Brian's unique explorations of the war and the historical context and events leading up to Russia's current assault against Ukraine
(Russian/Русский перевод) Brian's Ukraine journalism has been praised by: Mykhailo Podolyak, a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; the Ukraine Territorial Defense Forces; Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, U.S. Army (Ret.), former commanding general, U.S. Army Europe; Scott Shane, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times and Baltimore Sun journalist (featured in HBO's The Wire, playing himself); Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), one of the only Republicans to stand up to Trump and member of the January 6th Committee; and Orwell Prize-winning journalist Jenni Russell, among others. His analysis of Ukraine has been featured by Newsweek, Real Clear Defense, Small Wars Journal, The National Endowment for Democracy’s DemDigest, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Byline Times, the Arabic television stations Alghad TV and Alaraby TV (including his debate with former major Putin advisor, Kremlin insider, and Duma lawmaker Sergei Markov), interviews for the French news site Atlantico, the German news site Buzzard, the Ministry of Defense of Brazil, and Indian Strategic Studies.
Over two decades, Brian has majored in Russian history, studied Russia's war against Georgia in graduate school, and covered Russia and its foreign policy as a journalist, including writing for the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) from 2015-2017 as one of the most popular guest scholar contributors until he was censored for his post on Prevezon's corrupt work for the Kremlin. Since 2014, he has covered Russia's longstanding campaign to dominate Ukraine and turn it into a de facto vassal, including the historical context of Russia's 2014 military aggression against Ukraine in Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk; The (First) Russo-American Cyberwar's 2016 U.S. presidential election interference, a central aim of which was to further the Kremlin's Ukraine campaign partnering with a pliant Donald Trump; Trump's first impeachment centering on Ukraine; Russia's 2020 election interference; and Putin's current exponential military escalation (he was possibly the only analyst to predict beforehand in writing Ukraine's sinking of the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet Flagship, the Moskva), including a podcast with Ukraine's 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Oleksandra Matviichuk. This coverage includes his groundbreaking eBook, A Song of Gas and Politics: How Ukraine Is at the Center of Trump-Russia, or, Ukrainegate: A “New” Phase in the Trump-Russia Saga Made from Recycled Materials (available in Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, & EPUB).
A large number of the articles on the current war are adapted from three of Brian's Small Wars Journal articles:
- Bungling the Prewar and First Moves in Finland 1939 and Ukraine 2022: A Comedy of Errors for Stalin’s Soviet Union and Putin’s Russia, Respectively (May 23, 2022)
- The Beginning of the End of Putin? Why the Russian Army May (and Should) Revolt (March 8, 2022, and featured by Real Clear Defense, The National Endowment for Democracy’s [NED]Democracy Digest, and SOF News)
- The Utter Banality of Putin’s Kabuki Campaign in Ukraine (February 21, 2022, and featured by SOF News)
THE CURRENT WAR
An Urgently Needed Definition of “Fascism” as the West Fights It Anew at Home and Abroad
Russia-Ukraine War Settles into Predictable Alternating Phases, But Russia’s Losing Remains Constant
Winter War in Ukraine: Seeing Through the Blizzard of Bad Takes
Capturing the Unique Inspirational Quality of Ukraine’s Fight Against Russia via Two Writers
This Is the Beginning of the End of the War
Why Putin Has Doomed Himself with His Ukraine Fiasco
I Saw This War Could Be Putin’s Undoing All the Way Back in Early March
Russian Army Collapses—and Revolution—Near-Certain as Russia Loses War: When/Where Harder to Predict
Why Is Russia Losing on 3 Fronts? Math (the Short Answer)
The 5 (English) Accounts to Follow on Russia’s Ukraine War
Ukrainian Prudence Meets Russian Limitations: Explaining the Current Pace and Nature of Russia’s War on Ukraine
The West’s Humanitarian Response to Ukraine Should Inspire Repetition, Not Envy
BACKGROUND
Cohen’s Shady Family Business Dealings’ Unexplored Links to Key Trump-Russia Figures Demand Scrutiny
Republic of Georgia Shows Trump & His Fans Depressingly Normal: Just Another Ethno-centric Nationalist Movement
Western Democracy Is on Trial, More than Any Time Since WWII
The Sex-Worker, the Oligarch, the Kremlin Insider, and the American Political Consultant
Page-Turner of an Odyssey: The Details About Carter Page You Haven’t Heard and Why They Make Him Even More of a Person of Interest
The 1995 Gangster Meeting in Israel That Blows Opens the Trump-Russia Saga
Think You Know How Deep Trump-Russia Goes? Think Again: This Chart/Info Will Blow Your Mind
U.S. Settlement of Prevezon Case Raises More Questions on Trump/Russia Ties; Bharara Led Case Before Trump Fired Him (CENSORED IN RUSSIA)
The Trump-Russia-Mob Connections Details You Won’t Find Elsewhere (Executive summary)
Trump’s Russia & Mafia Dealings Expose Him As Fool or Criminal (Traitor?) or Both: Biggest Scandal in U.S. History, Far Too Many Ties to Be Nothing
Trump, the Global Democratic Fascist Movement, Putin’s War on the West, and a Choice for Liberals: Welcome to the Era of Rising Democratic Fascism Part II
The (First) Russo-American Cyberwar: How Obama Lost & Putin Won, Ensuring a Trump Victory
The Jerusalem Post
The war in Ukraine is embarrassing for Israelis and Palestinians- November 1, 2022
BYLINE TIMES
How Ukraine’s Southern Offensive Could Lead to the End of the War- August 16, 2022
SMALL WARS JOURNAL
WAR IS BORING
How Syria Fits Into the Trump-Russia Scandal- March 29, 2018
External Audio/Video interview of Brian on Ukraine
Twitter Spaces:
Panel with Rep. Adam Kinzinger-5/6/2022
DONATE TO SUPPORT UKRAINE! Слава Украине! Slava Ukraini!
Save the Children is one of the premier international aid organizations.
Come Back Alive is an organization that supports the Ukrainian military.
The Ukrainian government’s central bank, the National Bank of Ukraine, has also opened special accounts for people to donate to both the Ukrainian Armed Forces and for humanitarian assistance for civilians.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is another amazing humanitarian organization.
The main UN body to help refugees is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which does amazing work all over the world. Another vital UN agency involved in helping Ukraine is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), a deeply experienced organization, provides emergency medical services for the wounded in Ukraine.