In the final days of Keir Starmer's premiership, the Financial Times gave the outgoing PM a “mixed” review, focused largely on his domestic record and leadership of the Labour Party. Opinions may differ on his handling of issues like economic growth, but on one front there has been striking, nonpartisan agreement: his leadership on foreign … Continue reading Thank You, Prime Minister: Starmer’s Ukraine Legacy
Russo-Ukrainian War
The Global Front Line for Ukraine
By Robert Collett* and William H. Dutton At the Portulans Institute, we are working on an analysis of how nations have aligned on the Russia-Ukraine War. While far from the front lines, the outcome of Russia’s war on Ukraine could be seriously influenced by how nations align in support of the Ukraine or Russia. The … Continue reading The Global Front Line for Ukraine
The History Behind New Tensions Between Poland and Ukraine: Who Benefits?
by Anna Mysyshyn* [This blog is authored by my colleague, Dr. Anna Mysyshyn, and distributed with her permission. As Russia’s hybrid warfare is becoming ever more prominent, there needs to be a better understanding of the long and complex history between Poland and Ukraine. This Saturday, 11 July, marks the anniversary of the Volhynian tragedy. … Continue reading The History Behind New Tensions Between Poland and Ukraine: Who Benefits?
Remember the Cathedral
As Russia has struggled to advance on the battlefield in Ukraine, its attacks have increasingly fallen on the civilian population — on homes, hospitals, and houses of worship. Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, has borne much of this weight. When armies cannot win on the front, they sometimes turn against the people themselves. In mid-June 2026, Russian … Continue reading Remember the Cathedral
Do Not Forget Ukraine’s Stolen Children
An Opera in Ukraine Reminds the World of Putin’s War Crimes Russia’s child abductions are the focus of a new opera, Mothers of Kherson, that premiered in Kyiv, Ukraine. The cast is reported to have received standing ovations for their performance, and the opera was said to have evoked ‘tears and catharsis’ (Higgins and Matveichuk … Continue reading Do Not Forget Ukraine’s Stolen Children
Ukraine Interrupts Putin’s Davos: The Latest of Many Advances
Russia’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum – Putin’s Davos – from 3-6 June 2026 was diminished by long range drone strikes on the city’s oil terminal, sending plumes of smoke across the area. Other strikes on the same day hit a military-industrial plant in Western Russia’s Tambov region and an airfield in Crimea.[1] It not … Continue reading Ukraine Interrupts Putin’s Davos: The Latest of Many Advances
Trump Holds the Cards but Lost His Marbles
As an American, I apologise to Ukraine. I am horrified by the US President and VP trying to bully the President of Ukraine. They invited him as their guest in the White House and Oval Office. They then let him be insulted for not wearing a suit and tie before double-teaming and berating him in … Continue reading Trump Holds the Cards but Lost His Marbles
The Ukraine Public Support their President
I have been studying Ukraine for 3 years. In August 2024, in a study conducted through the Portulans Institute in Washington DC, my research team surveyed a random sample of people in Ukraine, before the Kursk incursion. Our survey focused on how the public gets access to trusted information in wartime. We surveyed just over … Continue reading The Ukraine Public Support their President
The Return of the Ugly American
As an American in Britian, my international colleagues ask me how they can even begin to understand President Donald Trump’s threats to neighbouring and allied countries like Canada, Mexico, Denmark, Greenland, …. How could he so obviously mimic Putin’s threats to the US, UK, and other nations of Central Europe and the West, following his … Continue reading The Return of the Ugly American
Calling a War a War
The Symbolic Politics of Terminology for Russia's War on Ukraine with Lisa Chernenko and Mykyta Petik Some Ukrainians have no concern over what people call Russia's War on Ukraine - they are living in it. But some do, and the choice of terminology can have political, legal, and moral implications. So it is essential to … Continue reading Calling a War a War