Russian claims. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke separately with the Chinese and Indian defense ministers on Wednesday. They discussed the situation in Ukraine and Russia’s purported concerns about Kyiv using a “dirty bomb.” Shoigu expressed the same concerns in calls to Western defense chiefs last weekend, though they have since rejected Russia’s allegations. China […]
Russian influence in Central Asia in recent years has been waning. Moscow’s war in Ukraine has accelerated that process. The resulting vacuum will be...
Congress closes. The Chinese Communist Party concluded its 20th National Congress on Sunday. On the closing day, Xi Jinping was given an unprecedented third...
Suspending Mir. Two more Kyrgyz banks have decided to suspend servicing Russia’s Mir payment system. Bakai Bank and Doskredobank's decision to stop accepting Mir...
Persistent inflation. U.S. consumer prices accelerated on a monthly basis in September, defying expectations of a continued slowdown. The consumer price index rose 0.4...
Russia and the Middle East. Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in St. Petersburg on Tuesday....
Russian retaliation. Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced a massive strike on targets related to Ukraine’s military command, communications and energy infrastructure following the strike...
Summit in Prague. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the inaugural summit of the European...
New ship. Ukraine’s navy launched the Ada-class anti-submarine corvette in Istanbul on Sunday. It’s the first of two Turkish-made corvettes under a deal signed...
Putin's announcement. Following so-called referendums held earlier this week in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the formal annexation of...
