Virtual Event | Countering Russian Aggression: US Policy Options

Russian military aircraft taking off from the Ivanovo military base outside Moscow, Russia, on January 6, 2022. (Getty Images)

The Kremlin’s recent military build-up on the Ukrainian border is a clear attempt to extort the U.S. and Europe into abandoning the continent’s post-war security architecture. How should the U.S. respond to Putin’s latest gambit? Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Peter Rough led a discussion with Senior Fellows William Schneider, Bryan Clark, and Marshall Billingslea on countering Russian aggression and restoring deterrence in Europe.

How to Halt Putin's Ukraine Push

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the opening ceremony of the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2021" at the Patriot Park on August 23, 2021 in Kubinka, Russia. (Getty Images)

There is only one option that would stop a Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that is the one that all the serious players in Washington say is off the table: dispatching an American and coalition force to defend Ukraine, writes Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Street Journal. Caught in this ugly predicament, Team Biden must improve the odds of deterring a Russian invasion and plan for the possibility that Mr. Putin attacks. 

Can the US Regain Battlefield Superiority against China?

Aviation machinists perform maintenance on a MQ-8B unmanned helicopter on the flight deck of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), May 14, 2020. (U.S. Navy)

China has surpassed the U.S. military in terms of ground, missile, and naval forces, along with some emerging technologies such as hypersonic weapons. Unless the Pentagon takes action, America will find itself with two versions of the U.S. military—the one that trains at home and the one that fights in the field. In a new policy memo, Bryan Clark, Dan Patt, and Tim Walton detail how the U.S. military can regain battlefield superiority by revamping its metrics to prioritize the resilience and adaptability of its forces.

Relocate the Olympics or Condone Genocide

A general view the Beijing Olympic Tower on January 16, 2022 in Beijing, China. The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are set to open February 4, 2022. (Getty Images)

The world’s response to China’s genocide of the Uyghur people is eerily reminiscent of the failed reaction to Adolf Hitler’s atrocities in the 1930s—right down to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) shameful decision to give China the honor of hosting the Olympics this winter, Nury Turkel argued in Foreign Policy last summer. The decision to go ahead with the games next month effectively condones genocide, and will only embolden Beijing in its continued assault on human rights.

🎙Making a Killing | Ep. 31 Putin's Killer Kleptocracy is on Ukraine's Doorstep

What’s the connection between Russian aggression and the kleptocratic nature of Putin’s regime? Hudson Adjunct Fellow Paul Massaro talks to Russian opposition politician Vladimir Milov about the military build-up on the Ukrainian border and the relationship between Putin's kleptocracy and Russia's belligerent behavior.

BEFORE YOU GO...

President Biden faces a choice regarding Ukraine: Is he committed to the decades-long U.S. vision of a democratic Europe, or is he willing to accept a Russian sphere of influence? For all of Biden’s talk about democracy, Putin has probed Biden’s commitment to Ukraine and discovered it hollow, Peter Rough argues in The Hill.