Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
The ‘Shadow Cardinal’ of Ukrainian Politics: Who Is Andriy Bohdan?
On September 27, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC), Oleksandr Danylyuk, announced his resignation (Pravda.com.ua, September 27), which was confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Pravda.com.ua, September 30). According to Danylyuk, he stepped down in protest against the actions of... MORE
Russian Spetsnaz in Norway: ‘Fake News’ Versus Facts
On September 27, AldriMer, a Norwegian information outlet specializing in military affairs, claimed that, according to its sources, “members of the Russian special services without any insignia and dressed as civilians were spotted on Svalbard [Spitsbergen] Island” and on Norwegian continental territory. As noted by... MORE
Moscow Unveils Further Advances in Drone Technology
Russia’s Armed Forces and defense industry are making considerable advances in the design and introduction of modern unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. While there is growing interest in diversifying both the roles and types of UAVs in service within the Russian military, the biggest advances... MORE
Russia Considering Renaming Crimea as ‘Taurida’
Immediately following Russia’s forcible annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in February–March 2014, proposals surfaced to return to an old Imperial Russian tradition of referring to this land as “Taurida.” Last month (September 16), during a “Crimean Hellas” symposium in the republican capital of Simferopol, this... MORE
Moscow-Baku Rapprochement Continues—But With Tests Ahead
More than 20 years ago, Baku-based commentator Wafa Galuzade pointed out to this author that, for Russia in the South Caucasus, Georgia is the way and Armenia is the tool, but Azerbaijan is the prize. Yet, at some point, he added, Moscow would turn on... MORE
Falling off the Fence: Russian Mercenaries Join the Battle for Tripoli
Russia’s so-far ambiguous approach to Libya’s internal conflict, one of reassuring both sides of its continued support, has begun to shift with the deployment of Russian mercenaries backing “Field Marshal” Khalifa Haftar on the front lines of the battle for Tripoli. Despite Moscow’s search for... MORE
Belarus-Russia Integration: One More Wrangling Match
Belarus remains at the center of a geopolitically tinged maelstrom of emotions enveloping the country. And in recent weeks, that maelstrom was simultaneously fed by Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei’s latest interview with RBC as well as a telling new poll regarding Belarusian public opinion... MORE
A Dead Soldier and Tanks on the Border—Russian Disinformation Targeting Ukraine
Moscow continues to put pressure on Ukraine by conducting various aggressive psychological operations (psy-ops) designed to ignite panic in Ukrainian society and disrupt military cooperation between Ukraine and the West. One of its latest such attempts actively combined a disinformation campaign with the Tsentr 2019... MORE
Putin’s Eurasian Ambitions and Propositions Ring Hollow
Russia’s “central role” in organizing the political space of rising non-Western Eurasia had been proclaimed at various forums and brainstormed by many political minds in previous years; but last week, President Vladimir Putin repeatedly attempted to give this notion new energy and content. His main... MORE
Karabakh Conflict Looks Very Different for Those at the Front Than for Baku, Yerevan or Moscow
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh and the adjoining regions of Azerbaijan now occupied by Armenian forces is almost invariably discussed in terms of the positions held by Baku, Yerevan and Moscow. But the attitudes and feelings of the people most directly involved—the... MORE