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 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 fromISW
Iran Update, July 2, 2025
Jul 2, 2025 – ISW Press
Former President Hassan Rouhani is likely attempting to reenter Iran’s political scene by presenting the post-war crisis as a chance to reform governance, restore public trust, and recalibrate the regime’s trajectory.
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Adversary Entente Task Force Update, July 2, 2025
Jul 2, 2025 – ISW Press
Iran may be seeking closer military cooperation with the PRC following Russia’s failure to support Iran meaningfully during and in the aftermath of the Israel-Iran war. The PRC is unlikely to provide Iran with the military systems it is seeking, however.
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Iran Update July 1, 2025
Jul 1, 2025 – ISW Press
Iran is continuing to try to assess damage at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 1, 2025
Jul 1, 2025 – ISW Press
A Russian occupation official claimed that Russian forces seized the entirety of Luhansk Oblast for the second time during Russia’s full-scale invasion, but Russian milbloggers denied this claim.
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Iran Update, June 30, 2025
Jun 30, 2025 – ISW Press
US officials told Western media that Iranian officials said in intercepted communications that the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program were “less devastating” than anticipated, which is inconsistent with previous open-source reporting and the nature of the strikes. Four unspecified US officials familiar with US intelligence said that the intercepted communication included Iranian officials speculating as to why the US airstrikes were not as destructive and extensive as they anticipated.
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 30, 2025
Jun 30, 2025 – ISW Press
High-ranking Kremlin statements, including from Russian President Vladimir Putin, continue to demonstrate Russia’s wider territorial ambitions in Ukraine beyond Crimea and the four oblasts that Russia has illegally annexed. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on June 30 on the socioeconomic development of occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts during which he frequently referred to occupied Ukraine as “Donbas and Novorossiya.”
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Russian Occupation Update, June 30, 2025
Jun 30, 2025 – ISW Press
The Russian federal Unified Institute for Spatial Planning (EIPP) announced plans on June 30 to develop the “tourist potential” of occupied Ukraine. Russia’s insistence on treating occupied Ukraine as a viable tourist destination is a potential violation of international law.
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A Primer on Russian Cognitive Warfare
Jun 30, 2025 – ISW Press
Russia is a key player in the cognitive warfare space and a model for China, Iran, and North Korea. Russia has effectively used cognitive warfare to facilitate its war in Ukraine, shape Western decision-making, obfuscate Russian objectives, preserve Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, and mask Russia’s weaknesses.
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Aug 15, 2022
This page collects ISW and CTP’s updates on the conflict in Ukraine. In late February 2022, ISW began publishing daily synthetic products covering key events related to renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine.
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