The War in Ukraine: Insights From Multiple Fronts

Featured in the Spring 2022 Newsletter »

Russia’s brutal invasion of a sovereign democratic country in February shocked the world. Moscow’s forces have targeted civilians across Ukraine, while Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to unleash weapons of mass destruction. 

The Belfer Center is not a passive observer of this war. Our community of diplomats, national security analysts, intelligence officials, and generals, along with nuclear, energy, and cyber experts have been working non-stop to advance policy-relevant insights. 

While Western governments have supplied food, arms, and funds to help strengthen the Ukrainian resistance, the Belfer Center has ramped up an information arsenal to push back against Russian propaganda and to help NATO and European forces secure a lasting peace.

At the same time, Belfer Center alumni including Wendy Sherman, Jake Sullivan, Victoria Nuland, Nick Burns, and Sasha Baker are helping to lead the response of the Biden administration and bolster the broader alliance of democratic nations. 

This is an all-hands effort that illustrates the distinctive value of the Center’s multi-faceted research. Our economists are helping to make sense of the strictest set of sanctions ever enacted. Our applied historians are providing clues to Putin’s narrative of grievance. Our international security analysts are sizing up Beijing’s entente with Moscow.

Since the war began, the Center has organized dozens of events, published scores of articles, and given interviews daily to help policymakers and the broader public understand the contours of this conflict. Several  of our faculty members have also been huddling with senior officials in Washington to map policy options.

A small sample of signature work: 

• The Russian War on Ukraine – Ash Carter and Eric Rosenbach, JFK Jr. Forum
• Russia’s Oil Weapon May Be More Potent Than Gas Blackmail – Meghan O’Sullivan, Bloomberg
• Ukraine Crisis: Will China Have Putin’s Back? – Graham Allison, The National Interest
• Negotiating with Vladimir Putin: Video Advice from Five Former Secretaries of State – James Sebenius and Robert Mnookin, Belfer Center
• In Ukraine, Putin Has Already Lost – Kevin Ryan, The Hill
• A Hurting Stalemate? The Risks of Nuclear Weapon Use in the Ukraine Crisis – Francesca Giovaninni, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
• Hard Power Still Matters – Stephen Walt, HKS Video
• In Ukraine, There's No Second Chernobyl Disaster in the Making Yet – Mariana Budjeryn, The Boston Globe
• These Russian Sanctions Are Different – Jeffrey Frankel, Korea Herald
• The Ukraine-Russia Crisis: Can Diplomacy and Democracy Prevail? – Ambassadors Bill Taylor and Paula Dobriansky, JFK Jr. Forum
• Russia’s Remaining Weapons are Horrific and Confounding – Matthew Bunn, Harvard Gazette
• The Cybersecurity Risks of an Escalating Russia-Ukraine Conflict – Paul Kolbe, Maria Robson Morrow, Lauren Zabierek, Harvard Business Review

From cyber and nuclear risks, to applied history and energy security, Center experts will continue to apply the full range of our research portfolio to track this conflict.