While the dominant narrative in the West is that President Vladimir Putin is personally responsible for the crisis in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas and seeks to use it to Russia’s advantage, such a Manichean view disguises the nuances and complexities surrounding the issue.  One... MORE

The big picture of the Ukrainian conflict has changed significantly during the last week as this troubled state confirmed its hard-made European choice. The hundreds of rebels fighting in the trenches around Slavyansk and the hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are trying to make... MORE

On May 28, the Ukrainian military reportedly shot down a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle—UAV) that was taking images of a Ukrainian military base engaged in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in Donetsk (Dzerkalo Tyzhnia May 28). The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) identified the drone as... MORE

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov stated recently that a new training center for special forces will be built on the territory of the Chechen Republic. Russian forces are expected to use the facility for training (rg.ru, June 21). “There are no similar centers in Russia and... MORE

On June 20, President Petro Poroshenko unveiled a “peace plan” in 15 points for resolving the armed conflict in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, parts of which have been seized by Russia’s proxy forces. On the same date, Poroshenko ordered a unilateral ceasefire, from June... MORE

On June 2, the head of the Russian state technology corporation Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, commented that Russia has lifted its embargo on supplies of weapons and military hardware to Pakistan, telling reporters, “The decision was taken, and we are negotiating the delivery of helicopters” (ITAR-TASS,... MORE

On June 20, President Petro Poroshenko ordered a seven-day unilateral ceasefire by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, parts of which have been seized by Russia’s proxy forces. On the same date, Poroshenko unveiled a “peace plan” in 15 points for resolving the... MORE

Drones (unmanned aerial vehicles—UAV) have made their way into the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. In several instances, the press reported on UAVs having been shot down by various sides in Kyiv’s war with Russian-backed separatist insurgents operating in Ukraine’s far eastern Donbas region. On June 7, anti-government... MORE

The peace plan advanced last Friday (June 20) by President Petro Poroshenko aimed to reassert the integrity of the Ukrainian state, yet it may mark a new escalation of hostilities in Donbas—the eastern territory of Ukraine encompassing Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russian President Vladimir Putin... MORE

The distinctive feature of the kidnappings in the North Caucasus today is that they are apparently carried out only by Russian government forces. In fact, some analysts assert that the kidnappings of the earlier periods, ostensibly organized by Chechen militants between the first and the... MORE