MI5 Director General Ken McCallum’s joint address with the FBI Chief on 6 July saw a welcome rebalancing of the security service’s focus towards nation-state threats. Counterterrorism is an important function, but it was allowed to dominate for two decades while Russia, China and other belligerent states were insufficiently monitored.
As evidence mounts that the Global South is leaning closer to the Russia–China position over Ukraine, the West needs to think hard about how to regain the initiative in the narrative battle.
The Ukraine war has further entrenched and exacerbated the geopolitical rivalry between the West and the Russia–China camp. This new ‘Superpower Plus’ clash leaves the so-called ‘Rest’ in a difficult position, with some countries feeling pressure to choose sides, and others trying to remain neutral. Worryingly, many are leaning closer to the Russia–China position than the West.
Turkish forces escalated their air attacks in areas under the control of the SDF, according to al-Modon.
Syrian opposition sources revealed to al-Modon that the pledges made by Turkey’s partners in the Astana track are to discourage Ankara from launching a new military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, including providing it with information that facilitates targeting leaders of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) –based in the north and northeastern Syria. Its Western NATO partners have already pledged this.
The mysterious network of mercenaries is embracing an ever-public image as the war on Ukraine drags on.
On paper, the Wagner Group, a Russian network providing fighters for hire, does not exist.
It does not file tax returns, its alleged backers deny any connection to it and officially, private military companies (PMCs) are illegal in Russia.
Russia and China have launched another attempt to develop a “new global reserve currency.” In other words, they are again attacking the dollar.
There is only one country that can dethrone the dollar, and it is not a BRICS nation. It is the United States. President Joe Biden is China’s and Russia’s biggest ally in “dedollarizing” the world.
Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have had a love-hate relationship over the decades, but their ties are undeniably strong.
The Russian and Turkish presidents have also become known for their antagonistic relationship, particularly when it comes to geopolitics. While both leaders have been accused of clamping down on civil liberties at home, they’ve also positioned themselves as world leaders who can stand up to Western liberal democracies. The tension between these two men is not new, however.
The United States is planning a permanent military base in Poland, its first in Eastern Europe. This comes as President Joe Biden has told U.S. troops temporarily deployed to Poland earlier this year that they were “in the midst of a fight between democracies and oligarchs.”
The world continues to watch Ukrainians defend the sovereignty of their motherland against the Russian aggressors to the death.
Although Russian offensives have a wide range of arsenals at their disposal, it’s clear as day how they have poorly assumed the abilities of the Ukrainian force, as well as its general population’s reception and protests—not to mention the strong support Ukraine has been receiving from the West.
Russia has used the “Z” symbolism on its tanks and military vehicles. But, as our Editor-in-Chief Sean Spoonts pointed out, these markings have different meanings and allow Russian forces to recognize each other on the battlefield.
Ankara agreed that part of its natural gas payments to Moscow would be switched to rubles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed that Ankara would switch part of its payment for Russian natural gas to rubles, in what appeared to be the most concrete result of their four-hour long meeting in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi today.