Putin’s former bodyguard and current Tula governor Alexei Dyumin is eternally tipped for a position in the federal government, yet is still waiting after seven years.Alexei Dyumin, a former bodyguard of Russian President Vladimir Putin and now governor of the Tula region, has been the subject of much discussion since …

While the Ukraine war has seen an explosion in the collection and distribution of open source intelligence, the work of secret intelligence agencies remains as important as ever. You’d be forgiven for thinking that the world of secret intelligence is no more. Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February …

Kyiv’s bid to join NATO would bolster both Ukrainian and European security. The future of Ukraine–NATO relations is once again the number-one topic on the agenda for Alliance members in the lead-up to the forthcoming Vilnius Summit. The issue was just as acute 15 years ago when, at the Bucharest …

The Wagner mercenary group’s rebellion against Russia’s military leadership has further split Russia’s anti-Kremlin opposition, which is already largely divided over a litany of issues and geographically scattered in exile. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled former oil tycoon turned opposition figure, swiftly emerged as the most vocal of Prigozhin’s unlikely supporters, …

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 …