Executive Summary: Once thought a vestige of the past, Eastern European mercenaries have returned to Africa under the leadership of Romanian Horațiu Potra. Potra runs a private military company (PMC) composed of other Romanian former members of the French Foreign Legion. Both Potra and his... MORE

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is increasingly relying on the state-registered Cossack movement to feign interethnic harmony and national unity in Russia, pushing back against reports of growing social unrest throughout the country. While the Cossacks are touted as rising above ethnic differences, some still promote... MORE

Executive Summary: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó recently visited Belarus to discuss expanding trade amid stringent EU sanctions, cooperating more closely on nuclear energy, and maintaining open lines of communication. Budapest is the only EU capital that recognizes the post-2020 political status quo in Minsk... MORE

Executive Summary: Pro-Kremlin analysts increasingly insist that Moscow is becoming a leader in the next phase of global technological advancement and is moving toward the economy of the future. Some official statistics indicate otherwise. Russian production and technological development still depend heavily on foreign-made machine... MORE

Executive Summary: Mahamat Idriss Déby, Chad’s new president, has voiced interest in increasing cooperation with Moscow amid creeping Russian influence throughout the Sahel. Any move by the young president toward replacing French influence with a Russian presence will likely be met with strong resistance from... MORE

Executive Summary: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan have formed a plan for the transmission of green energy to the European Union via the Caspian Sea. The use of Caspian routes to transport energy to Europe has increased following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea and Vietnam to neutralize the diplomatic outcomes of the peace summit in Switzerland and prove Russia’s ability to maintain a high international profile. Nuclear saber-rattling and Moscow’s need for more artillery shells were high on Putin’s... MORE

Executive Summary: Over the past two years, Ukraine has weathered Russian strikes on critical targets, and the intensity of Russian missile and air strikes could soon lead to the exhaustion of Ukraine’s missile stocks. As Ukraine’s stocks have dwindled, the effectiveness of air defense has... MORE

Executive Summary: Budapest has long been concerned about the status and treatment of ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring countries and, most recently, has been more outspoken in defense of those Hungarians living in Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has elevated that defense to the... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow’s latest offer to start talks with Kyiv amounts to a set of non-negotiable demands, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is redoubling his attempts to impose the settlement terms discussed in 2022, supplemented by several aggravating conditions. The Kremlin has de-recognized Ukrainian President... MORE