Russian elites continue to assure the Russian population that there is no future without a victory over Ukraine; however, the image of this victory has been considerably modified in the face of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ukrainian forces are slowly battling their way forward, liberating more... MORE

After a brief easing following the Sochi Olympics in 2014, which elevated attention on the Circassian issue to the global level, tensions between Moscow and the Circassians ebbed during the first part of the past decade only to rise again at its end (see EDM,... MORE

On June 13, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka was interviewed by Olga Skabeyeva of Russia One, a Moscow-based television channel (President.gov.by, June 14). On the eve of the interview, the Russian television crew visited Belarus’s western border where S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems are installed, later sharing... MORE

Latvia, together with Estonia, is undertaking the largest military procurement project since the restoration of independence in acquiring the IRIS-T air defense system from Germany. In late May 2023, these plans were made public by Latvian Minister of Defense Ināra Mūrniece and Estonian Minister of... MORE

In May 2023, United States National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced that Russia is looking to purchase additional Iranian drones and loitering munitions. Kyiv believes that Moscow already received around 2,400 units from its “brother in arms” and has already used over 400 of... MORE

The Russian Navy has played second fiddle to the Russian army in Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine. Indeed, it has suffered embarrassing losses including the Moskva flagship of its Black Sea Fleet and the drone attacks on that fleet’s home base at Sevastopol (see EDM,... MORE

On May 25, the Council of the European Union ultimately renewed the temporary agreement for the bloc’s trade liberalization with Ukraine for another year (Consilium.europa.eu, May 25). The decision, which came into force on June 6, was not, however, easy to achieve as the EU’s... MORE

On June 6, a humanitarian and ecological disaster was triggered when the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in Ukraine was destroyed—most likely the work of  Russian forces in the area (New Voice of Ukraine, June 6). Ukrainian hydropower operator Ukrhydroenergo reported that, as of June 8,... MORE

The summer economic forum in St. Petersburg used to be a vanity fair of Russian opulence and corruption. But last week's modest, if not frugal, event was rather an exercise in self-reassurance of sustainable stagnation. The international profile of the event was seriously curtailed, and... MORE

In recent weeks, Russia’s military leadership has wholly changed its rhetoric regarding domestic arms manufacturing and the country’s military-industrial complex. From the nervous statements and even threats made to the upper management of state-owned companies and production facilities throughout 2022 and during the first months... MORE