Anna, a 67-year-old woman from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, remembers being woken up by the sounds of military equipment early in the morning of June 24. From her window, she could see a tank, armored vehicles and machine gunners of the Wagner private military company sitting opposite her house, …

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s attempted insurrection against the Russian Ministry of Defence (MOD) last month created massive confusion. The rebellion raised many questions about what might come next for the war in Ukraine and the future of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule. Other important questions pertain to the Wagner Group’s ‘March of …

The US and Chinese economies are closely interconnected, but their ties are eroding. Despite record levels of US–China bilateral trade in 2022, the trading relationship is becoming less interdependent. Rising tensions between Washington and Beijing are driving US and Chinese investors away from each market. Perhaps the most consequential aspect …

The U.S. spy agency Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has boots on the ground in Ukraine and operates a clandestine supply network to help the government in Kiev to fight Russia, leading U.S. weekly Newsweek reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources within the US government. “The CIA was central to the …

Iran becoming a full member of the China and Russia-led SCO may be more symbolic than beneficial, but could help Iran nonetheless amid international isolations, sanctions and shifting regional dynamics. Iran’s admission to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this week further aligns the Islamic Republic with Russia and China, though …

The oil cartel currently has 13 members, and 10 more countries form the OPEC+ group. The head of OPEC said on Wednesday that the producer alliance is actively looking for new nations to join the cartel, which accounts for 40% of the world’s oil output. The coalition held the OPEC …

Africa has become an essential element of Russia’s geostrategic posture in recent years as Moscow seeks to evade its international isolation and sanctions. However, facing isolation and a contracting economy, Russia has come to the realisation that cultivating an entry point into Africa through conventional means like foreign direct investment …

Destroyed homes, cars, streets and memorials pepper Jenin refugee camp as Israel pulls out. But so does defiance. Waled Rashed Mansour’s arm is blue where an Israeli military dog attacked him, the memory as raw as the wound. “They came into our home, they blew up the doors,” the 65-year-old …

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position weakened by the Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny amid Ukraine war, analysts say. Seventy weeks since he ordered his troops into neighbouring Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin faced a major mutiny back home. On June 23, Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin circulated a video purportedly showing a …

China may have the opportunity to turn Russia into its vassal, but it has no compelling reason to do so. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia-China cooperation has grown in all directions. Moscow makes no bones about the fact that it is betting on China in …