September 24:
Russia is responding to its sudden crisis with Israel by reinforcing its defenses in Syria. Itar-TASS reports Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying that the Kremlin has approved the deployment of its advanced S-400 air defense system to Syria in the wake of the accidental downing of a Russian military jet on September 17th. "A modern S-300 air defense missile system will be supplied to the Syrian Armed Forces within two weeks," Shoigu told reporters. "It is capable of intercepting air assault weapons at a distance of more than 250 kilometers and hit simultaneously several air targets."
The move, Shoigu made clear, comes as a response to the September 17th incident - in which Syrian air defense troops shot down the plane following Israeli aerial maneuvers. "I will underscore - at the request of the Israeli side, in 2013 we suspended the delivery of S-300 systems that were ready for the dispatch, while the Syrian military had undergone training. Now the situation has changed, and we are not to blame," he said.
Opposition activist Alexei Navalny is heading back to prison yet again. According to Meduza, on the heels of his latest, month-long incarceration, Navalny has been detained anew and sentenced to another 20 days in prison for "promoting a rally on September 9 against pension reform that lead to injury or property damage," a violation of the Russian Administrative Code. The charges, commentators note, pave the way for a new felony case against Navalny - one that could lead to a five-year prison term for the perennial Kremlin opponent.
Is "United Russia" losing its grip on Russia's regions? Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that the political faction unexpectedly lost in two recent gubernatorial races - signalling a possible decline in support for the pro-Kremlin party that Russian president Vladimir Putin calls his political home. The first upset took place in Khabarovsk, in the Russian Far East, where a lawmaker from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) beat out the "United Russia" candidate in the September 23rd vote. The second happened in the Vladimir region, where another LDPR contender bested his "United Russia" opponent. The races "were among four gubernatorial runoffs being held after incumbents or acting governors from United Russia failed to secure first-round victories in September 9 elections," according to RFE/RL.
September 25:
Even as the Kremlin continues to deny its involvement in the Salisbury nerve gas attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Russian security services are working hard to retaliate against those who exposed the identities of the agents who allegedly carried it out. Meduza writes that the Federal Security Service (FSB) has been hunting down the anonymous source who first leaked passports and documents belonging to Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov to two investigative media organizations, which then exposed the suspects' ties to Russian military intelligence. Reportedly, the FSB is convinced that someone in the Interior Ministry "sold off" the two men’s passports and has "serious measures" in store once they can identify that individual.
NATO wants to build a more constructive relationship with Moscow but remains concerned by Russian aggression on the European continent, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In an interview with the Associated Press just prior to a rare NATO-Russia meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Stoltenberg criticized the Kremlin's military adventurism abroad, and shared his views on the "delicate balancing act" involved in the Alliance's posture vis-a-vis Russia. He highlighted the importance of Ukrainian sovereignty in deciding whether to pursue NATO membership and emphasized the need to maintain channels of communication – especially while the unresolved Ukraine crisis keeps tensions high – in order to deconflict operations and minimize the potential for unintentional escalation. Reportedly, the sidebar conversation between Stoltenberg and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov failed to achieve any specific progress, and the AP writes that Lavrov left the meeting angrily refusing to comment.
Increased complaints of Russian interference with Ukrainian shipping appear to have elicited a tangible response from the U.S. government, CNN reports. After the State Department publicly condemned Russia's harassment of "hundreds" of commercial ships en route to Ukrainian ports through the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, the U.S. Department of Defense sold two former armed Island-class cutters to Kyiv through the Excess Defense Articles program. The Ukrainian Navy will take possession of the cutters in a ceremony attended by Coast Guard Vice Adm. Michael McAllister and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.