Russia & European security
Vladimir Putin's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has upended European security. The invasion followed Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and eight years of conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine. The EU has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia and has assisted Ukraine, including by providing military assistance. Europe now needs a policy for relations with Russia that deters Moscow from further aggression and increases its own resilience, while leaving the door open to better relations if Russian policy changes.
TRT World: NATO leaders meet in Brussels to discuss conflict response
24 March 2022
An emergency summit of NATO leaders is taking place in Brussels. They’re expected to discuss ways of bolstering the alliance’s support for Ukraine, while also looking to put more pressure on Russia. Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the CER weighs in on possible outcomes.
Sanctioning Russia: A co-operative endeavour, not a competitive sport
22 March 2022
Encompass
The West surprised many with its decisive response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, imposing an unprecedented set of economic sanctions on Russia.
Interview with Zach Meyers: Can Russia be crushed without crushing Europe?
07 March 2022
AMI Magazine
We interviewed Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the CER, an independent think-tank that examines ways to make the European Union work better. Mr Meyers, in particular, has been examining issues related to economic decoupling, separating the economies of the European Union from outside economies.
Interview with Ian Bond: 'First Invasion in Europe since 1974'
06 March 2022
Ekathimerini
We haven’t seen anything like this in Europe since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The Russian invasion of Ukraine will force Europe’s leaders to think much more seriously about national defense.
The EU's geopolitical awakening?
03 March 2022
UK in a changing Europe
The EU’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took many observers by surprise. For once, the Union exceeded expectations, and by a large margin.
TRT World: Moscow cracks down on protestors as economic sanctions hit
01 March 2022
The first round of ceasefire talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials ended with no agreements. Another round could happen within days. Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the CER, joined us from London to discuss further on the Ukraine crisis.
BBC World News: Russian invasion of Ukraine
27 February 2022
Ian Bond spoke to BBC World News on EU sanctions and the big step of paying for lethal equipment to Ukraine and sanctions on Russian banks via SWIFT.
BBC World News: Russia vetoes UN resolution deploring invasion of Ukraine
26 February 2022
Zach Meyers spoke to BBC World News and explained that UK/US were prepared to cut off Russian banks from USD/GBP clearing, devastating Russia's ability to trade internationally - but EU sanctions still allow much trade with Russia.
Putin and the West: From curiosity to cataclysm
26 February 2022
France 24
"Cut off from West, Russia has no choice but to become junior partner of China," argued Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform."Beijing is ambivalent on invasion - it won't criticise Russia in public and blames the US - but values stability and territorial integrity."
iNews 24: EU agrees to freeze assets linked to Putin
25 February 2022
Camino Mortera-Martinez says the EU is preparing to welcome an influx of refugees from Ukraine. She emphasises that Poland not asking for COVID passports or even ID cards shows this crisis is truly unprecedented
Newstalk: Reaction on the Russian invasion of Ukraine
25 February 2022
Sobering analysis from Ian Bond on why we have to be honest about the prospects for a Ukrainian insurgency. "The Russians have a record of extraordinary brutality in suppressing insurgencies in Chechnya & Syria - bombing everything that moves and intimidating."
La guerra de Putin: lo idiotas que fuimos
24 February 2022
El Periodico
Lo mejor que nos puede pasar es que los ucranios se defiendan y haya los menores muertos posibles, pero la toma de Kiev y la derrota del gobierno pro-europeo de Zelensky es inevitable.
Sky News: President of Ukraine says the country will remove sanctions from all citizens who are "ready to defend our state with weapons in their hands"
24 February 2022
Ian Bond says the layout of Russian forces and attacks across Ukraine show Putin's plan to control the whole country.
India Today: Russia invades Ukraine
24 February 2022
Ian Bond says that anyone who has watched Putin's speeches this week can see he's acting on a lot of emotion: both on hatred towards the West and delusion about what kind of country Ukraine is.
With the Ukraine invasion, NATO is suddenly vulnerable
24 February 2022
The New York Times
“This changes everything for NATO,’’ said Ian Bond, a former British diplomat who heads foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform. “Russia’s aim is to extinguish Ukraine as a sovereign country in Europe. Now we need to worry about everything, and we need to get serious again.’’
Newstalk: The latest on what’s been happening with the crisis in Ukraine
23 February 2022
The breaking news overnight as The White House says President Biden will no longer be holding a summit with Vladimir Putin The summit had been mooted last weekend in an attempt to deescalate tensions in the region. Ian Bond is director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform and spoke to Shane this morning with more on this breaking story. Listen here.
The west knows the cost of appeasement. We can’t rule out any option for stopping Putin
22 February 2022
The Guardian
The Russian leader has shown he cares enough about Ukraine to shed blood over it. He needs to know the gain won’t be worth the pain.
LBC: Ex-Diplomat warns of danger of Russian false flag operations
22 February 2022
Ex-Diplomat Ian Bond warns ordering troops into rebel-held regions of Ukraine is 'the latest and another dangerous step' from Putin. Watch here.
Putin may launch invasion of Ukraine in Donbas, analysts say
19 February 2022
Yahoo News
Ian Bond, a former British diplomat in Russia and current foreign policy director of the think-tank the Centre for European Reform, told Yahoo News that if Putin’s goal is to seize Donetsk and Luhansk, it “would significantly damage Ukraine’s economy because they’ve got a lot of heavy industry there.”
FT Podcast: How Russia's Ukraine threat galvanised western alliances
17 February 2022
After a week of frenetic diplomacy, the Ukraine crisis has yet to be resolved. But it has had a significant impact on reshaping western alliances. Gideon Rachman talks to Charles Grant, director of the CER about the impact of the Russian threat on US ties with Europe, and on Nato and the EU.