As Russia launched its massive re-invasion of neighboring Ukraine in late February, scores of propagandists, journalists and officials—in Russia, Ukraine and even abroad—seized on an old, familiar trope: the Chechen, a fearless and ruthless force, far deadlier than any other foe. Watching the agitprop on... MORE

Moscow has been extremely chary about reporting combat losses in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, electing instead to make the heads of the federal subjects responsible for doing so at the local level—lest it become immediately obvious to all Russians just... MORE

On March 3, as Russia’s massive re-invasion of Ukraine entered its second week, the Georgian government unexpectedly followed Kyiv’s lead and filed a formal application to join the European Union. In commenting on the announcement, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared that Georgia is “a deserving... MORE

On February 22, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the Ukrainian separatist areas of Donetsk and Luhansk and two days before the Kremlin head launched his broad-scale re-invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow. There, he and... MORE

Based on the triumphalist posts to his Telegram channel, the first weekend of Russia’s re-invasion of Ukraine was victorious for the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. On February 25, the day after the breakout of mass hostilities, he presided over a rally in Grozny meant... MORE

On February 26, Azerbaijan donated a reported €5 million ($5.6 million) worth of medicine and medical equipment as humanitarian relief to Ukraine (Marja.az, February 26). The aid was announced by Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelenskyy on Twitter soon after his telephone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham... MORE

Except for occasional references to Chechen fighters whom Ramzan Kadyrov sent to fight in Ukraine with disastrous results, most reporting on Vladimir Putin’s expanded invasion of Ukraine has referred to the Russian Armed Forces as if they were purely Russian. In fact, it is the... MORE

On February 21, a few days before Russia launched its large-scale re-invasion of Ukraine, 53 political and non-governmental organizations registered in Georgia published an “open letter” to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he help them achieve a “neutral status” for their country (Radiotavisupleba.ge, February... MORE

When Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (DPR, LPR) and ceremoniously signed association treaties with these Moscow-backed separatist Ukrainian regions on February 21 (see EDM, February 22), Georgia’s own Russian-occupied territories—South Ossetia and Abkhazia—quickly welcomed the decision (Mfa.rsogov.org, Mfaapsny.org,... MORE

On February 22, just two days before Russian tanks and missiles started crossing the Ukrainian border, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Vladimir Putin of Russia signed a declaration in Moscow vowing to upgrade their bilateral relations to an allied level (Azertag, February 22).... MORE