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☆ As the West courts Russia's neighbors, Putin shows he won't give up its backyard without a fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Eurasian Economic Summit on Nov. 9, 2022, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at a joint news conference at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Feb. 10, 2022. "Central Asia obviously has to keep a fine balance and tread that line," Hess said. Analysts note that while an economically isolated Russia wants and needs to keep Central Asia on side, it is gradually losing its grip on the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrive for a working breakfast of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2023.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Keen, Emmanuel Macron, Putin, Ilham Aliyev, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Emomali Rahmon, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Lavrov, —, it's, Max Hess, Hess, Kassym, Mikhail Klimentyev, Xi Jinping, Florence Lo, they've, Temur Umarov, Tokayev, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Vladimir Smirnov Organizations: Economic, Getty, Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States, Russian, Central Asia —, Central Asian, Kazakh, CIS, West, Georgia, Foreign Policy Research Institute, CNBC, Kremlin, Reuters Central, Central, Central Asia Summit, Afp, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Commonwealth of Independent, Sputnik Locations: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, Moscow, Russian, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakh, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China, Soviet, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Baltic States, Soviet Union, Moldova, Ukraine, U.S, Afghanistan, Asia, Xian, Shaanxi

☆ Russia is turning increasingly hostile toward Israel as it picks sides in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JANUARY 23: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) attend their meeting at Prime Minister's Office on January 23, 2020 in Jerusalem, Israel. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi greets Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 19, 2022. Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during a meeting in Sochi on November 20, 2017. Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to greet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting on Jan. 23, 2020, in Jerusalem. Russia's President Vladimir Putin with senior Saudi officials in 2014.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mikhail Svetlov, Russia's, Petroleum Javad, Putin, Erdogan, Ebrahim Raisi, John Drennan, Sergei Savostyanov, Mark Galeotti, Israel, Israel Russia's, Sergei Lavrov, Bashar al, Assad, UN Vasily Nebenzya, Tatiana Stanovaya, Stanovaya, Rob Griffith Organizations: Israeli, Minister's Office, Getty, Israel's, Petroleum, Turkish, Israel, U.S . Institute of Peace, AFP, Ministry, Russian Foreign Affairs, Russian, UN, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Kremlin, America, Saudi, Afp Locations: JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, Jerusalem, Israel, Russia, Gaza, East, Tehran, Iran, Ukraine, Syria, Moscow, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Arabia, Sochi, Tel Aviv

☆ Putin wants the world to think the wars in Gaza and Ukraine are a Western plot — and it’s working
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Putin sought to blame Western meddling for an antisemitic riot at a Dagestan airport. The Russian president has long blamed global unrest on Western plots. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. It is the current ruling elites of the US and their satellites who are the main beneficiaries of world instability," Putin said. Russia is exploiting an widening riftOne of Putin's core objectives is to break Western attempts to isolate Russia as punishment for the Ukraine invasion.

Persons: Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, Putin's, Clifford Kupchan, Tatiana Kastueva, Jean, Le, Nathalie Tocci, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Service, Russian Security, AFP, Israel, Analysts, Eurasia Group, New York Times, US, Eurasia Center, French Institute of International Relations, Italian Institute of International Affairs, Guardian, Iran, Gulf, Israel's Locations: Dagestan, Russia, Tel Aviv, Russian, Makhachkala, Ukraine, Israel, AFP, Europe, Brazil, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, China, New York, Gaza, Moscow, Syria, Washington, Leningrad

☆ Life in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia oblast, from an expert who just visited the front lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Ukrainian soldiers, go away." And there were Ukrainian soldiers chit-chatting with the older ladies there buying food. I spoke with Ukrainian soldiers in Zaporizhzhia. The same set of Ukrainian soldiers that's been serving has been serving for more than 600 days. When you talk to actual Ukrainians, they're not getting caught up in, "Is it Crimea?

