Executive Summary: Serious crime has risen to its highest level since 2010 in Russia because of the influx of weapons from Moscow’s war against Ukraine, as well as the Kremlin’s increased focus on prosecuting corruption. The influx of weapons into Russia, brought into the country... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fake readiness to negotiate the end of Moscow’s war against Ukraine amid its relentless attacks on Ukraine appears to be coming to a breaking point as the United States continues its efforts to build a peace agreement. Continued North... MORE

Executive Summary: On July 4, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) lost all off-site power supply due to nearby Russian drone strikes for the ninth time since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation and operator of Zaporizhzhia NPP since March 2022, has expressed... MORE

Executive Summary: Violent attacks on people and property in the Russian regions bordering Ukraine are threatening Moscow’s control there. The attackers, many of whom are Russian veterans with criminal pasts, are better armed and sometimes outnumber the local police. These veterans are often joined by... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia appears to be intensifying hybrid operations against Moldova, leveraging disinformation and false narratives to portray Western alliances as instigators of conflict while planning destabilization tactics. Moscow has repeatedly tried to destabilize Moldova to allow for pro-Russian regime change. The threat of Russian... MORE

Executive Summary: Kazakhstan has awarded Rosatom the contract to build its first nuclear power plant, signaling continued collaboration with Russia while simultaneously exploring future partnerships with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and France for additional plants. Astana, under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is shifting from... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia’s Wagner Group is being withdrawn from Mali after a three-and-a-half-year deployment with a mixed record of battlefield successes that have come at enormous civilian cost. Wagner’s replacement with the Russian Defense Ministry’s Africa Corps may signal a change in Kremlin tactics. Regardless... MORE

Executive Summary: A Russian raid in Ekaterinburg targeting ethnic Azerbaijanis on June 27 resulted in deaths, injuries, and allegations of torture. This ignited a severe diplomatic crisis, with Baku accusing Moscow of ethnic violence and launching a criminal investigation. Russia-Azerbaijan relations have been deteriorating since... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that he is unwilling to negotiate with “terrorist” Ukraine in early June caused a downturn in Russian markets as investors responded to the decreased chance of peace in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. The Russian economy’s militarization has... MORE

Executive Summary: Water shortages in Central Asia are becoming a problem for Russia as the drought and its effects spread into Russian territories, and Central Asians call for Moscow to send water from Siberian rivers or face massive immigration. Russians overwhelmingly oppose the revival of... MORE