Prior to the escalated invasion of Ukraine, the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation alleged that Ukraine was planning to regain its nuclear status, and that it would be receiving the help of Western countries. This claim was repeated on May 9, 2022, almost three months following the 24 February incursion, during the…
This article examines the key Russian strategic and tactical narratives on nuclear security during Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. Particular attention will be given to Russian claims that Ukraine is developing a “dirty bomb,” that Ukraine is shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and that the Ukrainian nuclear industry is decaying. The Russian disinformation campaign…
The article covers international and security dimensions of the Iranian space programme, which is rather successful despite economic sanctions. The article considers how the launches of the Iranian-made satellites from Iranian territory in 2009–2020 could accelerate Iran’s programme of the intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) construction and how the potential threat of Iranian ICBMs could affect…
This paper analyses the evolution of post-Soviet Russian conceptual and doctrinal visions of conventional deterrence and its current status, prospects and impact on regional and global levels in the framework of Russian strategic military and political thinking. The paper argues that although neglected since the early post-Soviet period, Russian conventional (nonnuclear) deterrence has been revisited…
While tipping the balance of the international security, the Ukrainian crisis had an additional negative impact on the existent security order – it has undermined the non-proliferation regime: the Budapest Memorandum signed by the US, UK, and Russia in 1994 failed to protect Ukrainian security after Ukraine gave up its nuclear status, due to the…
In this article, we argue that Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine generates far-reaching consequences for both regional and global security. On the one hand, Russia appears as a revisionist state, which is challenging the existing world order, incompatible with an Anschluss. On the other hand, Russia’s capabilities of projecting power are limited mostly to…