Persons: Melinda Haring, Haring, —, It's, There's, Mykola Vinnichenko, Andrey Liscovich, it's, They're flinty, haven't, that's, there's, they're, What's, would've, I'm, Nobody, we've, Putin, let's, He'll, he'll, — you've, you've, Ukraine —, We're, They're Organizations: Atlantic Council, Service, Eurasia Center, Ukraine doesn't, NATO, CNN Locations: Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Orikhiv, Kyiv, Orkihiv, Washington, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, There's, Crimea, Russia, Poland, Baltic, United States, NATO, Taiwan

☆ Ukraine at last has all the Abrams tanks the US promised. Now the question is how best to use them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Ukraine has received all 31 of the formidable M1A1 Abrams tanks promised by the US. Ukraine will have to be careful with how it employs the Abrams, especially as the counteroffensive likely slows in coming months. But don't expect to see many showdowns with Russian tanks. Russian minefields have held Ukraine's armor at bay, while artillery and anti-tank missiles threaten the vehicles that do advance. Soldiers handle a US M1 Abrams tank during the Finnish Army mechanized exercise "Arrow 23" at the Pohjankangas shooting and training area in Niinisalo, Finland, on May 4, 2023.

Persons: —, Abrams, Mark Cancian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden, Olivia Yanchik, that's, ANTTI AIMO, Moscow's, Ukraine's, Russia's, Yanchik, Cancian, JONATHAN NACKSTRAND, Zelenskyy, ATACMS Organizations: US, Abrams, Service, Center for Strategic, International Studies, US Marine Corps, US Army, Council's Eurasia Center, Royal United Services Institute, M1 Abrams, Finnish Army, Getty, Trident, Russian, U.S . Marine Corps M1A1, 1st Tanks Bravo Company, Marine, Palms Marine Corps Base, US Department of Defense, MGM, Tactical Missile Systems, NATO Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Niinisalo, Finland, AFP, Zaporizhzhia, NATO, Oppdal, Norway, Azov, California, Russia

Russia has issued carefully calibrated criticism of both sides in the war between Israel and Hamas. It also expects the Israel-Hamas war to distract attention from the fighting in Ukraine and erode support for Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on towns in southern Israel. Unlike Putin, who carefully balanced his statements, other Russian officials were more blunt in their criticism of Israeli strikes on Gaza. But this position also threatens Russia's friendly ties with Israel, which hasn’t joined Western sanctions against Moscow or given weapons to Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Israel, ”, Putin, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Konstantin Kosachev, Ramzan Kadyrov, assailing, hasn’t, Andrei Kortunov, Amir Weitmann, “, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Solovyov, Yevgeny Satanovsky, Mikhail Bogdanov, Maria Zakharova detests, ” Alexander Baunov, ” Izabella Tabarovsky Organizations: Kyiv, Washington, Security, U.S, British, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Moscow, Russian International Affairs Council, The, Likud, Kremlin, RT, Ukraine, Foreign, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Kennan Institute Locations: Russia, Israel, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Gaza, Nazi, Leningrad, Palestinian, China, Beijing, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Chechnya, assailing Israel, Maria Zakharova detests Israel, israel, russia, ukraine

☆ China's led the EV race – but it may be running out of charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementThere's been a clear winner in the global EV race so far: China. Ford CEO Jim Farley announcing its Michigan EV battery plant in February. Bill Pugliano/Getty ImagesConcern about using Chinese battery technology reflects wider global concern about China's domination of the EV battery market, with governments starting to block Chinese investment into mines and factories. AdvertisementAdvertisementAustralia is the world's biggest producer of lithium, a key material for EV batteries, and a major producer of other rare earths. AdvertisementAdvertisementChina may have led the world in the EV race – but those days could well be numbered.

Persons: —, Bill Russo, Chrysler's, CATL, Ariel Cohen, there's, Shawn Fain, Ford, Jim Farley, Bill Pugliano, Jim Chalmers, Cohen, Morgan Stanley, Mazzocco, Bernstein, he's, Biden, it's, Ursula von der, Donald Trump Organizations: EV, European Union, Service, Economic, Financial, Ford, Council's Eurasia Center, of Foreign Relations, UAW, Reuters, Michigan EV, Minerals, Publishing, Center for Strategic, International Studies, South, Japan's Panasonic, European, Benz, Bloomberg, White Locations: China, America, Europe, South Korea, Michigan, Australia, India, Nanjing, Washington ,, Hungary

