republic 1 1962-1963 Source : Author's analysis from various sources Russia has also consistently lost 2 to 5 times more fighting vehicles than Ukraine on the battlefield, including roughly 1,200 armored fighting vehicles, 3,200 infantry fighting vehicles and 1,900 tanks since January 2024. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement This brutal reality challenges the narrative that Russia is dictating the terms of the conflict. Yes, Russian forces have been on the offensive since early 2024 (with a limited number of exceptions). But initiative alone is not victory. What matters is not just what Russia has gained, but also what it has lost in exchange. Russian troops continue to face an extensively fortified front line consisting of minefields, trenches, anti-armor obstacles and artillery positions that shred assaults. Ukraine has also saturated the battlefield with drones, which now account for the majority of battlefield deaths. Ukraine's defense-in-depth strategy, bolstered by U.S. and European support, has transformed the battlefield into a war of attrition that favors defenders and punishes attackers. Although the Kremlin appears willing to absorb this punishment in a bid to outlast Kyiv, it does not seem to be able to do more than slowly attempt to grind forward. Indeed, the Kremlin's path to victory is not through battlefield brilliance. It is through Western abandonment. Without U.S. support, Ukraine could quickly run short of critical munitions, fighting vehicles, air defenses and precision strike capabilities, giving Russian forces an advantage on the battlefield. The psychological blow of U.S. withdrawal could also shatter Ukrainian morale, accelerating collapse not through conquest, but through exhaustion, as happened to Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire in World War I. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Putin is betting that political fatigue in Washington will deliver him what his military cannot. That bet extends to the negotiating table. Despite Russia's limited gains and mounting losses, Moscow has shown little interest in serious diplomacy, insisting on maximalist terms while launching new attacks. But beneath the bluster lies a far weaker hand than many in the West assume. A child walks past a destroyed Russian tank at Saint Michael's Square in Kyiv on May 14. (Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images) The United States has leverage. But it needs to wield it. U.S. policymakers should evaluate options to extend and accelerate military assistance to Ukraine, particularly air defense systems to protect Ukrainian troops and civilians alike, long-range precision strike systems to target Russian airfields and command hubs, and munitions to repel Russian assaults across an extended front. The United States should also raise the economic costs of continued war on Moscow. Congress is currently considering bipartisan legislation to impose new sanctions on Russia and secondary sanctions on countries enabling Russia's wartime economy. One analysis suggests that secondary sanctions could cut Russian oil revenue by 20 percent while raising U.S. gas prices by just 15 cents a gallon. Russia is not on the march. It is bleeding personnel and equipment for mere meters of ground. And it will only translate into victory if Washington lets it. Graphics by Youyou Zhou, a graphics reporter at the Opinions desk of The Washington Post.
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
How Putin could open a new and dangerous front against Ukraine
You're forgiven if you haven't spent a lot of time thinking about Moldova's parliamentary elections coming up in September. Moldova's not a member of NATO or the European Union, and unless there's a bottle of Moldovan wine on the table, most Americans don't give the small southeastern European nation much thought. It is the least-visited country in Europe.
