Ivana Stradner

April 17, 2026 | Reagan Easter, Ivana Stradner

Orban’s ouster was a win. But don’t let Hungary distract from Russia’s next target

Post-election celebrations erupted in the streets of Budapest over the weekend after Hungarian voters ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years, handing pro-EU opposition leader Peter...

April 15, 2026 | Ivana Stradner, Peter Doran

Americans shouldn’t cry for Orban

Never ignore the voters. After 16 years in power, Hungary’s corpulent Prime Minister Viktor Orban lost touch with the conservative base that supported him from the start, believing...

April 14, 2026 | Ivana Stradner |

Center-Right Party’s Overwhelming Victory in Hungarian Election Could Boost EU Support for Ukraine

After 16 years in power, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was resoundingly defeated in the country’s general election on April 12. The victory of the center-right Tisza Party led by Peter Magyar...

April 12, 2026 | Ivana Stradner |

If Orban wins, Putin will be delighted

In June 1989, a 26-year-old Viktor Orban demanded free elections and the withdrawal of Soviet troops in what was a defining moment in Hungary’s democratic awakening. He was a young...

April 10, 2026 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Ivana Stradner

Why Hungary’s two-faced Orbán deserves to lose his re-election bid

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary is on the ropes in his latest bid for reelection, down by double-digit margins in the latest polls. So he brought in a ringer. Vice President JD Vance, a star...

April 9, 2026 | |

UK Highlights Espionage Activities of Russian Submarines Near Britain

Defense Secretary Says UK Tracked Russian Subs: UK Defense Secretary John Healey revealed on April 9 that the British armed forces, in cooperation with Norway and other allied nations, had tracked three Russian submarines off the British coast for over a month. Healey said that the purpose of the operation was to gather information about underwater infrastructure, including cables and pipelines. “Our armed forces left them in no doubt that they were being monitored, that their movements were not covert, as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin planned,” Healey said.

April 8, 2026 | Ivana Stradner |

What the Kremlin fears more than Ukrainian drones

Major banks across Russia on Friday reported major service breakdowns. Their apps crashed, ATMs stopped working, and other capabilities collapsed. The outages caused major complications in everyday...

March 11, 2026 | Jason Jay Smart, Ivana Stradner

Russia the Arsonist Wants to Play Firefighter

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to use Moscow’s close ties with Iran to restore calm in the Middle East after the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which he condemned as “unprovoked aggression.”...

March 11, 2026 | Ivana Stradner |

Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia chose Tehran over Trump

The leaders of Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia have long touted their loyalty to President Donald Trump, courting Washington’s conservative wing. But when Trump launched his war...

March 5, 2026 | Ivana Stradner, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery

Escalation Without Detonation: Russia’s Nuclear Threats

Fears of a renewed arms race are echoing around the world once again, ignited by last month’s expiration of New Start, the last treaty limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenal deployment. This week,...

March 4, 2026 | Ivana Stradner, Emily Hester

Moscow Muddies the Info Waters to Hide How It’s Abandoned Its Ally

In modern conflict, narrative is a weapon. The Kremlin understands this. Now the US has a chance to remind the world how treacherous Russia as ally can be.

February 28, 2026 | Ivana Stradner |

Russia Should End It’s War To Attend the Next Olympics

While the Milano Olympic Games have now reached their end, Putin is celebrating the acquisition of countless new victims in his international influence campaigns. The Kremlin has taken advantage of the...

January 23, 2026 | Ivana Stradner |

All of a sudden, Putin is willing to throw Iran under the bus

America should take advantage of this situation to show Russia’s other partners the emptiness of the Kremlin’s friendship

November 5, 2025 | John Yoo, Ivana Stradner

The US must not endorse Russia and China’s vision for cybersecurity

Even as Russia and China wage a relentless cyber war against the West, the United Nations is celebrating a new cybercrime treaty whose chief architects were none other than Moscow...

October 3, 2025 | Ivana Stradner, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery

Europe Should Support Moldova Against Russian Meddling

Defeating Russian interference in Moldova’s election is merely the first step.

August 24, 2025 | Ivana Stradner |

Why we should still be terrified of Putin’s rewriting of Russian history

The Trump administration must not fall prey to Putin’s KGB tactics of psychological manipulation

August 14, 2025 | Ivana Stradner |

Will Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Defy Putin’s Attempt To Ban Its WhatsApp Chat Platform in Russia?

As the American tech giant contemplates Moscow’s latest authoritarian demand, the company should remember that the Kremlin has more to lose than WhatsApp.

July 31, 2025 | Emily Hester, Ivana Stradner

What it means for Russia’s fight in Ukraine to be a ‘holy war’

Excerpt The Russian Orthodox Church is supposed to bring people closer to God, not to Russian President Vladimir Putin. And yet, that seems to be just what the ROC is doing under Patriarch...

July 31, 2025 | Ivana Stradner, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery

Putin tries to use Moldova to undermine Ukraine and NATO

Russia’s foreign intelligence agency recently accused NATO of drawing Moldova into “armed conflict with Russia.” Moscow has also claimed that the tiny nation’s intelligence...

July 26, 2025 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Ivana Stradner

Trump Shouldn’t Fall for Russia’s Nuclear Bluster

It is time for Washington to stop giving these threats undue weight and instead expose their hollowness.