On August 29, a new version of Russian commercial aircraft, the SJ-100 (formerly known as the SSJ-100), completed its first flight. The main difference between the new SJ-100 and the old SSJ-100 is that extensive import substitution efforts were carried out to source the necessary... MORE

Executive Summary In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), China is determined to continue expanding its footprint primarily using economic and business-related tools. Defense and security cooperation, for now, plays a less important role in Beijing`s actions in the region. The activities of Chinese... MORE

Since mid-July 2023, as a result of the agreement reached after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny, Russia has begun to relocate Wagner Group mercenaries to Belarusian territory, raising well-reasoned concerns in the neighboring states. On August 1, Poland faced yet another provocation in which two Belarusian helicopters... MORE

On August 11, Russia launched its long-delayed Luna-25 mission to the Moon, with the probe aiming to land on the lunar surface in the coming days (TASS, August 11). The main purposes of the Luna-25 launch include the demonstration of Moscow’s technological prowess and landing... MORE

Russia’s all-out aggression against Ukraine, which will pass the 18-month mark next week, is indirectly but strongly connected to the Russo-Georgian war of 15 years ago. In the first week of August 2008, Georgian villages in South Ossetia, a separatist enclave controlled by Russia since... MORE

The visit of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to China, which took place at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping from July 26 to August 1, produced a true geopolitical surprise. On July 31, the Georgian government released a joint statement establishing a “strategic... MORE

At the time of writing, Ukrainian forces had managed to reach the so-called “Surovikin Line” in a number of places. Ukrainian units finally managed to break through the Russian echeloned defensive lines in the area of Priyutnoye-Staromayorskoye-Novodonetske and now threaten to enter the operational zone... MORE

The low-profile and high-impact meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 5 and 6 was never intended to produce a road map for ending the war in Ukraine; neither was it a summit, since the invitations sent to some 40 countries specified the level of... MORE

Executive Summary Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) constitute a rather important, yet relatively new, area for Chinese interests. Beijing’s strategy in dealing with countries that comprise the macro-region (South and Central America) is primarily driven by economic and business interests, as well as trade... MORE

Western naval powers have been shut out of the Black Sea until further notice. This is an extraordinary situation, exceedingly rare in modern history. No warship from a non-riparian country has entered the Black Sea since December 2021. And no naval exercise with Western participation has... MORE