National Interest

by Andrew C. Kuchins and Chris Monday

    Arctic brinkmanship over Greenland, NATO in chaos and Putin’s calculated silence. In the latest episode of Russia Decoded, hosts Andy Kuchins and Chris Monday unpack how Russian state media frames the fragmenting West.

<a href="https://rss.com/podcasts/russian-news-decoded/2471203">January 18, 2026: Europe Between a Rock and a Hard Place</a>

    January 2026 may well be remembered as the moment the post-1945 international order finally began to splinter. In a dizzying sequence of events spanning from the frozen fjords of Greenland to the protest-choked streets of Iran, the world has entered a stress test of its most basic security assumptions. At the center of this tectonic shift is an unprecedented crisis within NATO, sparked by a territorial dispute that few saw coming.

    President Donald Trump’s decision to link the US acquisition of Greenland to punitive tariffs against NATO allies has shattered the long-standing norm of unconditional collective defense. The European response, “Operation Arctic Endurance,” was a study in geopolitical impotence: the deployment of a mere 15 soldiers each from Germany, France and Britain to Nuuk, only for the German contingent to be recalled almost immediately upon landing. Neither the German Ministry of Defense nor the mission leadership provided a clear public explanation for the abrupt exit. Russian state media has relished the spectacle of transatlantic disunity and European paralysis.

    As the White House hammers NATO over Greenland, Russian president Vladimir Putin has moved to revive the “Great Game” in Central Asia, making Russia the first global power to normalize diplomatic relations with the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan. In a Kremlin ceremony for newly appointed ambassadors, Putin accepted the diplomatic credentials of Gul Hassan Hassan, the Taliban-appointed ambassador to Moscow.

    In the Western Hemisphere, meanwhile, Cuba has begun to feel the reverberations of the US operation in Venezuela. Russian state media delivered a romanticized report on the funerals of Cuban soldiers killed defending the Maduro regime and espoused nostalgia for Soviet-Cuban brotherhood, but the reality on the ground remains one of rot. Despite Trump’s demands on Havana for a “deal,” Moscow has offered no material support to its fading ally, focusing instead on protecting the narrow business interests of Rosneft.

    How does Russian state media view a potential transatlantic split over Greenland  And why has it gone silent on the ongoing Ukraine negotiations  In the latest episode of Russia Decoded, Andy Kuchins and Chris Monday unpack how Vladimir Putin and Russian elites understand the world and how they seek to influence it.

    Listen to the new episode now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.