Concerted diplomatic efforts were invested during preparations for the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, formally held on July 27 and 28, and President Vladimir Putin was grandstanding, networking and entertaining his guests non-stop from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday evening. His main intention was to demonstrate the width and depth of Russia’s ties with the continent…. Read more »
Tag: Russia
Russia Escalates War by Breaking Ukraine Grain Deal
The decision to withdraw from the international arrangement guaranteeing the safety of grain exports from Ukrainian ports, announced in Moscow on July 17, signifies a significant effort to escalate non-kinetic hostilities to break the pattern of slow-moving defeat in this war of attrition. Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the benefits that Ukraine… Read more »
Exit UN, Enter the Wagner Group? The UN’s 10-year-old Mission in Mali is Ending
On 30 June, the UN Security Council had been expected to extend the mandate of the UN’s mission in Mali (MINUSMA) for a further year. On 16 June, however, the Malian foreign minister asked the UN to withdraw from the country.
Russia Reels From New Post-Vilnius Challenges
The outcome of the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11 and 12 left the Russian leadership confused and anxious. The controversial issue on Ukraine’s membership in the alliance was left pending, as had been planned. Thus, some official mouthpieces in Moscow and many “patriotic-military” bloggers have rushed to pronounce the meeting as an “epic… Read more »
A Vilnius Boost for the Ukrainian Offensive
The summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11 and 12 will likely not produce any sensational joint decisions; it is set, nevertheless, to signify a major step in reconfiguring and reinforcing the European security system. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has shaken this system badly, and NATO, which used… Read more »
The Wagner Mutiny Damages Russia’s Policy in Africa
The resonance from the June 24 mutiny attempted by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the notorious Wagner group, remains strong, despite the attempts by President Vladimir Putin to demonstrate a swift restoration of stability in Russia.
Failures of Putin Regime Distort Russian Political Perspectives
Questions about the drivers, participants and consequences of the Wagner Group mutiny on June 23 and 24 are set to remain unanswered as the Russian leadership finds it necessary to close that shocking page.
Mutiny Undercuts Russian Intrigues in the Global South
The weekend mutiny of the Wagner Group, pathetic as it may look in hindsight, is certain to affect Russia’s ability to sustain its aggression against Ukraine and to repel the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive. But it will also resonate in a much wider sense.
Russia Stays on the Course of Economic Delusion and Military Attrition
The summer economic forum in St. Petersburg used to be a vanity fair of Russian opulence and corruption. But last week’s modest, if not frugal, event was rather an exercise in self-reassurance of sustainable stagnation.
The Counteroffensive, the Dam and the Proliferation of ‘Peace Plans’
The protracted deadlock in the trenches of the war in Ukraine is giving way to high-intensity battles, and this escalation instantly generates widespread international resonance, in which expectations of a Ukrainian victory are mixed with concerns about a Russian defeat. Now, the initiative is clearly with the Ukrainian forces, which, from June 5, started a… Read more »