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Germany and US try to pull Central Asia away from Russia
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 01 Oct 2023

On September 20 Biden met with the presidents of the 5 Central Asian nations. They were in New York for the UN General Assembly. The US is keen for the five to develop a regional identity that excludes Russia. This is happening anyway but the Ukraine War has accelerated it. On September 29 the Ge...

UK and Russia sanction each others' individuals
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 30 Sep 2023

On September 29 London sanctioned 12 Russian officials over elections held in occupied Ukraine. The UK said the elections were fraudulent. The United Kingdom has sanctioned 1,600 Russian since the war began. Those sanctioned cannot visit the UK and have had their assets frozen. The EU and US are ...

Russia to raise defense spending 70%
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 29 Sep 2023

On September 28 Moscow announced this and said it was due to the West's hybrid war. It has been going for 20 months. The Russian Ministry of Finance said that defense spending will rise to USD 112 billion in 2023. This is more than the budgets of several other ministries combined. This rise in de...

Armenia considers joining the ICC as relations with Moscow sour
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 29 Sep 2023

On September 29 Yerevan said it might join the International Criminal Court. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023. States signed up to the ICC are obliged to arrest him if he enters their territory. Russia has not ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC. Neither has Ukraine, the US or ...

UK Defense Minister in Kyiv
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 29 Sep 2023

On September 28 Grant Shapps met Zelensky. The two discussed enhancing Ukraine's air defense capability. Zelensky expressed his gratitude to the British.  Ukraine suffered many attacks on its energy infrastructure in the winter of 2022-23. It is possible that Russia may try this again but the att...

Azerbaijan arrests leader of Nagorno Karabakh
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 27 Sep 2023

On September 27 Reuben Vardanyan was arrested as he tried to go to Armenia. Vardanyan was a Russian citizen of Armenian ethnicity. He renounced his Russian citizenship when he became Minister of State for Artsakh (i.e., the Armenian backed entity in Nagorno Karabakh) in 2022. He is a big prize, a...

Belarus tried to force dissidents abroad to come home
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 27 Sep 2023

On September 14 Minsk announced that its passport can only be renewed in Belarus. Belarusians abroad were previously able to renew their passports at the embassy. Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya said this is an attempt to make dissidents return to the country, where they will be ...

Armenians fleeing Nagorno Karabakh
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 26 Sep 2023

On September 26 thousands of Armenian civilians left Nagorno Karabakh. The region is legally Azerbaijani but has a huge Armenian majority. Its population is 120,000. It is estimated that 13,000 have fled since September 22. The Prime Minister of Armenia said ethnic cleansing is being committed in...

Russia says that the West is in effect fighting Russia
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 25 Sep 2023

On September 24 the Russian Foreign Minister made the claim and said, "They are fighting us.'' He cited the USD 100 billion Western countries have given in arms to Ukraine. He noted that the United Kingdom and the US are giving Ukraine intelligence and there are Western military advisors in Ukrai...

Nagorno Karabakh peace deal seems to be working
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 24 Sep 2023

On September 23 the Armenian Forces in the region said they were implementing the terms of the ceasefire. Injured civilians are being evacuated to Armenia. Russian peacekeepers are assisting, and so is the Red Cross. The Armenian forces are handing over their arms to Russian peacekeepers. Aid is ...

Ukrainians strike Russian Black Sea Fleet HQ
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 23 Sep 2023

On September 23 a Ukrainian missile struck the HQ in Sevastopol. Videos have shown the building burning. Storm Shadow missiles provided by France and the UK were used in the attack. Russia said it shot down some missiles over Crimea. Ukraine has been concentrating its attacks on Crimea. Ukraine i...

Zelensky in Canada
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 22 Sep 2023

On September 22 the Ukrainian President went on an unannounced visit to Ottawa. He was recently in New York for the UN General Assembly. He will address the Canadian Parliament. Canada has provided over USD 6 billion worth of arms since 2022. This is a lot considering Canada's 33 million populati...

Poland bans Ukrainian grain and ends arms supplies
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 22 Sep 2023

On September 21 Poland made the announcement due to a row. Poland said it has given Ukraine 320 tanks and 14 fighter jets (all Soviet era). Overall it has donated a third of its military assets. Poland said it must now concentrate on its own defense. What it has donated to Ukraine is being replac...

China refuses to sell drones to Russia, causing shortage
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 22 Sep 2023

On September 18 the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported the story. On September 1 China stopped selling UAVs and their components to Russia. China said it is stopping the sale of such items if they might be used militarily but said this was not aimed at any country in particular. Customs data s...

Russian draftees more likely to be killed than professional soldiers
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 21 Sep 2023

On September 21 IStories and the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) published a report saying 1 in 5 mobilized Russian soldiers are killed within 60 days of being sent to the war. They used open sources to compile this data. The report was based on 3,000 draftees who have been killed since Septembe...

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