As fall approaches, rumors have been picking up in Russia regarding a potential new wave of mobilization. At the same time, pro-Kremlin analysts and propagandists assert that the current methods of military recruitment should suffice to meet the manpower demands on the front (The Moscow... MORE

On September 11, Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s newly appointed minister of defense, held his first conversation over the phone with his American counterpart, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. As stated in the press release following their conversation, the two officials exchanged their views on the... MORE

On September 13, two armored trains met at a cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. While this might read like the beginning of a joke, it is in fact an accurate description of last week’s meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim... MORE

At the end of August 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine launched a drone strike against the 126th Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationed at the Sevastopol base in Crimea (Kyiv Independent, August 26). The attack hit ammunition depots and damaged critical Russian... MORE

Russia’s war against Ukraine has challenged its military’s approach to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and the Russian industrial base that supports the development and production of UAVs. According to open-source intelligence, Russia lost about 300 reconnaissance and combat drones as confirmed by photo or video... MORE

On September 9, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke on the phone with the leaders of France, Iran, Georgia and Germany, as well as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Azatutyan.am; Primeminister.am, September 9). In a manner that resembled his outreach to various world leaders... MORE

The threat of complete closure of the borders between Belarus and certain European Union member states is diminishing (see EDM, September 7). On September 7, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda declared that the issue is losing relevance as the situation with the Wagner mercenaries on Belarusian... MORE

On August 30, Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court held a hearing for the criminal case against Kyrgyzstani national Askar Kubanychbek-uulu, who was originally sentenced to ten years in prison for participating in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Based on complaints from Kubanychbek-uulu’s lawyer, the court canceled the previous... MORE

On September 1, the ruling Georgian Dream party announced the initiation of impeachment procedures against President Salome Zourabichvili (Facebook.com/KobakhidzeOfficial, September 1). The ruling party’s discontent stems from Zourabichvili’s recent visits to Berlin, Brussels and Paris. Georgia is a parliamentary republic. In Georgia’s constitution, the president... MORE

*Read Part One. The Kremlin offered Turkey several major, highly attractive business projects at the bilateral summit in Sochi on September 4. These would further increase Turkey’s reliance on Russia in key economic sectors and on Russian-generated revenues (see Part One). By the same token, it... MORE