INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR: Interactive Time Lapse - One Year of War

 WHO WE ARE Our Mission

The Institute for the Study of War advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives. ISW is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization.

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Our Board Members

General Jack Keane (US Army, Retired), Chairman, Institute for the Study of War; President, GSI, LLC

Dr. Kimberly Kagan, Founder & President, Institute for the Study of War

The Honorable Kelly Craft, Former US Ambassador to UN and Canada

Dr. William Kristol, Director, Defending Democracy Together

The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman, Senior Council, Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman, LLP

Kevin Mandia, Chief Executive Officer & Board Director, Mandiant

Jack D. McCarthy, Jr., Senior Managing Director & Founder, A&M Capital

Bruce Mosler, Chairman, Global Brokerage, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.

General David H. Petraeus (US Army, Retired), Partner, KKR and Chairman, KKR Global Institute

Dr. Warren Phillips, Lead Director, CACI International

Colonel William Roberti (US Army, Retired), Managing Director, Alvarez & Marsal

Hudson La Force, former Chief Executive Officer of W. R. Grace & Co

Our History

Dr. Kimberly Kagan founded ISW in May 2007, as U.S. forces undertook a daring new counterinsurgency strategy to reverse the grim security situation on the ground in Iraq . Frustrated with the prevailing lack of accurate information documenting developments on the ground in Iraq and the detrimental effect of biased reporting on policymakers, Dr. Kagan established ISW to provide real-time, independent, and open-source analysis of ongoing military operations and insurgent attacks in Iraq. General Jack Keane (U.S. Army, Ret.), the Chairman of ISW’s board, also played a central role in developing the intellectual foundation for this change of strategy in Iraq, and supported the formation of the Institute in 2007.

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Leadership

General Jack Keane

Link to full bio

Dr. Kimberly Kagan

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Jennifer Cafarella

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Michael Nelson

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Brian Babcock-Lumish

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Alexander Mitchell

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Lisa Suchy

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Stephen Gailliot

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Iryna Verity

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Madiha Abrar

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Fellows

Till Muno

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Lt. Gen. James Dubik (US Army, Retired)

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Matthew McInnis

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Nataliya Bugayova

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Elsa Kania

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Stephen Gordon

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Analysts & Associates

Daniel Mealie Link to full bio	Nicole Wolkov Link to full bio	Sydney Fuqua Link to full bio	Cassidy Eissing Link to full bio
Christopher Solomon Link to full bio	Adam Grace Link to full bio	Ashka Jhaveri Link to full bio	Andie Parry Link to full bio
Thomas Bergeron Link to full bio	George Barros Link to full bio	Mason Clark Link to full bio	Kateryna Stepanenko Link to full bio
Peter Mills Link to full bio	Virginia Wang Link to full bio	Karolina Hird Link to full bio	Grace Mappes Link to full bio
Noel Mikkelsen Link to full bio	Nils Peterson Link to full bio	Layne Philipson Link to full bio	Kendrick Frankel Link to full bio
Isabella Sarmiento Link to full bio	Roy Eakin Link to full bio	Johanna Moore Link to full bio	Riley Bailey Link to full bio

Interactive Time-lapse: Russia's War in Ukraine

This interactive time-lapse complements static control-of-terrain maps that ISW produces by showing a dynamic frontline.

Institute For the Study of War

ISW’s daily campaign assessments of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including our static maps, are available at  understandingwar.org ; you can subscribe to these daily reports and other updates   here  . For additional insights and analysis from ISW, follow us on Twitter   @TheStudyofWar  . For media inquiries, please email   press@understandingwar.org  Enabled hardware acceleration is recommended for improved performance when viewing these maps. More information on how to enable hardware acceleration is available  here .

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This high-definition interactive map is resource intensive. The performance and speed of the map is correlated with the strength of your hardware. We recommend viewing this interactive map on a computer or large-screen tablet.

Recommended specifications for viewing:

• 8 gb of random access memory
• a dedicated graphics card with 4gb video random access memory
• four-core processer @ 3.50GHz

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Time-lapse of Assessed Control of Terrain in Ukraine, February 23rd, 2022, to May 31st, 2023

You can pan and zoom in on the map using the mouse and buttons on the bottom right side of the map. Time-lapses to specific months are available through URL links below.

We plan to update this map on a monthy basis.

Latest fromISW

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 3, 2023

Jun 3, 2023 - Press ISW

Ukrainian officials continue to signal that Ukrainian forces are prepared to start counteroffensive operations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in a June 3 interview with the Wall Street Journal that Ukraine is ready to launch a counteroffensive. Zelensky stated that Ukraine “would like to have certain things, but … can’t wait for months” to start counteroffensive operations. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar stated on June 3 that “military plans love silence” and that she will “discuss something else” in the meantime, likely acknowledging that Ukrainian officials have started to more strictly enforce a regime of informational silence about operations in preparation for upcoming counteroffensives. Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko stated on June 3 that Ukraine has formed all nine brigades of the “Offensive Guard” and that these formations are ready to take part in hostilities at Zelensky’s and Ukrainian Commander in Chief General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi’s orders.

