The aim of the paper is to analyze and assess the credibility of American military security guarantees for Poland in the context of the war in Ukraine. This applies to the actions taken by the United States to increase Poland’s security after the aggressions in 2014 and 2022, as well as the reality of using the US Armed Forces to defend Poland in the event of a possible attack by Russia. As part of the research, interviews were conducted with scientists and experts from research centers in Washington, D.C. and New York. Although the United States has not met all of Poland’s security expectations, it has so far fulfilled its allied commitments. Besides, the American authorities unequivocally ensure that they will defend every inch of NATO territory, including Poland, which is in line with the strategic interests of the USA and the belief of the vast majority of American researchers.

Adopted in 2000, the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 marked a key moment in the integration of a gender perspective into the agenda of international institutions in the security field. The resolution emphasized the importance of the gender perspective in the context of armed conflict, the protection of women’s rights and peacebuilding. An organisation that plays a key role in achieving these goals is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The article analyses the actions and initiatives undertaken by NATO to implement the UN Women, Peace and Security Agenda.

The research covers the early years of Ukraine’s and Poland’s cooperation in their bilateral relations in the context of building up security policies between the NATO and the CSTO in 1991–1994. Various information influences from state and non-state actors, internal and external, made it so the processes of the search for security guarantees ended up quite different between the two neighboring countries. Covering sources and literature that provide evidence for influences from sources such as the Kremlin, the non-lustrated “old guard” former Communist party functionaries in Ukraine, and the former opposition in Poland, the research shows how the two countries’ relations with the NATO differed, and why, though both countries joined the Partnership for Peace program at roughly the same time, Poland managed to start active Euro-Atlantic integration much earlier than Ukraine did. Using sources such as the text of the treaties, the establishing documents and legislature guidebooks of organization, public writings of diplomats and former policy makers, the research shows what exactly were the risks that the NATO assessed in the joining of former Eastern Bloc countries (with the unstated reasons for the small number of contacts of those countries with NATO in the 1991–1994 relevant to the West’s suspicion of post-Soviet intelligence and military), and which points of the first Ukraine-NATO proved “too much” for the former. Furthermore, Ukraine’s early success with the number of NATO exercises it partook in during the first years of the Partnership for Peace became an example to other Eastern Europe countries seeking better relations with NATO and defense sector reforms, including the Republic of Poland. The paper also highlights the tendencies of cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland in the context of NATO enlargement and the various aspects of Atlantic integration. The most important among them was cooperation in security and defense, both bilateral and within the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program.

Periodization of the great Moscow-Ukrainian War  in the XXI century and probable scenarios  of its development and completion

The study aims to characterize the essence and content of the ongoing Moscow-Ukrainian war since 2014, providing the author’s options for scientific periodization and forecasts for its conclusion. The research methodology adopts a systematic approach, relying on the method of periodization in historical analysis. General scientific methods, such as historical and logical approaches, along with specific scientific historical methods like comparative-historical and retrospective analyses, are employed. The method of theoretical modeling is extensively used to describe potential scenarios for the war’s end. The study emphasizes that any periodization should meet specific criteria, like the global context. Historical parallels are drawn to enhance the understanding of the problem, and various options for the periodization of the MoscowUkrainian war proposed by other scholars are critically analyzed. The term “ATO” (Anti-Terrorist Operation) is subject to a critical analysis, assessing its impact on historical thought about the conflict. The author presents several options for the periodization of the war, categorized as “detailed” and “optimal.” The study also formulates and systematizes various scenarios for ending the war and explores its potential consequences in the context of future international relations. The research assesses the influence of the “strange” military mutiny in June 2023 on the socio-political situation in Muscovy (historical name for the Russian Federation). This assessment allows the author to formulate probable scenarios for the war’s conclusion.

War in Ukraine – Causes and Consequences after More than a Year

The war in Ukraine has been going on for more than a year now and there is no indication that it will end soon. The causes of its outbreak are very complex. One of them was the victory of the counter-revolution and the collapse of socialism, followed by the collapse of the former Soviet Union in December 1991. At that time, fifteen independent republics were established to varying degrees – their disintegration took place not only ideologically and politically, but also economically. In many of them, nationalisms arose or were revived, including those based on religion, which included not only the main former union republics, but also numerous national minorities, particularly the Baltic states, the Caucasus, and the Volga region. Some of them turned into local wars. An important role in the disintegration of the countries of the former Soviet Union and the weakening of the Russian Federation was played by external forces, imperialist states, mainly the US, some European countries, NATO in general, and the rivalling with Russia European Union and other forces of international capital. The war in Ukraine has deeper causes, and in case of Russia’s defeat, it will have further adverse consequences for it as a great power, and may even become the beginning of its disintegration. Hence, the result is the full determination of the Russian ruling forces to achieve victory. At the same time, Ukraine enjoys the support of the entire „global West”, led by the US, NATO, and the European Union. The war was preceded by numerous growing contradictions and accompanying conflicts, which took the form of the ‚Orange Revolution’ in 2004, the so-called Revolution of Dignity and the Maidan coup, the declaration of independence by Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk Republics in 2014. It took another eight years for the conflict to escalate into a full-blown war, although Russia officially still defines it as a „special military operation”.

Russian-Turkish relations in the context of the war in Ukraine

The outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine has put Turkey in a difficult situation. The Turkish government, which adopted a strategy of ambiguity towards this conflict, tried to maintain good economic relations with Russia while providing military support to Ukraine. Turkey’s policy towards the Russia-Ukraine war refers to the broader context of international rivalry that involves the United States and China. In this situation, Turkey must take into account all circumstances of international competition. The scientific hypothesis refers to the measurable benefits that Turkey derives from applying such a strategy towards the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.