WRITTEN BY SOPHIE BALAY In response to Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, the European Union banned more than 100 Russian officials and businessmen from entering its territory and froze their European assets. The move was meant to punish well-connected Russians…
Category: Russia
Wagner group spotted. Russia using mercenaries to gain access to African resources
Russia has taken a more militaristic approach in Africa by is using mercenaries and arms sales to gain access to its natural resources, Thomas Waldhauser, Commander of U.S. Africa Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee, on February, 7. According…
Russian PMCs in Yemen: Kremlin-Style ‘Security Export’ in Action?
On September 6, Russian military correspondent Semen Pegov posted information on his Telegram-channel WarGonzo (WG) about “members of one Russian Private Military Company [PMC] being currently deployed in Yemen.” He ascribed this information to data received from “three anonymous sources…
Moldova’s Democratic Façade Crumbles as Supreme Court Invalidates Democratic Election
Jamestown: On June 25, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova denied opposition candidate Andrei Nastase (leader of the Dignity and Truth Platform Party) legal recourse, thus upholding the June 21 decision of the Appellate Court to invalidate the…
Russia’s S-400 Air Defense System to Receive New Long-Range Missile, Likely for Sale to China for SCS
Russia has reportedly completed user trials of the 40N6E long-range missile for the S-400 Triumf advanced interceptor-based air defense systems (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), according to a Russian defense industry source. “The state trials of the 40N6E long-range surface-to-air (SAM) missile…
Russia-linked Hackers Target German Political Foundations
Hackers with connections to Russia have tried to spy on German political foundations associated with the country’s largest parties, according to security experts. The Friedrich Ebert and the Konrad Adenauer Foundations were targeted by hackers in March and April this…
Iran Builds Soft Power in Georgia to Foster Tighter Nexus With Russia
“I appreciate that Georgia has [a governmental] agency that directly works on religious affairs and with religions. I am very pleased that thanks to the efforts of Georgian government representatives, different religions and ethnic groups peacefully coexist here. That is…
OFAC Designation of Putin’s Spy Agency May Trip Up U.S. Exports
The recent OFAC sanctions on Russia’s FSB né KGB, which is the Kremlin’s spy agency, may have unintended consequences. According to this article on the Russian website by my friend Иван Ткачёв (Ivan Tkachev) the FSB, besides doing typical spy things, is also…
Beijing Encroaching on Moscow’s Military Dominance in Tajikistan
China has unexpectedly begun taking steps to become more militarily active in the small Central Asian republic of Tajikistan. Moreover, it is pushing for closer joint military and security cooperation with Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. These moves could position China…
Putin-Netanyahu Meeting Strengthens Russia-Israel Ties
Moscow’s intervention in Syria’s civil war has propelled Russia into the center of Middle Eastern politics and substantially enhanced its ties with virtually every Middle Eastern state. Israel is no exception. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently concluded his fourth…