China-Taiwan Weekly Update, June 2, 2023

Jun 2, 2023 - Press ISW

2024 Taiwanese presidential candidates are basing their cross-strait policy positions within the “peace vs war” framework, which may provide China greater influence over their election narratives through the PRC-supported framework.

Xi Jinping stressed the need to establish China’s national security risk monitoring and early warning system, which could serve as a tool to implement the CCP’s holistic security concept.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 2, 2023

Jun 2, 2023 - Press ISW

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continues to respond disproportionately to limited raids into Russian territory, likely to project confidence and competence in the MoD’s ability to respond to perceived threats. The Russian MoD issued a second update about the June 1 Shebekino, Belgorod Oblast border raid, largely fixating on the timeliness and scope of the Russian response to the raid. The MoD claimed that additional Russian Western Military District (WMD) elements reinforced the border area within an hour of the start of the raid and conducted heavy air, artillery, and flamethrower strikes against the raiding units and their reserves. The MoD claimed that over 135 people and 35 vehicles in total conducted the raids and that various Russian defensive efforts - including small arms fire and mines - repelled the raids. The MoD later celebrated the commander of an unspecified motorized rifle battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Nikitin, for leading the defensive effort, likely to preempt attempts to attribute the “victory” achieved by Belgorod border defense on Russian Colonel General Alexander Lapin as the information space did during the May 23 raid. The Russian MoD’s fixation on portraying Russian forces and the Russian military command as capable defenders of Russia likely reflects internal and broader information space anxiety over the coming Ukrainian counteroffensive as well as any reverberating informational impacts from any failures to defend against Ukrainian counterattacks.

Iran Update, June 2, 2023

Jun 2, 2023 - Press ISW

1). Iran is training its militias in Syria to use a range of improvised and advanced weapons to attack US personnel in Syria. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq may conduct attacks against US forces in Syria.

2). Iran likely calculates that it has achieved strategic depth and using militias in Iraq and Syria to attack US forces will keep conflict confined to Syria.

3). Iranian media circulated reports of an IRGC-conducted a drone strike targeting Kurdish Iranian separatist groups in the Iraqi Kurdistan region on June 2.

4). The Iranian regime is pursuing increased gas swaps with Turkmenistan, likely to preempt electricity shortages in the summer that could fuel internal unrest.

The Best Palantir Interview Of All Time 424 views Jun 4, 2023

2,046,000 views Jun 2, 2023 #12 on Trending Best & Worst Dressed at the Jordanian Royal Wedding

FASHIONISTAS? 

Here is a list of the best and worst dressed at the recent Jordanian royal wedding of Crown Prince Hussein to the now Princess Rajwa, some of those who attended included Catherine the Princess of Wales (Kate Middleton), Princess Beatrice and Queen Rania of Jordan, the mother of the groom. We also have Queen Maxima, Princess Catharina-Amaila, Crown Princess Mary, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Elisabeth, and more!! What do you think of the brides gowns? Who is wearing your favorite look?

Nearly half of Kyiv bomb shelters inspected during an initial audit were closed or unfit for use } Reuters News

Thursday's deaths caused a public outcry and a promise of a harsh response by Zelenskiy, which appeared aimed at Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, who has clashed with the president before.

Ukraine minister in 'disbelief' at closed Kyiv bomb shelters

Reuters

June 4, 20233:14 AM PDT Updated 12 min ago Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Nick Macfie

A kindergarten employee leads children to a bomb shelter during an air raid, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

KYIV, June 4 (Reuters) - A senior Ukrainian government official expressed "disbelief" on Sunday after learning that nearly half of Kyiv bomb shelters inspected during an initial audit were closed or unfit for use.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered an inspection of all Ukrainian shelters on Friday, a day after three people were killed in Kyiv when they were unable to access one during a Russian air strike.

Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine's minister of strategic industries, said that out of 1,078 shelters examined on the first day, 359 were unprepared and another 122 locked, while 597 were found to be usable

• "I greeted with disbelief that fact that half were open and considered ready," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
• "Yesterday, when we selectively checked the shelters in the Obolon district with our mayor, the absolute majority of the shelters were closed."

Kamyshin said the inspections, taking place with the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine now in its 17th month, would continue. . ."

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RE-BALANCING OF THE GLOBAL ORDER: Could BRICS challenge U.S. dominance in the global economy? | Inside Story

99,899 views Jun 3, 2023 #Aljazeeraenglish #News #Brics

Foreign ministers of the BRICS nations have been meeting in Cape Town, with South Africa hosting fellow members Brazil, Russia, India and China. Several countries have also expressed interest in joining the bloc. Could this group of emerging economies shift the balance of global trade and power? Or is it a political pipe dream? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests: Sanusha Naidu - Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Global Dialogue, an independent foreign policy think tank Chris Weafer, CEO Macro-Advisory, strategic consultancy that operates in the Eurasia region Shirley Yu - Political Economist and Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School

IMAGINE THAT > NSA and FBI Warning : Kimsuky Hackers Pose as Journalists to Collect and Steal Intelligence | Bleeping Computer

Also known as Thallium and Velvet Chollima, Kimsuky has conducted large-scale espionage campaigns supporting the national intelligence goals since at least 2012.

