• Resident Fellow for Security Research

Ruslan Trad

Ruslan Trad is a Resident Fellow for Security Research at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab).

Ruslan is interested in Eurasia, Syria, conflicts, hybrid warfare, and mercenary groups. Before joining DFRLab, he worked as a risk analyst, consultant, and freelance journalist. In recent years, he has worked in the field of OSINT investigations and due diligence reports. Ruslan is also author and co-author of three books and a wide range of articles related to the Syrian Civil War, Russian foreign policy, and security.

Ruslan is a member of the Association of European Journalists–Bulgaria and is co-founder of De Re Militari, a Bulgarian online journal for conflict analysis. During his journalism career he was a correspondent in several countries including Lebanon, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Thailand.

In 2014 Ruslan was awarded Activist of the Year by the Helsinki Committee for his Syria war coverage. Ruslan’s articles can be found in Bellingcat, BBC, Carnegie Middle East Center, New Lines Magazine, Die Presse, European Eye on Radicalization, Vocal Europe, Bild, Vocativ, IB Times, Der Standard, Muftah, Internazionale, Al Jazeera, and others.

September 2022

Russian War Report: Ukraine counterattacks in Kherson as Russia prepares new deployments

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Ukrainian forces targeted Russian military command-and-control elements in northwestern Kherson, while Russian forces attempted a limited ground assault in the same area.
read more
July 2022

Wagner Group continues involvement in Russian operations in Eastern Ukraine

by Ruslan Trad

Russian mercenaries maintaining a relatively low profile in Ukraine, unlike their presence in Africa and Syria.
read more