Latest Articles about Military/Security
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Mobilization and Annexation Will Create More Problems for Moscow
In July 2022, military analysts loyal to the Kremlin noted that Russia lacked the manpower for a massive offensive (Topwar.ru, July 23). At the beginning of September, Russian pro-war experts predicted a “radical increase in the Russian contingent” due to the transfer of other units... MORE
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Turkish Drone Strategy in the Black Sea Region and Beyond
Introduction: Turkey as a ‘Dronized’ Military Power on Russia’s Doorstep Geopolitically, Turkey is a game-changer. Without Turkey being a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the transatlantic Alliance would have had a truly different “mapping” of its surrounding environment. Such a “different mapping”... MORE
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Influx of Russians Fleeing Mobilization Increasingly Alienating Central Asians
More than half of the estimated 700,000 Russians who have fled since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared partial mobilization on September 21 have mainly gone to four countries in Central Asia—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan—among the relatively few places Russians can still enter freely without... MORE
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No Escape for Putin From His Lonely and Tight Corner
On October 7, celebrations in Russia for President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday were rather muted and distinctly half-hearted. For the big day, Putin opted to stage an informal gathering of six leaders from post-Soviet states—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan—in St. Petersburg. The formal... MORE
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Russia’s Inside-Out Federation
Many observers have long noted the paradox that the so-called “Russian Federation” is in fact no federation at all. It cannot be compared with well-known federations around the world—such as the United States or Germany—where the authorities of the states and lands are freely elected... MORE
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Russia’s Skyrocketing Defense Spending, 2022–2023
Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine and the Kremlin’s attempts to escalate the political situation and prevent defeat on the battlefield through mobilization, nuclear blackmail and possibly even sabotage on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea raise the question: How do all these factors influence the... MORE
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Putin’s War in Ukraine Leading to Revival of GUAM
Twenty-five years ago this month, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova formed the GUAM consultative forum to counter Russian efforts to keep them within Moscow’s orbit via the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and to promote their own integration with the democratic West (Guam-organization.org, accessed October... MORE
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Putin Sees Pakistan as Russia’s Priority Partner in South Asia
On September 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan, declared Pakistan as one of Moscow’s primary partners in South Asia. As the Russian leader put it,... MORE
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Zelenskyy Bans Negotiations With Putin
On October 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a decree effectively ruling out negotiations with Russia’s incumbent president. Technically, Zelenskyy’s decree confers legal force on the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council’s (NSDC, or in Ukrainian, RNBO) September 30 decision, which “determin[ed] that holding negotiations... MORE
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Zhasulan Dyuisembin: An In-Depth Look at a Kazakh Foreign Fighter’s Journey to the Ukrainian Army
On June 2, the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan (KNB) launched a criminal case in absentia against a Kazakh national for participating in the war in Ukraine (Inform Buro, June 2). The KNB statement did not reveal any information about the identity and allegiances of... MORE