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Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The Hill

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Putin’s delusions in Ukraine could rouse him to take on NATO

The Kremlin may have attempted to lay the groundwork for a hybrid aggression with the Narva People’s Republic “hoax.”

03.04.2026 2

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Underestimating the enemy is a dangerous path for Trump to follow

Such costly miscalculations have many reasons.

22.03.2026 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Putin should look at Nepal and be afraid

Nepal looked stable, and few would have expected such an outburst.

16.09.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

‘Russophobia’ is a joke, but how should we feel about ordinary Russians?

Russians, and only Russians, can solve this moral dilemma.

10.09.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

5 reasons Putin will never end his war in Ukraine

If Trump truly wants a Nobel by bringing peace to Ukraine and Russia, he will have to address the primary “root cause” of the war: Putin.

26.08.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Trump has the cards as Putin’s Russia is falling apart

Putin will not and cannot negotiate in good faith, whether in Alaska or elsewhere.

12.08.2025 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Putin’s talk of soldiers’ feet puts the lie to Russian nationalist myths

Vladimir Putin recently admitted that Russia is an artificial construct created by violence.

07.07.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Putin was one of the losers of the Israel-Iran war

Trump showed that Russia is a bit player with oversized delusions of grandeur.

26.06.2025 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Putin gifts Trump an authoritarian kitsch portrait

Putin, in gifting Safronov’s portrait, presumably knew that Trump would appreciate it.

20.06.2025 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Live updates: Newsom reaffirms California will sue Trump over National Guard deployment

Immigration protests in California and President Trump's deployment of the National Guard to quell them have set up a clash between the president and...

09.06.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Let Trump and Musk ‘fight for a while’

The longer and nastier their relations, the worse for both — and the better for America and the world.

09.06.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Time is not on Russia’s side in Ukraine

There’s more to the story than numbers of men, money and materiel. Leadership, morale, tactics, strategy, quality of weapons and other...

29.05.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Who actually holds ‘the cards’ now in Ukraine? Zelensky.

Though neither a superpower nor a has-been superpower, Ukraine is the only country that can effectively end the war.

21.05.2025 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

John Mearsheimer, the not-so-realistic 'realist,' embarrasses himself again on Russia

The editors of Switzerland’s leading newspaper knew they had a terrific headline when political scientist John Mearsheimer stated in an interview...

15.05.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Russia tortured a Ukrainian journalist to death — yet Trump wants to negotiate

As tragic as Viktoria Roshchyna’s death is, it’s also profoundly political.

09.05.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Why won’t Trump or Vance visit Ukraine?

Trump and Vance prefer comfort to hardship, dislike Ukraine and feel some guilt for the crimes they are abetting.

21.04.2025 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Grading Trump’s Ukraine War deal-making by ‘Art of the Deal’ standards

How does President Trump’s deal-making record with respect to the Russo-Ukrainian War stack up against that of Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky?

16.04.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Trump and Putin are making the same error about patriotism

Like it or not, the world is divided into nations, most of which aspire to independent statehood, and into countries, which always manage to elicit...

06.04.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Would Ukraine be better off without Trump’s America?

If Trump’s America is a hostile, ignorant and incompetent broker, does it make sense for Ukraine to take part in the ongoing charade known as...

31.03.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Expel Hungary from the European Union

Orbán’s semi-authoritarian regime openly flouts freedom, democracy, the rule of law, minority rights, pluralism, tolerance and justice.

24.03.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

The real ‘root causes’ of the Ukraine war

Although political culture is never the immediate cause of aggression, it is a powerful facilitator thereof.

19.03.2025 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s Ukraine policy makes Biden look like a genius

Two-and-a-half cheers for Biden’s Ukraine policy. Three loud boos for Trump’s.

07.03.2025 30

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s regime is fated to collapse

Despite its chest-beating rhetoric, the Trump regime is actually brittle and fated to ineffectiveness, collapse or both.

03.03.2025 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Was 40-year-old Trump recruited by the KGB?

The former head of Kazakhstan’s intelligence service, Alnur Mussayev, recently claimed in a Facebook post that Donald Trump was recruited by the KGB...

26.02.2025 30

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

3 possible explanations for Putin’s bravado

Does Russia’s president know that his “special military operation” against Ukraine has turned into disaster for Russia? Or does he really think...

22.01.2025 20

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor

Why Trump should abandon his imperial ambitions

Empires are costly and inefficient, and imperialism is costly and counterproductive, with both combining to generate the very forces that eventually...

14.01.2025 10

The Hill

Alexander J. Motyl, Opinion Contributor