ISW report

ISW rejects Kremlin’s Tomahawk scare tactics

The Kremlin continues rhetoric meant to deter the United States from supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, but Moscow’s claims that this step will be an “escalation” are manipulative, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Oct. 15.

16 October 2025, 10:00 AM

Dozens of armored vehicles in combat: Russia returns to large-scale mechanized assaults on the front lines — ISW

Over the past two weeks, Russian forces have launched three mechanized assaults involving company- or battalion-sized units along the hottest parts of the front in Donetsk Oblast, signaling a shift in how Russia is deploying armored vehicles in its war against Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in their Oct. 14 report.

15 October 2025, 10:22 AM

Big money no longer buys Russian soldiers, ISW says

Russia’s strategy of luring new military recruits with massive financial incentives — its primary tool for filling the ranks with volunteer fighters — appears to be losing steam, the Institute for the Study of War said in its Oct. 12 report.

13 October 2025, 10:24 AM

Russia rebuilding tank fleet to strike NATO after Ukraine war, ISW warns

Russia is ramping up production of its T-90 tanks and restoring its pre-war reserves, signaling it may be preparing to pose a long-term military threat to NATO, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in an Oct. 11 assessment.

12 October 2025, 09:52 AM

Putin exaggerates Russian gains in Ukraine, downplays refinery strikes — ISW

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has inflated the scale of Russian territorial gains in Ukraine in 2025 and downplayed the impact of Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries — even as he finally acknowledged the campaign, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its Oct. 8 report.

9 October 2025, 10:41 AM

Ratio of wounded to killed shows Russia taking ‘abnormally high’ battlefield losses in 2025 — ISW analysis

Russian forces are suffering an “abnormally high” killed-to-wounded ratio on the battlefield in Ukraine this year — far above wartime norms — analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said in their Oct. 7 report.

8 October 2025, 10:06 AM

Russia enters new phase of prep for future war with NATO — ISW analysis

Russia appears to be accelerating the initial stage of its campaign to prepare for a potential future war with NATO and has shifted to laying the information and psychological groundwork for such a conflict, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said in their Oct. 6 report.

7 October 2025, 10:22 AM

ISW: Russia stockpiled missiles in September for large-scale strikes on Ukraine

Russian forces likely stockpiled ballistic and cruise missiles throughout September 2025 to carry out several large-scale strikes on Ukraine on selected days, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in its Oct. 3 assessment.

4 October 2025, 12:36 PM

Putin’s fresh threats from Valdai forum: ISW debunks Russian dictator’s absurd claims and war exaggerations

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin used the Valdai Discussion Club as a platform to issue new threats against Europe and the United States, aimed at deterring Western responses to Russian aggression and weakening support for Ukraine, according to an Oct. 2 report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

3 October 2025, 10:10 AM

Russian forces stall amid troop shortages and logistics failures — ISW

Russia is struggling with logistics and troop shortages, failing to advance in Sumy and stalling near Pokrovsk and the Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk axis, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on Sept. 28.

29 September 2025, 10:45 AM

Russia inflates battlefield gains to push ‘inevitable victory’ narrative — ISW

Russia is inflating its battlefield gains in Ukraine — in some cases by more than double — to push a narrative of “inevitable victory” and pressure the West, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on Sept 25.

26 September 2025, 10:08 AM

Gen. Lapin ousted as Putin hunts scapegoats for failed defense of Kursk — ISW

The dismissal of Col. Gen. Alexander Lapin, the former commander of Russia’s Center and North groupings, marked a “notable inflection” in the policy of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, according to a Sept. 21 report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

22 September 2025, 10:32 AM

Ukraine makes gains in Sumy as Russia escalates near Kupyansk and Kherson, ISW says

Russian forces continue their offensive near Kupyansk and are stepping up efforts on the Pokrovsk front, while Ukrainian troops have recently advanced in northern parts of Sumy Oblast, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a new report.

21 September 2025, 10:16 AM

Putin may have organized or approved Bloomberg ‘leak’ on intensified strikes after Trump meeting — ISW

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may have allowed Kremlin sources to provide Bloomberg with information about plans to continue military escalation and strike Ukraine’s energy and other infrastructure, according to the Sept. 20 report by the Institute for the Study of War.

21 September 2025, 09:27 AM

Russian MiG-31 incursion into Estonia was a test of NATO’s response for future conflicts – ISW

Russia’s latest airspace violation over Estonia on Sept. 19 appears to be an attempt by Moscow to test NATO’s reaction and capabilities in order to apply those insights in possible future conflicts with the Alliance, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

20 September 2025, 02:18 PM

Moscow’s war aims unchanged. Kremlin pushes Trump to restore ties with Russia without peace in Ukraine — ISW

The Kremlin is attempting to manipulate Donald Trump’s administration into normalizing U.S.-Russia relations without ending the war in Ukraine, contrary to Trump’s stated expectation that ties with Moscow would be handled only after a peace deal, the Institute for the Study of War reported on Sept. 18.

19 September 2025, 10:17 AM

Russia seeks Ukraine’s full capitulation, not negotiations — ISW

Russian senior officials continue to publicly signal that the Kremlin has no intention of engaging in talks that will result in anything less than Ukraine’s full capitulation, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Sept. 17.

18 September 2025, 10:00 AM

Medvedev, Iskanders, and war games: How Russia’s Zapad-2025 drills and fresh Kremlin threats push NATO closer to conflict — ISW

Russia is using its Zapad-2025 military exercises to rehearse not only hybrid but direct military provocations against neighboring NATO states, while ramping up threats following the recent drone incursion into Poland, according to a Sept. 15 report from the Institute for the Study of War.

16 September 2025, 10:51 AM

NATO tested again as Russian drone violates Romanian airspace

A Russian drone spotted over Romania marked the second time in just four days that Moscow has violated NATO airspace, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Sept. 14.

15 September 2025, 10:05 AM

Russia grows bolder in provoking NATO defenses - ISW

Russia likely launched drones into Polish airspace to test NATO’s response and gather intelligence for future conflicts with the West, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Sept. 10.

11 September 2025, 08:44 AM

ISW report

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