Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Armenian Nuclear Power Plant Able to Withstand Attack, Russian Security Expert Claims
Four days ago (July 17), Vagif Dargyakhly, the press spokesperson for the Azerbaijani defense ministry, said that if Armenia escalated its conflict with Azerbaijan further, Baku could consider targeting the Armenian nuclear power plant (NPP) at Metsamor. Azerbaijani officials have since retreated from his words... MORE
Trends and Factors Contributing to the July Border Clashes Between Azerbaijan and Armenia
On July 12, the Azerbaijani border region of Tovuz and the Tavush region on the Armenian side became the new epicenter of clashes between the armed forces of the two states, with the involvement of heavy artillery and unmanned aerial drones (BBC News–Azerbaijani service, July... MORE
What Is New in the Latest Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict Escalation?
The bloodiest of all ongoing post-Soviet conflicts, that between Armenia and Azerbaijan, intensified again on July 12. Over three days, the fighting claimed the lives of 16 people, including an Azerbaijani civilian, making it the deadliest escalation since the April 2016 “Four-Day War” (Eurasian Times,... MORE
Crisis in Russia Deepens and Spreads, but Putin Remains in Denial
Every country in the world is experiencing its own particular version of the ongoing global health-and-economic crisis, and Russia faces a particularly complex one, aggravated by outstanding and escalating mismanagement. President Vladimir Putin insists that the COVID-19 pandemic is under control and that the economic... MORE
Serbia and Kosovo Restart Dialogue After 18-Month Pause
On June 16, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti met in person in Brussels to restart talks between Belgrade and Pristina after 18 months of interruption. The meeting followed a virtual summit on June 10, hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel... MORE
Aging of Russian Population Makes Putin’s Defense Buildup More Difficult and Dangerous
Two recent Russian government reports that, at first glance, appear completely independent of one other, are, in fact, entirely interdependent. And their interrelationship has serious consequences both for how the Kremlin will deal with its own population as well as for how and especially when... MORE
Renewed Armenian-Azerbaijani Fighting Threatens to Escalate Further
Armenian and Azerbaijani military forces are engaged in their most serious armed confrontation since the so-called Four-Day War of April 2016, when hundreds of soldiers on both sides were reportedly killed and wounded along the Line of Contact, which marks the frontier of Azerbaijan’s occupied... MORE
Moldova’s Degrading Sovereignty Amid Coronavirus Spike
Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Cristina Lesnic held an ad hoc videoconference, on July 14, with Richard Tibbels, the European Union’s representative in the 5+2 talks on the Transnistrian settlement process (Radio Chisinau, July 15). In their conversation, the Moldovan official shared Chisinau’s rising... MORE
Moscow Develops Next-Generation Combat Infantry System
Moscow plans to develop and introduce next-generation infantry combat systems (ICS) to further advance this high-technology feature of the modern and future Russian soldier. The current Ratnik (“Warrior”) ICS will be replaced, by 2025, with the new Sotnik (“Centurion”) modernized version, marking a further advance... MORE
Kremlin Lambastes Ukrainian Deviations From Minsk and Normandy Processes
Chairing a video-conference of the permanent members of the Russian Security Council, President Vladimir Putin expressed “disappointment over the lack of movement to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. Kyiv is not complying with either the Minsk or the Normandy agreements” (TASS, July 10). Putin made... MORE