Politics
Putin and Belousov warn NATO: Russia is preparing for war Paid Members Public
Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov delivered their end-of-year report to a giant defense ministry conference on Monday, hailing the state of affairs at the front and in the rear. They talked about the latest successes in the Ukraine invasion, the increase in military spending and Russia’s preparations
Russian “foreign agents” to lose property and asset income Paid Members Public
Russia’s authorities continue to crack down on opposition figures and journalists they have designated “foreign agents.” In the latest set of measures, they will be barred from earning income on their Russian assets, with proposed bans on collecting money from the sale or rental of property, through dividends or
PR man appointed Kursk governor Paid Members Public
Russia’s Kursk Region, partially occupied by Ukrainian forces, has got its second new governor in under a year. The Russian army has failed to recapture the region since Ukrainian troops stormed across the border in August, and it faces a social catastrophe which has forced residents into rare public
How did the Kremlin squander Syria Paid Members Public
After more than 20 years in power, Syrian president Bashir Assad saw his regime collapse in the space of two dramatic weeks. Russia, mired in its own war in Ukraine, did not come to the rescue, largely leaving him to face the country’s opposition forces alone. Nine years ago
Writing off debts: Russia’s new army recruitment strategy Paid Members Public
Vladimir Putin has signed a new law to write off the loans of fresh recruits to the war. This latest preferential credit scheme is clearly intended to lure as many people as possible to the front line. * According to the newly-signed law, military personnel who sign up after Dec. 1,
Putin’s missile escalation Paid Members Public
The war in Ukraine ratched up dramatically this week, with tensions running at arguably their highest level in the near three-year conflict. Kyiv, with the support of its Western allies, used US-supplied ATACMS and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles against targets inside Russian territory for the first time. Russia responded with
Russia’s reaction to the prospect of ATACMS strikes Paid Members Public
The news that the United States will allow Ukraine to use its missiles to hit targets inside Russian territory was an unpleasant surprise for Russia’s leaders on Sunday evening. It is by no means certain that it will hand Ukrainian forces a significant advantage on the battlefield, but Vladimir
Narrow victory for Moldova’s pro-European president Paid Members Public
A week after Georgia held crunch parliamentary elections, another former Soviet republic with EU ambitions went to the polls, as Moldovans voted in a presidential contest. The situation in Moldova, which was recently granted EU candidate states, was the reverse of that in Georgia — pro-EU president Maia Sandu was looking
