Read more about the article Ammunition Aid: Kosovo’s Contribution to Ukraine’s Defence
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Ammunition Aid: Kosovo’s Contribution to Ukraine’s Defence

The announcement made by Ejup Maqedonci, Kosovo's Minister of Defence, during the 20th Meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on 19 March 2024 is a significant development in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Kosovo's pledge to provide military aid to Ukraine underscores the country’s political alignment with both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) and its willingness to join collective efforts in support of Ukraine's defence. Kosovo has committed to supply two military aid packages, which includes essential resources such as trucks, tactical vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, and mortar artillery shells. This is the first time the country has provided military assistance to Ukraine. Amidst Ukraine's acute shortage of ammunition, a confluence of factors including the political deadlock in the US Congress and production constraints in Europe have accentuated the severity of this situation. This prompts a closer examination whether Kosovo's military aid package, though undoubtedly valuable, sufficiently grapples the enormity of Ukraine’s ammunition crisis.

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9 April 2024
Read more about the article Ground Robotics in Modern Combat
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Ground Robotics in Modern Combat

The automation of military vehicles and systems has long been a feature of warfare, but the emergence and development of ground robotics are revolutionising modern combat. Since their deployment in conflicts such as in Afghanistan and Iraq, ground robots have evolved into increasingly capable and autonomous entities integrated into military operations (Rosenberg, 2024). Fuelled by recent conflicts such as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the Russia-Ukraine War, which have highlighted the significant impact of military robotics on the battlefield, interest in the further development of this field continues. The development of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) has proceeded slowly, with ongoing challenges and questions surrounding their integration into military operations and ground forces (Gosselin-Malo, 2023). This paper aims to outline the advancements in ground robotics, explore the rationale for their increased proliferation in warfare, outline potential challenges in their widespread integration, and briefly analyse the deployment of such ordnance in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.

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27 March 2024
Read more about the article Ukraine-Russia Conflict Enters Third Year: Reflecting on Two Years of Warfare
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Ukraine-Russia Conflict Enters Third Year: Reflecting on Two Years of Warfare

The war between Ukraine and Russia has now entered its third year since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a ‘Special Military Operation’ on 24 February 2022. The seeds of this conflict date back to 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in south-eastern Ukraine.

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21 March 2024
Read more about the article Ukrainian Neptune Cruise Missiles and Sea Drones – How a Country without a Real Naval Fleet is Changing the Balance of Power in the Black Sea and the Future of Naval WarfareFrom Theory to Practice: Understanding Nuclear Deterrence and Sharing Agreements in European Security
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Ukrainian Neptune Cruise Missiles and Sea Drones – How a Country without a Real Naval Fleet is Changing the Balance of Power in the Black Sea and the Future of Naval WarfareFrom Theory to Practice: Understanding Nuclear Deterrence and Sharing Agreements in European Security

When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his open war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, most observers expected the Ukrainians to hold out for a few days in the face of a superior armed force. After two years of war, the situation on the ground remains ambiguous for Ukraine. However, in the Black Sea, Ukraine has been able to notch several successful naval strikes. The Russian Navy having lost several critical vessels, has had to withdraw from the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters in Sevastopol in Crimea and relocate several ships to Russian harbours. Additionally, it is increasingly failing in its efforts to enforce a grain embargo against Ukraine by sea. Newly developed naval drones and anti-ship missiles are likely key factors contributing to Ukraine’s successes. This Infoflash aims to analyse these new weapons systems and their impact on the Russo-Ukrainian War, the balance of power in the Black Sea and their implications for the future of maritime warfare.

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20 March 2024
Read more about the article The ‘Ukraine Effect’: UK and EU Security Cooperation After the Ukraine Invasion
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The ‘Ukraine Effect’: UK and EU Security Cooperation After the Ukraine Invasion

Theresa May’s gnomic phrase ‘Brexit means Brexit’ echoed around British and international media outlets following the 2016 British referendum to withdraw from the European Union (EU). The ‘British Exit’, or ‘Brexit’, after a process lasting three years and overseen by various Conservative Party leaders, has indeed been achieved. However, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has posed a collective threat to the continent, including the United Kingdom (UK). With a renewed effort to cooperate on security matters, the ‘Brexit means Brexit’ aphorism has seemingly become tainted. With political analysts declaring that this renewed closeness is imperative both for saving Ukraine (Blewett-Mundy, 2024) and for the freedom and security of the UK and its EU neighbours (Ricketts, 2024), it is no surprise that there is an interest in analysing the increased momentum in EU-UK security cooperation. In this context, exploring how and why the UK and the EU have resumed their security cooperation is topical.

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27 February 2024