May 24, 2019
This presentation is intended as a primer—a brief, informative treatment—concerning the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. It is an unclassified expansion of an earlier classified version that drew from numerous classified and unclassified sources, including key US Department of State diplomatic cables. For this version, the authors drew from open source articles, journals, and books. Because the primer examines a very recent conflict, it does not reflect a comprehensive historiography, nor does it achieve in-depth analysis. Instead, it is intended to acquaint the reader with the essential background to, and course of, the Russian intervention in Ukraine from the onset of the crisis in late 2013 through the end of 2014.
Bob Leonhard spent 24 years in the Army as an infantry officer and war planner. He is the author of The Art of Maneuver: Maneuver Warfare Theory and AirLand Battle and The Principles of War for the Information Age. He is the primary author of "Little Green Men: a primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 2013-14." He earned a Ph.D. in History, specializing in early American history. He has been with JHUAPL since 2004.
Stephen Phillips is a member of the Senior Professional Staff at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL). He is an analyst providing support to U.S. Navy Program Offices, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), and other Department of Defense (DoD) elements.
Stephen graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1992 with a B.S. in Political Science. Commissioned in the United States Navy, he served as a Surface Warfare Officer, Special Operations Officer, Diving Officer, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician.
In his civilian career, Steve spent five years supporting various missile defense offices while employed by Anteon Corporation. He joined JHU/APL in December 2005 where Steve has supported a wide variety of projects to include missile defense, nuclear weapons security, submarine rescue, counter-IED, and irregular warfare analysis.
An award-winning novelist, Steve’s first work, Proximity, garnered the Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal in 2008. His second novel, The Recipient’s Son, has been used as a tool for honor remediation at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Steve is pursuing a PhD in War Studies through King’s College London. His dissertation is a historical case study of Operation Earnest Will.