Russia is harnessing the power of photography to make strategic gains in Ukraine. NATO must do the same.

Russia is harnessing the power of photography to make strategic gains in Ukraine. NATO must do the same.
As Russia ammasses more troops on the Ukrainian border, how will the West impose costs on Putin’s regime? Amidst mounting tensions in the Eastern European bloc, the U.S. looks to Ukraine to subvert the Russian agenda.
As deterrence and punitive measures have proven to be ineffective, incentivizing Putin to pivot from his use of force and assertive policies must be a priority for Western policymakers.
Ukraine’s admission into the transatlantic military alliance is a delicate issue which requires careful consideration of geopolitical factors and pragmatism by Western policymakers.
Their unprecedented cooperation in the Gulf War gave the world a reason to believe that a partnership between Moscow and Washington could one day become a reality.
The SolarWinds hack, widely believed to be carried out by Russian state actors, is a wakeup call evidencing the weakness in American cybersecurity. Undetected for over half a year, the hack infiltrated networks of multiple government agencies and Fortune 500 companies, triggering a dispute over whether the United States should retaliate to discourage further cyberattacks.
Gorbachev wanted to create “socialism with a human face.” But in an attempt to save his own country, he was squashed by both his former allies and the new reformers. Uskorenie, perestroika, and glasnost simply pulled away the fragile veil that kept society stifled.
While the recent protests are unlikely to result in substantial changes, they have brought more attention to the issues within Putin’s government. As other countries decide on how to react, actions by European nations may force the Kremlin to adjust its human rights record and decrease the suppression of opposition groups.
While the extension of New START signals a potential change in bilateral relations, tensions will likely continue to exist between the two nations.
Putin’s sudden and surprising declaration of greater diplomacy between the U.S. and Russia — two states with soured relations since the Cold War — arrives amidst heightened accusations of interference with U.S. elections by Moscow.