Latest on Russia’s war on Ukraine [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Ukraine has made progress in recapturing its territory seized by Russia, 18 months after Moscow started its unprovoked war against its neighbour, as part of the counter-offensive launched in June. Ukrainian analysts say the drive to capture a succession of villages is paying off. Russia has dismissed the offensive as a failure, while admitting that things are not easy in parts of south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region. Russia has unleashed a barrage of drone strikes on various targets, including the port city of Odessa. Some have reached the border of NATO member Romania, according to Ukrainian officials, and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said that strikes were less than a kilometre from Romania's border. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv on 6 and 7 September to discuss how the counter-offensive is going and to assess battlefield needs, as well as any steps required to shore up Ukraine's energy security ahead of winter. Meanwhile, Turkey has said that, together with the UN, it has prepared new initiatives to revive the grain deal, recently blocked by Russia, which had allowed Ukraine to transport the commodity safely through the Black Sea. This note gathers links to the recent publications and commentaries from many international think tanks on Russia’s war on Ukraine. Earlier analyses on the war can be found in a previous edition of the ‘What Think Tanks are Thinking’ series. Publications on NATO ahead of its July summit can be found in another item in the series.