The local Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil—VKS) contingent and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) have shifted their operational focus to targeting energy infrastructure in northwest Syria, including in areas that fall under de facto Turkish control. These offensives have notably involved ballistic missile strikes... MORE

Geopolitical competition in the Caspian Sea region over oil and natural gas fields, pipelines carrying these hydrocarbons across that body of water, and security measures intended to protect both have attracted the bulk of the attention of the littoral states as well as outside powers... MORE

On February 14, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, during his visit to the Azerbaijani territories retaken following the Second Karabakh War (September 27–November 9, 2020), ceremonially laid the foundation for a railway that, when completed, will connect the towns of Horadiz (Fuzuli district) and Agbend... MORE

On March 22, a Moscow court sentenced the brother of a former governor of Dagestan to 12 years in prison for bribery and large-scale fraud. Additionally, the court ordered the defendant to pay the government an eight million ruble (around $100,000) fine. Radzhab Abdulatipov had... MORE

The current escalation of tensions around eastern Ukraine is dangerous and may appear untimely and inopportune while Europe and Russia seek to focus on managing the latest COVID-19 pandemic wave as well as addressing its accumulating economic and social consequences. Nevertheless, a deliberate political choice... MORE

As Russia appears to be escalating the war in eastern Ukraine (see EDM, March 11), the debate in the West on possible sanctions against Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime goes on. One of the potential actions presumably under consideration may be the imposition of an... MORE

Geopolitical competition over Central Asia is intensifying, with the two most prominent longstanding rivals, Russia and China, now confronted by the rising power of a third, Turkey. Thus, Moscow and Beijing have worked to limit Ankara’s influence in this landlocked region; but each has sought... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron conferred, on March 30, by video-conference on multiple international issues, including the intensification of the “internal conflict in Ukraine” (according to Putin) or “conflict in Ukraine” (Merkel and Macron, though still not... MORE

Belarusian authorities denied the official request of the opposition (see EDM, March 17) to celebrate Freedom Day on March 25. A year ago (April 2020), the government declared that anyone petitioning for the right to hold a public gathering would first have to attain consent... MORE

On the eve of a critical parliamentary election on April 4, the Bulgarian authorities have exposed a major case of espionage on behalf of Russia, which entangles several high-ranking defense ministry officials. Six Bulgarian citizens, including three active defense ministry personnel, were arrested on March... MORE