Western analysts have recently devoted much attention to the religious dimension of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the true measure of influence that Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church wields over President Vladimir Putin (see EDM, January 25). Moscow’s proposed unilateral ceasefire on January 6,... MORE

*Read Part One here. The “5+2” forum on Transnistria was designed in 2005 based on the old model of the European Concert, updated as Euro-Atlantic: to settle a local conflict through negotiations among great powers. Similarly, the negotiating formats on the conflicts in Karabakh (1994–2020),... MORE

The broad coalition built last week for supplying main battle tanks to Ukraine signifies a new surge in strengthening the unity of the US-led Western alliance, and Russia has had no response to this upgrade. It will take a few months to train and equip... MORE

Russia’s war against Ukraine has dealt the coup de grâce to the “5+2” negotiations on the settlement of conflict in Transnistria, the forum where Russia and Ukraine sit next to each other. Moscow and Kyiv have been seated formally at the top of the table,... MORE

On January 11, the Russian Ministry of Defense once again changed the command structure of the Russian forces fighting against Ukraine. Army General Valery Gerasimov (born in 1955), chief of the Russian General Staff, finally became the commander of Russia’s joint forces in Ukraine, replacing... MORE

Belarusians are divided, and the politically conscious Belarusians live in their own information bubbles and echo chambers. This is the principal conclusion that Yury Drakakhrust of the Belarusian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty drew from the most recent (November 2022) online survey of urban... MORE

The end of 2022 marked another round of confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Karabakh region with the involvement of Russian peacekeeping forces. The standoff began in early December, when the Russian peacekeeping contingent in the separatist Karabakh region denied access to Azerbaijani officials... MORE

As Russia’s war against Ukraine approaches its second year, several news outlets have reported that Moscow is eyeing two Iranian missile systems in particular as solutions to its missile shortages: the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar (The Kyiv Independent, November 12, 2022). The main reasons for acquiring... MORE

While the issues with arms manufacturing in Russia have been covered in a number of analyses, production remains a serious challenge for the Russian defense industry as the Kremlin continues to search for answers to solve the problem of restoring its military power for its... MORE

Two events of profound, and maybe even decisive, importance for the outcome of the Ukraine war happened last week: the Davos gathering of the World Economic Forum and the meeting of top defense officials from some 50 members of the Western coalition at the Ramstein... MORE