July 31, 2022
Nuclear Risks: Russia’s Ukraine War Could End in Disaster
As the Russo-Ukrainian War grinds on, both Russia and Ukraine have adjusted their strategic objectives. Russia abandoned its initial goal of seizing Kyiv and installing a pro-Russian government after facing fierce Ukrainian resistance, and is now focusing on conquering Eastern Ukraine and annexing significant portions of Ukraine’s southern territory. Ukraine’s minimum objectives include reestablishing its prewar borders, with political leaders occasionally suggesting that Ukraine should expand its ambitions to reclaiming territory lost to Russia in Crimea and the Donbas region since 2014.
The likelihood of nuclear use in Ukraine may be low, but it is not zero.
U.S. strategic objectives in Ukraine are also a moving target. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated that the United States not only wants Ukraine to remain a sovereign and democratic country, but also “to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promised that the United States would support Ukraine “until the fight is done.” President Joe Biden reiterated this point, stating that the United States would support Ukraine for “as long as it takes so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine.”
Read the full article from The National Interest.
More from CNAS
-
Iran and the U.S. Are Trapped In a War Neither Knows How to Win
Commentary
Both the US and Iran have adopted military strategies that can prevent defeat but cannot produce a decisive victory....
By Becca Wasser
-
GenAI.mil and Three Implications for National Security’s AI Era
Commentary
Introduction Roughly six months ago, the Department of War (DoW) launched its internal platform for hosting generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, known as GenAI.mil....
By Joshua Marcuse
-
Inside Taiwan’s Plan to Deter a Chinese Invasion
Video
As Taiwan runs its largest annual war games this week, we look at its strategy of overwhelming any Chinese invasion force with mass-produced, low-cost drones. It's a defense s...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
Stocks Climb as Oil Pares Gain on Iran Deal Hopes
Podcast
Becca Wasser, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins Bloomberg Surveillance to discuss missile stockpiles, the war in Iran, and a possible t...
By Becca Wasser
