We are #hiring! Join our team in Washington DC:

💼 Office Manager, IISS-Americas
📆 Deadline for receipt of applications: 30 October 2026

We seek to appoint an Office Manager for the IISS-Americas office in Washington DC. This position will support the Managing Director in meeting the operational, management, and compliance requirements of a vibrant, fast-paced non-profit and work closely with colleagues in the London headquarters.

Apply here: go.iiss.org/3VGt850

Vasily Kashin, who recently questioned whether Russia could achieve its war aims in Ukraine, has a new article:

It argues that in today's wars, the case for nuclear use is that for a high-altitude nuclear explosion - paralyzing the adversary's drone fleet
kommersant.ru/doc/9023931

Cannot believe we are still talking about "quick victories" when it comes to major power wars of the future.

Ruslan Pukhov - the CAST director - is discussing future projects with Dr. Grigorij Serscikov & CEO of R-Techno Roman Romachev

🚨 BREAKING:

Mexico's Defense Minister says 80% of the weapons seized from drug cartels are of U.S. origin, while the remaining 20% are from Israel.

According to Israeli media, criminal use of hand grenades jumped from 75 cases in 2023 to 988 in 2024-a 1300% increase. The increase highlights an under-reported externality of war: the rapid & deadly proliferation of military arms amongst civilians in and near the conflict zone.

My talk on cyber attacks targeting bespoke infrastructure of Russia-Ukraine drone warfare

Thx to @CYBERWARCON for the chance to speak at one of the best events (new CFP is open!)

Note: no affiliation w/ CrowdStike, repping @SAISHopkins

youtube.com/watch?v=qddvT-…

The war in Ukraine has triggered defence-industrial transformation across the Central and Eastern European region.  

The industrial base of Central and Eastern European countries is increasingly complemented by a growing ecosystem of defence and dual-use start-ups and ‘scale ocus on uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) and counter-UAV technology.  

Read the full analysis in the latest free IISS Strategic Dossier: go.iiss.org/4rfyYpG

IISS Prague Defence Summit  
16–18 September 2026
#IISS_PDS26
go.iiss.org/PDS26

IISS expert Douglas Barrie is closely following discussions at the IISS Prague Defence Summit on deep precision-strike capabilities and integrated air and missile defence, outlining their implications for future defence planning.

#IISS_PDS26 | Find out more: go.iiss.org/PDS26

🚨 Eksport Vooruzheniy (Arms Exports) Issue 4 (2026) is out!

Featured:
— US–Iran war after the end-of-war memorandum
— Hungary’s defence industry under Viktor Orbán
— Turkish defence industry amid instability
— Military AI in India
— S7’s industrial transformation

…and more!

“The reason Russia was able to create a major new production line from scratch was because it’s technologically a lot simpler than making something like tanks, which require enormous, unique and costly machine tools.”

— Ruslan Pukhov to FT

ft.com/content/7f01b4…

Jervis Forum Roundtable 18-2 on the 40th anniversary of Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.
wp.me/p2Insd-7SB

Ruslan Pukhov, CAST Director, met for a working lunch with General of the Army Nikolai Makarov, former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. They discussed current developments in Ukraine.

The Organising Committee for the #OgarkovReadings conference, chaired by Army General (ret.) Yuri Baluyevskiy, convened to discuss preparations and the agenda for the 9th annual conference, which will be held in November 2026.

10 history books to understand the last 1000 years:

1) The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze

( napoleonic europe 1789–1815 )

Highly recommend

UK Ambassador to Russia Nigel Casey visited Arkhangelsk to mark the 85th anniversary of the arrival of the Dervish convoy, the first of the wartime Arctic convoys.

“It’s a reminder that we were allies in those days in the fight against fascism,” he said, adding that the rtunity to pay tribute to those who died during the operation.

We are looking for three new tenure-track Assistant Professors to join our @iespega 🌍

We are especially interested in scholars with promising research agendas in Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Economy, and in colleagues whose work will help broaden ng profile.

🔗Comparative Politics: lnkd.in/ePDfwjJB
🔗International Relations: lnkd.in/eDu5vGTf
🔗Political Economy: lnkd.in/eciDuk

Statements like this coming from the leaders of countries that host U.S. military personnel should be red flags in Washington.
If Poland decides to "accept greater risk" vs. Russia, U.S. soldiers will pay the price if/when something goes wrong. U.S. security guarantees encourage this risk-acceptance. If Poland wishes to confront Russia more directly today, they are welcome to do so, but it should be at their own expense & w/o U.S. servicemembers in harm's way.

CAST director Ruslan Pukhov had a working lunch with Mikhail Leontiev - press secretary of Rosneft and Andrey Klepach former chief economist of VEB corporation