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 13, a warship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet executed a board-and-search operation of a Turkish freighter that was passing through Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) en route to Ukraine to load grain. The Russian crew fired warning shots from automatic weapons to intimidate... MORE

*Read Part One. As Ukraine was readying for its counteroffensive, the Russian side was making what the top brass deemed as necessary preparations. These efforts were laid out in documentation of the Russian Armed Forces that Ukrainian units “captured” on the battlefield—namely the documents “Recommendations... MORE

Recent events in the South Caucasus have highlighted an overlooked development in the global weapons market: the rise of India as an arms exporter. Armenia has purchased Indian armaments amid ongoing tensions with Azerbaijan, a close ally of Pakistan and Turkey, procuring a variety of... 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

Four months after Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council and President Vladimir Putin’s closest confidant on security issues, announced that the West and Ukraine have launched a broad campaign to destabilize Karelia by promoting secessionist attitudes.... MORE

On August 1, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka paid a working visit to Kamenets district in Brest oblast, right on the border with Poland. His major task was to personally observe harvesting operations—one of Lukashenka’s hobbies derived from his professional background. Still, after having lunch with... MORE

On August 5, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense declared that all ships traveling to Russia’s Black Sea ports or the Russian-occupied territories will be considered “military carriers.” Specifically, this designation includes the Russian ports of Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi and Taman (Epravda.com.ua, August 5).... MORE

*Read Part One. *Read Part Two. The current absence of Western naval powers in the Black Sea marks a sharp break with the history of their steady presence. This new situation, now in its 20th month, stems from two separate but harmonized decisions: that of... MORE