Latest Articles about Military/Security
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Russian UAVs: What Has Gone Wrong?
Since the beginning of its large-scale aggression against Ukraine, Russia has demonstrated relatively poor capabilities regarding its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), much poorer than one would expect given the extensive resources Moscow has dedicated to this aspect of its military. Throughout the past 12 years,... MORE
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Ukraine Poised to Liberate Western Kherson
On November 9, in a televised conference, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, announced another major Russian setback (TASS, November 9). At Surovikin’s recommendation, Shoigu approved the pullback of Russian forces from the right bank of... MORE
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Russia’s Managed Escalation in Ukraine
Russian nuclear escalation threats became the topic of most intense discussion after President Vladimir Putin’s statements on September 21 and 30. In these statements, Putin hinted more explicitly than ever before at the possibility of unconventional escalation if Ukraine continues to liberate its temporarily Russian-occupied... MORE
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Moscow Working to Block Moldova from Leaving CIS
When the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed, many saw it as a forum for a civilized divorce among Russia and the other 11 former Soviet republics that constituted its membership. Others, however, especially in the Kremlin, viewed it then and now as a... MORE
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Russia’s Position in Central Asia Continues to Slip
A major casualty of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine has been its weakening position and leverage in Central Asia. In truth, this war has plainly demonstrated Moscow’s risky imperial impulses are clearly damaging the region. The most obvious example of the region distancing itself from... MORE
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Challenges Are Mounting for Fragile Belarusian Statehood
Dmitry Gurnevich of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) analyzed the biographies of Belarus’s top-ranking military officers and concluded that many of them were either born in Russia, graduated from Russian military academies, or both (Svaboda, November 3). Specifically, out of the nine top military leaders,... MORE
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Grouping of Russian Units in Belarus Continues to Swell
From the outset of the “partial mobilization” campaign in Russia, processes began taking place in Belarus that created a greater potential for armed escalation in this direction, in particular in northern Ukraine. As such, on October 14, according to Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, Belarus... MORE
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Moscow Actively Conscripting Central Asian Migrant Workers for War Effort
On October 24, dozens of Uzbekistani citizens living in the Russian town of Orel received draft orders as part of the “partial mobilization” announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21. The Russian government’s intent to shore up as many able-bodied men as possible... MORE
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Ukraine Launches Unprecedented Drone Attack on Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Sevastopol Headquarters
Eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin began his unprovoked “special military operation” against Ukraine, one of the most striking emerging aspects of the conflict has been the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ surprising and increasingly effective denial of Russian naval efforts to establish “command of the... MORE
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Iran Expanding Its Influence in the Muslim Regions of Russia
Due to Moscow’s growing reliance on Tehran for weapons and its desire to use Iran as a means of circumventing Western sanctions (see EDM, December 15, 2020; November 1, 3), the Iranian authorities have been able to expand their influence not only in the South... MORE