The War in Ukraine: Understanding Western Tools Short of War

Since 2014 the conflict in Ukraine has escalated from an internal crisis into an ongoing full scale conventional war. The extensive public documentation and commentary on these unfolding events present an opportunity for empirical research yet untainted by hindsight perspectives. Drawing on an extensive regional network of local stakeholders and experts, this book combines theoretical insights with practical reflections on the efficacy of a selected range of tools employed by the West to assist Ukraine, such as the provision of military assistance, troop training, intelligence sharing, information campaigns, early crisis signaling by aircraft carrier deployments, and coalition building efforts.

Bridging the gap in open-source studies between academic research and practitioner assessments, the authors discuss how these specific measures correspond with theoretical assessments of the effects they are due to produce, as well as with the expectations about their performance held by the deploying policy makers and their audience. As the war continues to unfold, and the reality on the ground, as well as emerging new data, mean a constantly shifting landscape, this volume will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in the conflict in Ukraine.

Egle E. Murauskaite is a senior faculty specialist at the University of Maryland. Presently based in Lithuania, she works as a researcher and simulations designer for the ICONS Project. Egle is responsible for high-level political-military crises simulations in Europe, alongside academic research and government consulting projects. She has recently co-authored a book exploring the U.S., Russian, and Chinese perspectives on Gray Zone Warfare, and presently leads a research project on the impact of Western assistance in Ukraine. She has been working with unconventional security threats for the past 14 years - from Gray Zone Warfare to proliferation of nuclear weapons. Egle is also a senior non-resident fellow with the Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis, and co-author of a monthly podcast ＂NYLA Update＂.