One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in a European exclave. Finland, which shares a 1,300-km border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO …
Read More »Ukraine says fighting rages in Mariupol, blasts rattle Kyiv
Ukraine said on Friday it was trying to break Russia’s siege of Mariupol as fighting raged around the city’s massive steel works and port, and the capital Kyiv was rocked by some of the most powerful explosions in two weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the military situation in the …
Read More »Behind Ukraine’s Turkish Drones, Erdogan’s Interests Home and Abroad
Ukraine is using its Turkish-made armed drones to deadly effect against Russian forces. Turkey’s president benefits too. Given its effectiveness against Russian forces, it should come as no surprise that Turkey’s Bayraktar TB-2 armed drone has its own Ukrainian ‘war song’ on YouTube, with more than half a million clicks. …
Read More »Why Won’t Iraq Ever Elect A President? – OpEd
Will Iraq ever elect a president, everyone is asking? Locally, regionally and internationally many want to know! Although the job is ceremonial, apparently, the political system, or in the way it has evolved, depends on the man at the apex of that pyramid being sworn in. After that he can …
Read More »Neo-Nazi who tried to launch a ‘civil race war’ by launching attacks with 600 homemade bombs and guns to ‘preserve the white population’ is hit with terror charge in Germany
Marvin E., 20, faces charges of attempting to form terrorist organisation as well as preparation of a grievous seditious attack and various weapons law violationsMarvin E., from Spangenberg, intended to launch a ‘race war’ over three yearsInvestigators found 600 homemade bombs at his apartment and a manifesto German federal prosecutors …
Read More »240 Russian Air Strikes Target ISIS in Syrian Desert
The Russian army has expanded its military operations in the Syrian desert region since early April, following the decline of its operations in March and late February, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The Observatory indicated that the Russian fighter jets launched 240 air raids on the Syrian desert …
Read More »The Outsiders
How the International System Can Still Check China and Russia n late February, as Russian forces moved into Ukraine, Vladimir Putin declared that his offensive was aimed not just at bringing Russia’s neighbor to heel but also at repudiating the U.S.-led liberal international order. “Where the West comes to establish …
Read More »The Impact of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine in the Middle East and North Africa
The war in Ukraine that followed the Russian invasion is still in its early stages. While it is too soon to measure the war’s full impact on crises in the Middle East and North Africa, it is clear that the repercussions will be multidimensional. For now, its effects are limited …
Read More »Russia’s Tragic Failure to Reform Its Economy
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions will likely devastate Russia’s economy. If the country had taken a more productive economic course over the past two decades, it might be looking toward a different future—one in which economic reforms had more tightly integrated Russia with the economically advanced countries, enhanced …
Read More »Russian Mercenaries in Great-Power Competition: Strategic Supermen or Weak Link?
Along with China, Iran, and North Korea, Russia is one of a handful of strategic competitors posing a substantial threat to U.S. strategic interests. Russia has now interfered to some extent in at least three democratic elections in the United States. Russian hackers are probably responsible for the recent SolarWinds …
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