On February 24, 2022, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin launched his long-forecast large-scale military assault on neighboring Ukraine, following months of force buildup on the country’s borders. That massing of Russian military units and supporting assets on Ukraine’s borders had lasted almost a year, with much... MORE

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

At the March 1 meeting of the Belarusian Security Council, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka declared that Belarus is not participating in the war in Ukraine. However, adding to the intrigue of the meeting was a map on open display purportedly showing where Belarusian and Russian troops... 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

The word “war” is presently banned in the official Russian discourse on Ukraine, but in fact the “special military operation,” launched on President Vladimir Putin’s order in the early morning hours of February 24, includes several wars fought in different domains. The massive re-invasion of... MORE

The slogan “seeking progress in the midst of stability” sums up Premier Li Keqiang’s annual Government Work Report (henceforward- the Report) to the National People’s Congress (NPC), which opened in Beijing on Saturday, March 5. The major thrust of the Report centers on maintaining a... 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 24, Ukraine asked Turkey to close the Turkish Straits (the Bosporus and Dardanelles) to Russian warships under the 1936 Montreux Convention (Daily Sabah, February 24). The Straits connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, providing the only way in and out between the... MORE

In the early hours of February 24, President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine, and tens of thousands of Russian soldiers and tanks poured into Ukraine, preceded by a massive cascade of sea-, land- and air-launched precision missiles aimed at airbases, radars... MORE

On January 9, 2022, Mufti Khalid Balti, a senior member of the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, was killed in an unclaimed attack in a border district in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province (Dawn, January 10). Balti was the former TTP spokesperson who... MORE