☆ The Israel-Hamas war is exposing the new limits and challenges to US power
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russia and China are seeking to exploit the Israel-Hamas war. The US is embarking on a mission to prevent the war from escalating into a wider conflict. AdvertisementAdvertisementAmid the brutal war between Israel and Hamas, US President Joe Biden has sought to project strength. But the new conflict threatens to starkly expose the limits of the US' influence in the region, where for decades it was the unchallenged international power. AdvertisementAdvertisementInto the perceived power vacuum, Russia and China have stepped, seeking to project their influence and undermine the US.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Sergei Lavrov, Khaled Mechaal, NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Israel, Biden, Antony Blinken, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mohamed bin Salman, Gordon Flake Organizations: Service, Hamas, Saudi Arabia —, Getty Images, US, Crown, U.S, Royal, Anadolu, Getty, The Washington Post, USAsia, University of Western, Wall Street Locations: Russia, China, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russian, Moscow, AFP, Getty Images Russia, Syria, Beijing, Ukraine, Europe, Taiwan, Gaza, The Tehran, Riyadh, Saudi, Qatar, Gulf, University of Western Australia

☆ Xi and Putin to reunite in China as divisions with the West sharpen
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Putin and Xi, who frequently refer to their close friendship, have met 40 times in the past decade, including twice since the start of the war in Ukraine. “And for China, having an important international player like Putin to join the BRI summit is also politically important,” he added. Chinese leader Xi Jinping inspects the honor guard at the Moscow Vnukovo Airport on March 20, 2023. Last year, Russia and China saw record trade, which continued to grow in 2023. Xi and Putin are expected to discuss the conflict in their upcoming meeting – where Russia’s war in Ukraine will also likely feature.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Ukraine –, ’, Xi, Putin, “, ”, Li Mingjiang, Xie Huanchi, “ China, Alex Gabuev, it’s, Xu Wei, Joe Biden, Wang Yi, Israel –, Li, don’t Organizations: Beijing CNN —, Hamas, Palestinian, Forum, West, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, Moscow Vnukovo Airport, Getty, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, ’, Xinhua, United Nations Security, UN, Israel, Ukraine Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Xinhua, Europe, Berlin, East, Israel, Gaza, Leningrad, Singapore

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two. Biden has referred to Xi as a "dictator" and has said Putin is a "killer" and a leader who cannot remain in power. Since the Ukraine war, Putin has mostly stayed within the former Soviet Union, though he visited Iran last year for talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United States has warned China against supplying Putin with weapons as Russia, a $2 trillion economy, battles Ukrainian forces backed by the United States and the European Union.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Mikhail Tereshchenko, Putin, Xi Putin, Xi, Joe Biden, Graham Allison, Bill Clinton, Biden, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mao Zedong, Alexander Gabuev, Gabuev, Li Shangfu, Alexei Miller, Igor Sechin, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: Kremlin, Sputnik, Forum, Soviet Union, U.S, Harvard University, Reuters, Soviet, United, European Union, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Gazprom, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, China, USSR, MOSCOW, BEIJING, United States, Beijing, Hague, Ukraine, Europe, U.S, Soviet Union, Iran, Communist China, Ukrainian, Siberia, Mongolia

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet this week with Chinese leaders in Beijing on a visit that underscores China’s economic and diplomatic support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine. China has sought to balance its ties with Israel with its economic relations with Iran and Syria, which are strongly backed by Russia. Putin’s visit is also a show of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road drive to build infrastructure and expand China’s overseas influence. “I don’t expect that Russia and China will create a military alliance,” Gabuev said. China and the former Soviet Union were Cold War rivals for influence among left-leaning states, but have since partnered in the economic, military and diplomatic spheres.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin’s, Xi, Putin, ”, ” Putin, ” Alexander Gabuev, that’s, ” Gabuev, “, Beijing's, hasn't Organizations: Moscow, Soviet Union, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Ukraine, Associated Press, International Locations: TAIPEI, Taiwan, Beijing, Ukraine, United States, Israel, China, Iran, Syria, Russia, Russian, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Moscow, Central Asia, “, Asia, Europe, Cold

☆ As Israel goes to war, Russia must now decide where its loyalty lies in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 30, 2020. Maxim Shemetov | Afp | Getty ImagesThe outbreak of bloodshed, violence and outright war between Israel and Hamas has put Russia in an awkward position, with Moscow traditionally treading a fine diplomatic line between Israel and its allies in the Middle East. Russia has enjoyed warm and constructive relations with Israel in recent years. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi hold a meeting in Tehran on July 19, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting at the Kremlin on April 21, 2016.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Maxim Shemetov, Tatiana Stanovaya, Ebrahim Raisi, Sergei Savostyanov, Stanovaya, Saudi Arabia —, Vladimir Putin's, Bashar Assad's, Bashar Assad, Sergei Shoigu, Alexei Nikolsky, Netanyahu, Putin, Mohammed Shia, Al Sudani, Mikhail Svetlov, tellingly, Russia's, Ian Bremmer, Antony Blinken, Petroleum Javad, Erdogan Organizations: Israeli, Kremlin, Afp, Getty, Hamas, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, AFP, Saudi, Russian Defense, Sputnik, AP Putin, Iraqi, . Security Council, Israel, Eurasia Group, ., Ukraine, Ministry of Defence, Institute for, Petroleum, Turkish Locations: Moscow, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Russian, Tehran, Syria, Eastern, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Umayyad, Damascus, U.S, Palestinian, China

