Two months into the “special military operation” against Ukraine, accompanied by the most comprehensive barrage of sanctions ever leveled against any country, Russian life, at least around Moscow, looks shockingly normal.
Conflict and counterterrorism are two sides of the same coin, and silos between the two must be broken down to reduce terrorism.
The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine overshadowed the latest step taken in Washington to turn the page on 20 years of a costly, largely military-driven approach to addressing conflicts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s effective diplomacy and ability to nudge Western allies to act have helped enable Ukraine to not just hold off Moscow’s aggression, but to repel it and humiliate a world power. Even so, he surely knows that as his country enters the third month of war with Russia, the clock is ticking. The United States understands this, too.
The Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group is a major player in the conflict in Ukraine, but they are also active in the Middle East and Africa.
Russia has a nuclear doctrine known as “escalate to deescalate” or, more accurately, “escalate to win,” which contemplates threatening or using nuclear weapons early in a conventional conflict.
It cannot be a good sign that Russia, China, and North Korea at the same time are threatening to launch the world’s most destructive weaponry.
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy Ministry of International Situation, and one of Russia’s most incisive foreign policy analysts wrote a trenchant column for Kommersant titled the Ministry of the International Situation. In the column he argued that Russia, because of its own decisions, will no longer be able to use the foreign policy tools that had improved its position since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Instead of a foreign policy, Russia will have to adapt to an international situation that poses more challenges than opportunities. In an argument that appears to echo Josef Stalin’s 1929 “Socialism in One Country” policy, Lukyanov believes that foreign policy will take a back seat to internal development to assure Russia’s survival and development. Russia’s success will depend succeeding in the daunting task of establishing a system where the rulers and society trust each other.
The Russian UN envoy noted there are vested interests in certain circles that have sought for a long time to transform Ukraine into a bridgehead for a battle with Russia.
The Russian permanent representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine that a world war is currently taking place at an economic level in light of the measures taken against Russia in response to its special military operation in Ukraine.
The transformation of the Hungarian energy system would take years and thousands of billions of forints in order to replace Russian oil, President Orban stressed.
The European Commission (EC)’s planned oil embargo against Russia can be considered as a “nuclear bomb” on Hungary’s economy, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.
Contrary to its claim to be an organization defensive in nature, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has wantonly launched wars against sovereign countries
During the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on Ukraine held on Thursday, Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, ratified that his country is firmly opposed to NATO provocating bloc confrontations around the world.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned into the largest testing ground for ballistic and cruise missiles in modern warfare. According to the latest figures from a senior U.S. official as of April 29, 2022, Russia had launched more than 1,950 missiles — far more than the 955 cruise missile strikes U.S. forces carried out during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.