Significantly, Russia and Iran’s cooperation extends to the military and space fields, with Russia recently helping Iran to launch a new satellite into space.
Iran’s Khayyam satellite “will greatly enhance Tehran’s ability to spy on military targets across the Middle East… [and give] Tehran “unprecedented capabilities, including near-continuous monitoring of sensitive facilities in Israel and the Persian Gulf.” — The Washington Post, August 4, 2022.
Russia, from an economic point of view, is tactically not in as vulnerable a position as one might have expected a couple of months ago. Despite this, in strategic terms, economic, technological and social degradation seem to be an inevitable scenario for Russia in the coming years, according to the theory of the reverse spiral.
In Washington, wide agreement exists that the Russian army’s performance in the Kremlin’s ongoing Ukraine “special military operation” ranks somewhere between lousy and truly abysmal. The question is: Why? The answer in American policy circles, both civilian and military, appears all but self-evident. Vladimir Putin’s Russia has stubbornly insisted on ignoring the principles, practices, and methods identified as necessary for success in war and perfected in this century by the armed forces of the United States. Put simply, by refusing to do things the American way, the Russians are failing badly against a far weaker foe.
Europe will spiral into a severe recession, as the shortage in energy supplies is set to spike inflation even higher and weigh heavily on Europe’s GDP, BlackRock said in a note on Monday.
Media reports said:
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “pro-Russian tilt” has grown louder in recent weeks, as Vladimir Putin clearly looks for Erdogan to stay in power.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces the biggest challenge to his nearly two decades of uninterrupted rule as galloping inflation, a wilting national currency and resentment toward Syrian migrants sap his popularity — and one world leader is watching closely: Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
While Turkey has prided itself for mediating between Russia and Ukraine, Ankara has shown no such impartiality in the recent fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia, with Turkish leaders airing their support for Baku.
A new channel connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk is to be launched on Saturday (17 September), even though it is currently unfinished.
The Vistula Spit canal is to be opened on the anniversary of the Soviet attack on Poland in 1939, which the government will be willing to use as a symbol of the country giving up its dependence on Russia.
Czech citizens are more in favour of negotiating energy imports with Russia than completely cutting ties despite the resulting high costs and necessary savings, a Kantar survey published by Czech Television on Sunday has found.
Heavy and light weapons must be removed from the Zaporizhzhia power plant, French President Emmanuel Macron urged President Vladimir Putin in a conversation on Sunday about the plant, which is under siege from Russian forces.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock paid a surprise visit to Kyiv during the weekend to express continued solidarity – backed by new polls showing most Germans want to keep supporting Ukraine despite high gas prices.
With her third visit to Kyiv this year – the second since the start of Russia’s attack on the country – Baerbock said on Saturday that she wanted to “show that Germany will support Ukraine for as long as necessary.”