While Russia narrowly avoided what many feared could be a civil war, the violent clashes on Oct. 3-4, 1993, marked a watershed. The public feels scared and intimidated after years of sweeping Kremlin efforts to quash dissent, he said. As tensions soared, Yeltsin ordered the parliament disbanded, a move that Russia’s Constitutional Court declared illegal. Grigory Yavlinsky, a veteran politician who defied Yeltsin and later opposed Putin, described the 1993 events as a key moment that determined Russia’s post-Soviet history. “The result is … the system that has led Russia where it now is,” he said in a recent commentary.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Josef Stalin, Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin, ”, Andrei Kolesnikov, ” Kolesnikov, Dmitry Peskov, ” Peskov, Mikhail Gorbachev, Alexander Rutskoi, Viktor Alksnis, Grigory Yavlinsky Organizations: Kremlin, Communist, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Putin, Constitutional Locations: Moscow, Russia, Soviet, Russian, Ukraine, USSR

☆ Biden’s Gulf allies want an ‘ironclad’ security pact with the US. Here’s what it might look like
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“They (the Americans) don’t want to see Saudi Arabia shifting their armament from America to another place,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview last month. Gulf states have over the past few years faced attacks they have blamed on Iran and its proxies, and have found the US’ response to them inadequate. Among the Gulf states, Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, was the first to be declared a MNNA in 2002. It is however unclear if the US would commit to a treaty that would require it to come to the Gulf states’ defense in case of attack. The president can offer some concessions without Senate ratification, he said, but that won’t meet Gulf states’ requirements.

Persons: Biden, don’t, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Bret Baier, Anwar Gargash, ”, ” Ali Shihabi, Saudi Arabia’s, Israel –, Joe Biden, Jean, Loup, David Des Roches, ” Des Roches, Washington’s, Gargash, Des Roches, Samaan, “ Organizations: UAE CNN, United, United States ’, United Arab Emirates, Fox News, US, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Saudi, Washington, MBS, Gulf, NATO Allies, NATO, Fifth, US Central Command, Middle East Institute of, National University of Singapore, “, Autonomy, East South Asia Center for Security Studies, Pentagon, Senate, ”, CNN Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, United States, Washington, East, Saudi Arabia, America, Saudi, New York, Iran, U.S, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Tokyo, Seoul, Bahrain, Qatar, China, Russia, Gulf

Along with ramping up its domestic arms production, Moscow is turning to an old ally with a vast arsenal — North Korea. That would be a remarkable reversal from the 1950-53 Korean War, when the Soviet Union provided the communist North with weapons and ammunition. Shoigu became the first Russian defense chief to visit North Korea since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. “Russia is hoping that North Korea could swiftly establish support channels to provide it with war materials like ammunition, bombs and other supplies,” Hong said. U.S. officials have cast Moscow’s reach for North Korean weapons as a reflection of Russian military problems.

Persons: Kim Jong, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Putin, Kim Jong Un, ”, Alexander Gabuev, Shoigu, Kim, Dmitry Peskov, ” Kim, Hong Min, Hong, Wagner, Jake Sullivan, ” Sullivan, embolden Kim, Dmitry Medvedev, “, Emma Burrows, Kim Tong Organizations: United, North, Soviet Union, Russian Defense, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Kremlin, Moscow, Korean People’s Army, Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification, House, Washington, Strategic, International Studies, Ukrainian, Russian, Royal United Services Institute, Russia’s Security, Associated Press Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, North Korea, United States, Soviet, Soviet Union, Pyongyang, Korea, Russian, Hong, U.S, United Nations, ” Washington, Iran, Ukrainian, Tallinn, Estonia, Seoul

☆ Sen. Tuberville slammed poetry by US sailors that is a time-honored tradition
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sen. Tuberville called out "wokeness" in the Navy, saying people are reading "poems on aircraft carriers." But the art form has been a long been a part of military service, especially for sailors. Tuberville faces widespread criticism for blocking hundreds of promotions over the Pentagon's abortion policy. Tuberville's comments on poetry and "wokeness" in the Navy come seemingly out of nowhere — especially considering the art form has a long history for sailors. Sailors assigned to the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Albuquerque SSN 706 stand watch as the boat departs Diego Garcia.

