When Russian President Vladimir Putin began his ill-advised “special military operation” (SVO) against Ukraine in February 2022, one of his prime motivations was to prevent the former Soviet state from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Since then, NATO members, led by the United... MORE

On August 13, al-Qaeda’s Al-Sahab Media issued a call on a Telegram channel for Muslims to "take revenge" on Denmark and Sweden for Quran-burning protests, which had been carried out for several months in both countries. The announcement was ominously titled, "The obligation to attack... MORE

On July 9, Turkey freed the commanders of the well-known Ukrainian Azov regiment after months of hosting them as a part of a deal with Russia (Ukrinform, July 31). The fighters surrendered to Russian forces after weeks of brutal siege and resistance at the Azovstal... MORE

Following the prolonged detention of Islamic State (IS)-linked European citizens in al-Hol and similar camps in northeastern Syria from 2019 onwards, many countries have become more amenable to repatriation. This comes as pressure to resolve these citizens’—and particularly their childrens’—fates has increased. The Nordic countries... MORE

On July 18, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that “attempts to continue the grain deal without the participation of the Russian Federation must take into account the risks associated with the fact that the grain export route passes near the combat area” (Un.org, July 22,... MORE

Reading into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in the aftermath of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny is comparable to entering a baffling alternate universe where messages are sent with symbols, cues and nonverbal communication (Medialeaks.ru; T.me/strelkovii, June 29). Take, for example, the Russian president’s first post-coup visit, which... MORE

As a result of recently proposed reforms, the Russian Navy’s four fleets—Pacific, Northern, Baltic and Black Sea—as well as the Caspian Flotilla would become directly subordinate to the central headquarters of the Russian Navy, as they were prior to the military reforms of 2009–2012, instead... MORE

The Russian Navy’s participation in the war against Ukraine has been mostly limited to the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. Yet, even with these limitations, Russia has still lost one of its five cruisers and several ships of other types during the conflict (see... MORE

Sweden’s security dilemma has worsened in recent years due to Moscow’s increasingly aggressive behavior as demonstrated by Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2018, its invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The consequences of potential Russian... MORE

The Turkish government insists that Sweden significantly change its permissive approach to the Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan (PKK, or Kurdish Workers’ Party) and other anti-Turkey groups as a condition for Ankara’s approval of Stockholm’s application for NATO membership. Western commentators have attributed the position of the... MORE