War in Ukraine

Russia’s economy is coming apart at the seams. Since the launch of the full-scale invasion against Ukraine, nearly every sector of the economy has been losing money, with only those tied to the war effort turning a profit. As a result, Russia’s regions are sinking into debt, setting a new record for budget deficits.

Ukrainian military units promote a shared slogan—robots go into battle first. Three years ago, this largely meant reconnaissance drones. Today, however, ground-based robots are conducting thousands of missions every month.

Russia’s military sector depends heavily on smuggled foreign microchips, but it also relies on a handful of domestic factories. Kremniy El, one of them, has been destroyed in a Ukrainian Storm Shadow strike.

For almost the entire month of March 2022, Russian forces held 368 people from Yahidne in a cramped basement as human shields. On March 30, they were freed. Four years later, as we visit the liberated village, they continue to tell their stories.

For the first time since the 2024 Kursk operation, Ukrainian forces have reclaimed more territory in a single month than Russia managed to capture. By going on the offensive, Ukraine is disrupting Russia’s plans for a major spring–summer campaign and seizing the initiative.

Entering its fifth year of full-scale war, Ukraine’s defense against Russia relies on a vast military spanning land, air, sea, and specialized forces. Expanded since 2022 into one of the largest militaries fielded in Europe since World War II, its structure defines how a modern army fights across multiple fronts.