Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 31, 2023
Click here to read the full report.
Nicole Wolkov, Christina Harward, Karolina Hird, Riley Bailey, and Frederick W. Kagan
December 31, 2023, 5:10pm ET
Note: ISW and CTP will not publish a campaign
Noting that Vladimir Putin turned 71 last Saturday, some Kremlin propagandists are calling the Hamas attack on Israel “a birthday present for President Putin.” They predict this gift will distract
It may only be circumstantial but the assault started on Putin’s birthday, Hamas is fully supported by Iran whose relationship with Russia continues to grow- there’s no smoke without fire.
The only way to deter Putin is to arm Ukraine UkraineAlert by Yelyzaveta Yasko
Russian forces conduct amphibious landing exercises in Ukraine s Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula on April 22, 2021. (Sergey Malgavko/TASS via REUTERS)
Spring 2021 saw the biggest Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border since the seven-year war between the two countries first erupted in 2014. While Moscow’s late April announcement of impending Russian troop withdrawals initially eased international concerns over the possibility of a new Kremlin offensive, current intelligence reports indicate that the vast majority of Russian forces remain in position close to the border. A major escalation in Europe’s only active war cannot be ruled out.