NSA and FBI: Kimsuky hackers pose as journalists to steal intel

By 

Bill Toulas

 

• June 2, 2023
 
• 02:07 PM
 
• 1

State-sponsored North Korean hacker group Kimsuky (a.ka. APT43) has been impersonating journalists and academics for spear-phishing campaigns to collect intelligence from think tanks, research centers, academic institutions, and various media organizations.

The warning comes from multiple government agencies in the U.S. and South Korea who are tracking the hackers' activity and analyzed the group's recent campaigns and themes used for attacks.

A joint advisory from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of State, the National Security Agency (NSA), alongside South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), National Police Agency (NPA), and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), notes that Kimsuky is part of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB)...

“Some targeted entities may discount the threat posed by these social engineering campaigns, either because they do not perceive their research and communications as sensitive in nature, or because they are not aware of how these efforts fuel the regime’s broader cyber espionage efforts,” reads the advisory.

“However, […] North Korea relies heavily on intelligence gained by compromising policy analysts […] (and) successful compromises enable Kimsuky actors to craft more credible and effective spear-phishing emails that can be leveraged against more sensitive, higher-value targets.” 

Spear-phishing as journalists

Kimsuky hackers meticulously plan and execute their spear-phishing attacks by using email addresses that closely resemble those of real individuals and by crafting convincing, realistic content for the communication with the target.

“For over a decade, Kimsuky actors have continued to refine their social engineering  techniques and made their spear-phishing efforts increasingly difficult to discern,” warns the advisory.

• ...In many cases, the hackers impersonate journalists and writers to inquire about current political events in the Korean peninsula, the North Korean weapons program, U.S. talks, China’s stance, and more.
• Among the themes observed are inquiries, invitations for interview, an ongoing survey, and requests for reports or to review documents.
• The initial emails are usually free of malware or any attachments, as their role is to gain the target’s trust rather than achieve a quick compromise.
• If the target does not respond to these emails, Kimsuky returns with a follow-up message after a couple of days.
• The FBI says that despite the adversary’s efforts, the English emails sometimes have an sentence structure and may contain entire excerpts from the victim’s previous communication with legitimate contacts, which had been stolen.

Kimsuky hackers posing as journalists and writers
source: U.S. Government

• When the target is South Korean, the phishing message might contain a distinct North Korean dialect.
• Also, the addresses used for sending phishing emails spoof those of legitimate persons or entities; however, they always contain subtle misspellings.

How to stop Kimsuky

The advisory provides a set of mitigation measures, which include using strong passwords to protect accounts and enabling multi-factor (MFA) authentication.

Additionally, users are advised not to enable macros on documents in emails sent by unknown individuals, no matter what the messages claim.

The same caution should be applied with documents sent from known cloud hosting services, as the legitimacy of the platforms does not constitute a guarantee of the safety of those files.

> When in doubt about a message claiming to come from a media group or journalist, visit that organization’s official website and confirm the validity of the contact information.

> The joint advisory recommends conducting a preliminary video call as an effective strategy to disperse any uncertainty of potential impersonation before deciding to engage in further communication."

Related Articles:

Kimsuky hackers use new recon tool to find security gaps

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Lazarus hackers target Windows IIS web servers for initial access

US sanctions orgs behind North Korea’s ‘illicit’ IT worker army

FBI confirms BianLian ransomware switch to extortion only attacks techniques and made their spear-phishing efforts increasingly difficult to discern,” warns the advisory.

Palantir's AIPCon Customer Conference Full Stream | June 1, 2023

 

2,647 views Jun 3, 2023Palantir's AIPCon customer conference live streamed on June 1, 2023. The exclusive conference focused on the rapid adoption of Palantir AIP, bringing together C-suite executives from across Palantir's current and prospective customers.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp shared opening remarks, and CTO Shyam Sankar walked through a detailed demonstration of Palantir AIP in action. Learn more: https://www.palantir.com/platforms/aip/ This video contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, and these statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed forward-looking, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Palantir Technologies Inc.’s (the “Company”) financial outlook, product development and related timing, distribution, and pricing, expected benefits of and applications for our software platforms, business strategy and plans (including strategy and plans relating to our sales and marketing efforts, sales force, partnerships and customers), investments in our business, market trends and market size, opportunities (including growth opportunities) and positioning, as well as assumptions relating to the foregoing. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “guidance,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “believe,” “hope,” “target,” “project,” “plan,” “goals,” “estimate,” “potential,” “predict,” “may,” “will,” “might,” “could,” “intend,” “shall,” and variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. The products and capabilities presented in this video are currently in development and may not be available to all customers, or may differ from what was demonstrated, and the potential benefits and outcomes for customers and users may vary. By viewing this video, you acknowledge that you will be responsible for conducting your own analysis, and be solely responsible for forming your own view, of the information provided, including regarding the potential future performance of the products and capabilities presented. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company’s control. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to risks detailed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You can locate these reports on the Company’s investor relations website (investors.palantir.com) or on the SEC website (www.sec.gov). If the risks or uncertainties ever materialize or the assumptions prove incorrect, the Company’s results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements or to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations.