Russia-Africa summit: Putin offers unconvincing giveaways in a desperate bid to make up for killing the Ukraine grain deal: The second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg on July 27 and 28 was predictably overshadowed by the war in Ukraine – and especially Russia’s refusal to agree an extension of the Black Sea grain deal, which …
Ukraine war: ‘joke’ about Wagner Group invading Poland highlights regional security fears of rogue mercenaries: Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko reportedly remarked – suppposedly in a joking tone – during a recent meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg that Wagner mercenaries are eager to move into Poland. While Lukashenko may not have …
Russia summit is an opportunity for Africa to unite on Ukraine and get Wagner out of the continent: Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (left), Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the 2019 Russia-Africa summit in Sochi. by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Two critical issues must be top of mind for African …
Ukraine war: how Russians are rallying on the home front to support ‘their boys’: There’s a discernible “enemy-at-the-gate” feeling among ordinary people on the streets of Russia. Their sons are being sent off to fight – and some have died. Meanwhile, the cross-border raids from Ukraine on Russia’s territory and drone attacks on Moscow suburbs …
Les liens Russie-Afrique à l’épreuve de la guerre en Ukraine : comment le conflit russo-occidental s’exporte en Afrique: Le président russe Vladimir Poutine (2e à gauche) rencontre son homologue centrafricain Faustin Archange Touadera, en marge du Sommet Russie-Afrique, à Sotchi, en octobre 2019. Photo : SERGEI CHIRIKOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Lorsque l’on s’intéresse à la …
Ukraine war: Crimean bridge attack is another blow to Putin’s strongman image: The bridge connecting mainland Russia across the Kerch strait with the illegally annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea was seriously damaged on July 17 2023, in what appears to be a successful strike by naval drones. While there has been no official confirmation from …
I watched Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in Ukraine: his Greek tragedy is our reality: Following the recent release of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer continues to infuse summer 2023 with atomic energy. Stylistically, of course, the two couldn’t be more different. What Anderson shows as a blast outside a diner’s window that doesn’t so …
Ukraine war: Wagner Group boss and Belarus’s president are still manoeuvring for power: Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko is emerging with more power in the aftermath of the military uprising and march on Moscow as he publicly questions President Vladimir Putin’s version of events. Lukashenko was credited with negotiating the deal that appeared to have ended …
Sweden is joining Nato: what that means for the alliance and the war in Ukraine: In a surprise move, Turkey has ended its veto on Sweden joining Nato, thereby removing all the barriers to its membership of the military alliance. Hungary quickly followed suit and, as a result of the two countries’ support, a consensus …
Ukraine recap: Yevgeny Prigozhin and the mystery of the mutiny that never was: Ukrainian units are forcing their Russian foes back by what on some days seems like a few metres at a time. But on June 24, at least some Russian troops moved much more rapidly toward their own capital. Our last Ukraine recap, …
Nato: Vilnius summit will reflect fresh sense of purpose over Ukraine war — but hard questions remain over membership issues: The US president, Joe Biden, struck a bullish note during a recent meeting at the White House with Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, declaring: “The allies have never been more united.” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine …
Putin seriously weakened by brief Wagner Group mutiny — but it was a missed opportunity for Ukraine too: Blink and you could have missed it. Within 36 hours, the challenge mounted against the Kremlin by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary private military company the Wagner Group, was over. On Friday June 23 2023, …
Berlin airlift and Ukraine war: the importance of symbols during conflicts: Every military conflict contains situations that eventually become its defining symbols. The second world war, for example, could be summed up in the following seven symbols: the Munich agreement (appeasement), Battle of Britain (resistance), attack on Pearl Harbor (US entry), Auschwitz concentration camp (inhumanity), …
Berlin blockade 75 years on: how Russian occupation tactics in Ukraine echo Soviet actions in East Germany: A Soviet blockade of the three western sectors of Berlin started on June 24 1948. At that point, the city, like the rest of Germany, was split into areas of Russian, British, US and French control as part …
Ukraine war: failed African peace mission underscores need for more powerful political and military pressure on Putin: African peace missions to Ukraine and Russia last week came up empty-handed. Led by South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa, the delegation included leaders and senior officials from Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros, Egypt, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia. Their plan was based …
Ukraine recap: counteroffensive makes slow progress while diplomacy fails to make any ground at all: So the Ukrainian counteroffensive is well and truly underway, even if progress is measured in metres rather than the rapid advances that characterised Ukraine’s highly successful push last autumn. Volodymyr Zelensky himself has confirmed this, saying progress has been “slower …
Ukraine war: Ukraine war: Kremlin attempt to control private militaries like Wagner Group fails to address rivalry between factions: One of the most notable features of Russia’s war in Ukraine has been Moscow’s increasing reliance on what are known as private military companies. Forces such as the Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin have borne …
Ukraine war: Russia’s threat to station nuclear warheads in Belarus – what you need to know: The threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine is “real” and “absolutely irresponsible”, according to the US president, Joe Biden. He was reacting to questioning from journalists as to whether he believed Belarus had been taking delivery of …