Persons: Sen, Tuberville, Tommy Tuberville, We've, Carlos Del Toro, Del Toro, Christine Wormuth, Frank Kendall, Mark Milley, Roe, Wade, John C, Steve Smith, Roosevelt, Champlain, Sailors, Diego Garcia, Jeremy Gross, Smith, it's, Marines I've, Nolan Peterson Organizations: Navy, Service, Alabama Republican, US Navy, Fox, Air Force, Washington Post, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Carrier Air Wing, Nimitz, Stennis, U.S . Navy, Getty, The Washington Post, USS, Marines, US Air Force, Council's Eurasia Locations: Wall, Silicon, Alabama, Yorktown, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Iraq, Afghanistan

☆ Erdogan is trying to 'balance' Turkey between the East and the West: Atlantic Council
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailErdogan is trying to 'balance' Turkey between the East and the West: Atlantic CouncilAriel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Eurasia Center, discusses the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Persons: Erdogan, Ariel Cohen, Vladimir Putin, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: : Atlantic, Atlantic Council Eurasia Center Locations: Turkey

That’s almost three times what Russia spent on defense in 2021, before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Those figures are likely to underestimate the total spent on Russia’s war effort. He said that before the war Russia would typically splash around 3-4% of its annual gross domestic product on defense but now it could be anywhere between 8% and 10%. Russia’s exports are still greater than the value of its imports, despite a boost to the latter from the hefty military spending. Rising military spending is, on the other hand, boosting Russia’s industrial output and, with it, GDP.

Persons: London CNN —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, That’s, Richard Connolly, Janis Kluge, Irina Okladnikova, Liam Peach, it’s, Peach, Kluge, “, ”, —, Maksim Konstantinov, Alexandra Suslina, Suslina, Alexandra Prokopenko, Prokopenko, — Anna Cooban, Tim Lister, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Reuters, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Royal United Services Institute for Defence, Security Studies, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Capital Economics, CNN, “, ZUMA, International Monetary Fund, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, International Energy Agency, West Locations: “, Ukraine, Russia, Stockholm, Moscow, “ Russia, Russian, Saint Petersburg, Soviet, Berlin

☆ Yevgeny Prigozhin: Where in the world is the Wagner warlord?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It was a stark contrast to the fate of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Back in June, Prigozhin led the abortive mutiny that presented the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in over two decades of rule. Speaking after Wagner fighters relocated to Belarus, Prigozhin suggested he remained focused on this core African market. In a recent Telegram message, Prigozhin hinted that Wagner might be ready to offer its services there. “And this is the (the reason for the) love for PMC Wagner, this is the high efficiency of PMC Wagner.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Prigozhin hasn’t, –, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Andrei Kelin, Kelin, “, ” Kelin, Vladimir, Kara, Murza, … Prigozhin, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Candace Rondeaux, Rondeaux, it’s, ” Rondeaux, Mateusz Morawiecki, Morawiecki, ” Prigozhin, Sudan –, PMC Wagner, Mohamed Bazoum, Tatiana Stanovaya Organizations: CNN, Central African Republic, Kremlin, Amanpour, Putin’s, NATO, Polish, Wagner Group, PMC Wagner, PMC, Russian Foreign Ministry, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Putin Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Africa, St . Petersburg, Orchestra_W, United Kingdom, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, America, Prigozhin, Putin’s Russia, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Sudan, Libya, Niger, Putin Russia

☆ Russia’s Moves to Shore Up Ruble Reflect War’s Toll on Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The Russian currency fell nearly 25 percent since the beginning of the year. “The ruble exchange rate is only an indicator,” said Alexandra Prokopenko, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and a former Russian central bank official. The ruble plummeted to as low as 135 per dollar and the central bank took a series of dramatic measures, including capital controls, to stave off a full-blown meltdown. The most immediate concern for Russian financial policymakers is the possibility of significant inflation. The country’s central bank reacted to that risk late last month with a higher-than-expected rise in interest rates, to 8.5 percent.

