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A ground crew unloads weapons and other military hardware delivered by the United States military at Boryspil Airport near Kyiv on January 25, 2022, in Boryspil, Ukraine. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Instead of equipping Ukraine to fight Russia like NATO would—with long-range artillery, air power, and area air defense—the United States and its allies have sent short-range missiles, artillery, and small drones. Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark [[link removed]] and Peter Rough [[link removed]] argue in Foreign Policy [[link removed]] that the West’s strategy prolongs the war and allows a Russian blockade that traps about 25 million tons of grain in Ukrainian silos, risking a global economic and humanitarian disaster.

Also, we are mourning the shocking assassination of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Please see our statement [[link removed]] by Hudson Institute President and CEO John Walters on the death of this great leader and longtime friend of Hudson Institute

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Key Insights

1. Russia’s Blockade Has Consequences for America and the World

Russia’s war and naval blockade is a major reason why 40 million more people are projected to be acutely food insecure this year compared to 2020. Price shocks for food staples have a long history of setting off coups, revolutions, and civil wars, and the prospect of malnutrition and starvation will likely spur mass migration at a time when Europe is already straining to host millions of war refugees. But Washington and its NATO partners are unwilling to take the one concrete step that would liberate Ukrainian exports, prevent disaster in the developing world, and shield Europe from potentially vast fallout: break the Russian Black Sea blockade.

2. Ukraine Can End the Blockade with the Right Weapons

Last week, Ukrainian troops used Western-provided artillery to push the Russians off Snake Island, where Ukraine could now place Neptune or Danish-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles to threaten the Black Sea Fleet. But even with Snake Island, Ukraine’s missiles could only cover the first third of a grain-carrying ship’s journey from Odesa to the Bosporus. Ukraine will need weapons with longer reach to protect its shipping from the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s two dozen frigates, corvettes, and Kilo-class submarines.

3. Give Ukraine Gray Eagles

As part of its $40 billion aid package, the Biden administration announced it would give Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which could break Russia’s blockade. These unmanned fixed-wing aircraft—about twice the size of Ukraine’s Bayraktar TB2 drones and armed with powerful Hellfire missiles or GPS-guided bombs—could escort ships between the Port of Odesa and the Bosporus. Since the original announcement, the Biden administration has unfortunately blocked the sale of Gray Eagles to Ukraine.

Quotes may be edited for clarity and length.

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Without a Major Shift in U.S. Energy Policy, European Resistance to Russian Aggression and the Transatlantic Relationship Are at Risk [[link removed]]

The U.S. could help alleviate the energy-related crisis in Europe, but only if the Biden administration rapidly shifts to more consistent support for domestic production. Hudson Senior Fellow Thomas J. Duesterberg [[link removed]] and Visiting Research Fellow Angélique Talmor [[link removed]] explain in RealClear Energy [[link removed]].

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Virtual Event | Standing with Allies against China and Russia: A Conversation with Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan [[link removed]]

Please join Hudson Institute Senior Fellows Bryan Clark [[link removed]] and Dan Patt [[link removed]] for a discussion with Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) on how the United States can comprehensively address the challenges that China and Russia pose.

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‘If Putin Was a Woman . . .’ [[link removed]]

Vladimir Putin isn’t trying to be more like Rambo. Among the heroes of Russian history, he is trying to imitate Catherine the Great, writes Hudson Distinguished Fellow Walter Russell Mead [[link removed]] in The Wall Street Journal [[link removed]].

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