The strategically placed Gotland is the largest island in the Baltic Sea, with an area of 3,183.7 square kilometers—that is, slightly smaller than California’s Sacramento county. The island is situated 330 km from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast and 110 km from the Swedish... MORE

Moldovan President Igor Dodon’s visit to the Kremlin (see EDM, January 26) fell short of its main goal—that of strengthening Dodon’s and his Socialist Party’s position in Moldovan domestic politics. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s high popularity in Moldova could have helped Dodon’s political fortunes significantly... MORE

Coalition bombing campaigns against Islamic State (IS) strongholds in both Syria and Iraq have degraded the group’s military capabilities and reduced its territory. However, as these losses continue, the group is expected to increase its engagement with former combatants who have returned to their home... MORE

France: What Lies in Store for Returning Militants? French authorities have detained one of the county’s most high-profile Islamists who, after reportedly growing disillusioned with Islamic State (IS), left Syria, turning himself over to Turkish authorities. Kevin Guiavarch was placed on the United Nations’ sanctions... MORE

Moldovan President Igor Dodon chose Moscow for his visit abroad, following his election on an aggressively pro-Russia program and an invitation from President Vladimir Putin (see accompanying article). Staged by the Kremlin as a high-profile event on January 16–19, the visit occasioned a snapshot of... MORE

Moldova’s recently elected, vocally pro-Russia head of state, Igor Dodon, paid an official visit to President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, on January 16–19. It was an unusually long and elaborately staged affair for the president of a small pauper state. The Kremlin used the visit... MORE

The Roshen confectionery plant in the Russian city of Lipetsk will close in April for political and economic reasons, Roshen’s press service has announced. Production in Lipetsk has shrunk threefold since 2013 because of the sanctions imposed by Russia on imports from Ukraine, falling purchasing... MORE

Ukroboronprom, the state entity responsible for Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, announced that it would begin joint production with the United States company Aeroscraft of a Ukrainian variant of the M16 assault rifle—to be renamed the WAC-47. Sergei Mykytyuk, the director of Ukroboronprom subsidiary Ukroboronservis, told journalists... MORE

Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, starting in 2014, has naturally had a galvanizing effect on the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and its potential. According to various sources (see below), this progress has been most apparent in areas including heavy weapons and equipment, production of small arms... MORE

Belarus’s already strained relations with Russia have recently deteriorated even further. Several new indications add to the previously compiled list (see EDM, January 18, 20). First, during a January 18 episode of the Russian talk show Pravo Golosa, a casual survey of the TV audience... MORE