Persons: ”, Alexandra Prokopenko, Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V Organizations: Bank of Russia, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Soviet Union

☆ The Kremlin has pumped so much money into the economy that it's creating a boom — but this house of cards could topple anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's wartime economy is thriving, the New York Times reported Monday. Corporate loans have increased 19% in the year to June as investments grew, according to The Times, citing Russian central bank's figures. Russia's central bank has also been candid about its gloomy assessments of the economy — which at times were at odds with more bullish statements from the Kremlin. But, the institution has come under pressure from Moscow to give a more "upbeat assessment" about the country's economy, Bloomberg reported in February. In April last year, Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina warned the country's reserves won't last infinitely.

Persons: Wagner, Alexandra Prokopenko, Elvira Nabiullina, Ariel Chernyy, Chernyy Organizations: New York Times, Service, Putin, Times, Reuters, Wagner Group, The, Frank Media, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Bloomberg Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russia's, Russian, Moscow

☆ Finland's and Sweden's desire to join NATO is Putin's doing, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFinland's and Sweden's desire to join NATO is Putin's doing, analyst saysAriel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, says the U.S. and others had been trying and failing for decades to convince both countries to join the military alliance.

Persons: Ariel Cohen Organizations: NATO, Council's Eurasia Center Locations: U.S

☆ Ukraine war live updates: NATO leaders meet as Turkey approves Sweden bid; Kyiv comes back under attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"In terms of Ukraine itself, President Biden, the Germans, and others, the French, are not willing to give Ukraine membership right now," Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, told CNBC. "President Biden said after the war is over Ukraine will get the membership," he said. Does that commit NATO to a war against Russia to liberate the Ukrainian territory? As a result of that, NATO does not accept new member states that are currently at war or have land occupied by an adversarial power. "When we applied for membership of NATO, we spoke frankly: de facto, Ukraine is already in the alliance," he said.

Persons: Kyiv's, Biden, Ariel Cohen, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Natasha Turak Organizations: U.S, NATO, Council's Eurasia Center, CNBC Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, Russia, Ukrainian, United States, France, Germany, NATO, facto, … Vilnius

☆ Putin in a 'heightened emotional state' and 'bordering on euphoria' following failed Wagner mutiny, Russia analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vladimir Putin is in a "heightened emotional state" following the Wagner mutiny, a Russia expert says. The rebellion, although ultimately a failure, was the most overt challenge Putin has ever faced and has ultimately weakened him, experts say. "Recently, his public appearances have depicted an inexplicable joy bordering on euphoria, a stark departure from his usual demeanor," said Stanovaya. Russian President Vladimir Putin kisses a participant of a meeting in a street in Derbent in the southern region of Dagestan, Russia, June 28, 2023. "His heightened emotional state makes him more susceptible to manipulation.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Tatiana Stanovaya, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Sputnik, REUTERS, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Twitter Locations: Russia, Russian, Moscow, Dagestan, Derbent, Kremlin

☆ There's blood in the water after Prigozhin's revolt shattered the façade of Putin's invincibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. It has also fed paranoia and put a spotlight on Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's ex-bodyguard turned governor. A brief and ultimately aborted attempt at a coup d'état by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. President Vladimir Putin (L) and Aleksey Dyumin, the governor of Tula and Putin's former personal bodyguard, in Moscow in 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Tula Governor Aleksey Dyumin visit Russian writer Lev Tolstoy's former home in 2016.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin —, Prigozhin, Vladimir Fesenko, trundling, Sergey Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, There's Prigozhin, Wagner, Putin, Belarus —, defenestration, Dyumin, Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Igor Girkin, Alexander Lukashenko —, Dyumin's, Dmitry Peskov, Boris Yeltsin, Viktor Yanukoyvch, Girkin, Andrei Gurulyov, Russia's, Lev Tolstoy's, Tatiana Stanovaya, Alexandra Prokopenko, Prokopenko, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Viktor Zolotov, Zolotov, Alexander Lukashenko, Chris Weafer Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, Angry Patriots, Russia's First Channel, Prigozhin, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Central Bank, Washington Post, New York Times, Defense Ministry, Moscow Times, National Guard, Ministry, Macro Locations: Russian, Russia, Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Voronezh, Lipetsk, St, Petersburg, Minsk, Belarus, Russia's Tula, Kremlin, Tula, Dyumin's Tula, St Petersburg, Prigozhin, Crimea, Berlin, Novosibirsk, Osipovichi, Africa, Syria

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