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Ukraine-Russia

Shift burdens to Europe and avoid U.S. security guarantees

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become a grinding war of attrition resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties. As the war continues and losses mount, Russia’s material advantages make a Ukrainian military victory less likely, while the risk of escalation into a direct conflict between NATO and Russia remains.

UKRAINE-RUSSIA EXPERTS

Benjamin
Friedman

Policy Director

Defense Priorities

Jennifer
Kavanagh

Senior Fellow & Director of Military Analysis

Defense Priorities

William
Ruger

Non-Resident Senior Fellow

Defense Priorities

Gavin
Wilde

Non-Resident Fellow

Defense Priorities

Daniel
Davis

Senior Fellow & Military Expert

Defense Priorities

Gil
Barndollar

Non-Resident Fellow

Defense Priorities

Daniel
DePetris

Fellow

Defense Priorities

Lyle
Goldstein

Director, Asia Program

Defense Priorities

Christopher
McCallion

Fellow

Defense Priorities

op-edUkraine‑Russia, Europe and Eurasia, Russia, Ukraine

David Petraeus’s Ukraine plan is a blueprint for failure

By Jennifer Kavanagh

October 1, 2025

These days, it seems like everyone has a proposal for how Ukraine can turn the tables on Russia, regain its […]

op-edRussia, Europe and Eurasia, Ukraine, Ukraine‑Russia

Russia likely laughing off Trump’s ‘open door’ to Tomahawks

By Jennifer Kavanagh

September 30, 2025

op-edUkraine‑Russia, Europe and Eurasia, NATO, Russia, Ukraine

NATO rose to the challenge and passed Russia’s test in Poland

By Daniel DePetris

September 16, 2025

Symposia: Lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

As the one-year mark of the Ukraine-Russia war approaches, Moscow has failed in many of its objectives. Ukraine has effectively blunted several major Russian advances and reclaimed large swaths of its territory from invading forces. Though the war continues, and seems far from over, there are already many key takeaways from the fighting—and the conflict’s causes and implications remain hotly contested.

Defense Priorities (DEFP) organized this symposium to stimulate thinking about the most important lessons learned from this ongoing war. Top experts, writing from a range of perspectives, share their insights in an effort to inform and improve U.S. policy.