Russia Reform Monitor No. 2568
Criminal reform, Russian style;
Holding Russia accountable for atrocities;
The bloom is off the Russian military rose;
Widening the conscript pool
Criminal reform, Russian style;
Holding Russia accountable for atrocities;
The bloom is off the Russian military rose;
Widening the conscript pool
CPC seeks to "enhance" ties with Taiwan's KMT;
Hong Kong starts its largest national security trial ever;
Australian defense department removes Chinese-made cameras;
China confirms another of its balloons is over Latin America;
China has "penetrated" un agencies by financing and stacking them
China "intentionally poisoning" Americans with fentanyl;
China expanding its espionage in Germany: Berlin;
China's elderly protest against health insurance reforms;
BBC produces ads for China's propaganda organs;
Chinese ship flashed Philippine vessel with military-grade laser
Rescuing Russia's anti-war dissidents;
Authoritarian birds of a feather flock together...;
...As Beijing mulls arming Moscow;
Now a media pariah as well;
Tensions deepen between Wagner and Russia's military brass
Across the Muslim world, religion and politics have become increasingly mixed in the past century, with devastating consequences. But there are signs that the ascendancy of political Islam may be coming to an end.
Recognizing the Holocaust...;
...And rejecting it;
China's "propaganda" push on Xinjiang;
A grim forecast for 2023
Simply put, allowing Ukraine to be independent – or, worse yet, to chart a clear path toward the West –would sound the death knell for any lingering hopes of empire that Russia’s rulers still harbor.
Russia's African footprint deepens;
Americans warned again to leave Russia;
Moldova in the crosshairs;
Western sanctions hit Russian gas exports;
In State of the Nation, Putin strikes a defiant note
India announces major investments in great Nicobar Island;
Manila opens additional military sites to Washington;
South Korea flirts with the nuclear issue;
Indonesia moves forward with resource mining in South China Sea
Blocking the borders;
Russia's economy as political football;
No new mobilization... for now;
Wagner changes tack;
Moscow plans for domestic attacks, disturbances
President Biden’s surprise trip to Kyiv was gutsy, and he deserves credit for leading the West in an impressive military, diplomatic, and economic effort to isolate Moscow and help Ukraine rebuff Russia’s attempted conquest.
Starship, due to its reusability, size, and power, will dramatically improve access to low Earth orbit that will greatly support the expansion of public-and private-sector activity in space.
It is rare in American politics for citizens of different viewpoints to focus on the same thing at the same time. Our partisan media ecosystem makes it easy for us to remain safely within our personally curated information bubble—having our preexisting biases and perceptions repeatedly reaffirmed.
Beijing, Delhi jockey for position in Bangladesh;
Khan's PTI makes a power play;
To protect against China, India greenlights domestic arms...;
...And deepens partnership with the United States;
The Taliban's new groove
War makes Russia's dismal demographics worse...;
...And prompts major ideological and political changes;
Yashin's appeal to the west;
Wagner's depleted ranks
Last year, Russia launched a bloody war of conquest against its non-threatening neighbor Ukraine. To Moscow’s astonishment, Ukraine defended itself with skill, courage, and — above all — unity.
Just how solid is the domestic backing for Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine? For months, Western observers have pondered the question, amid signs that — despite an expanding array of onerous sanctions and restrictions imposed by the U.S. and Europe — internal backing for the “special military operation” initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin last February remains high.
As debts soar Chinese cities cut pay and services;
Now Czech parliament speaker announces Taiwan visit;
Sichuan allows unmarried people to register children;
China is building ground stations on Antarctica;
U.S. air force general predicts war with China in 2025
In July 2022, against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin embarked on a notable foreign trip. Amid mounting international censure and growing hostility from the outside world, Putin traveled to Tehran to meet with Iranian officials and formally usher in a new phase in the long-running strategic partnership between the two countries.
End of U.S.-Russian arms control?;
Amid the war, Russian outreach to Africa;
Russia, Iran tighten ties;
The war's second round gets underway;
Assessing support for the "special military operation"
Xi Jinping needs to credibly believe that we would shoot the next balloon down. Based on the PRC’s recent behavior, he currently doesn’t.
Speaking in Moscow earlier this month, a prominent Russian political figure provided a timely reminder of the Kremlin's enduring belief in the importance of shaping global opinion.
Putin evokes Stalingrad;
Even less rights for Russia's miserable soldiers;
Kyiv sets its sights on Prigozhin;
New signs of life to Russia's anti-war movement;
Navalny's situation gets even more serious
Streamlining Putin's war spending;
Another media figure found guilty of incorrect thinking;
Jerusalem reconsiders its stance on the Ukraine war;
All eyes on Moldova
Natural gas shortages hit china as temperatures plunge;
U.S. Jails Chinese engineer for spying;
EU announces 70 projects to rival China's BRI;
Washington targets Chinese firm for helping Russia's Wagner;
Satellites reveal anti-aircraft missiles on SCS islands
Tackling Africa's food and flooding crisis;
Anticipating an energy transition;
U.S., UAE building clean energy framework;
The fight over french water
Iran squanders its natural gas wealth;
In Europe, a debate over the IRGC...
...And consensus on human rights;
What Iranians think of the protests... And their future
Increasing the sensitivity of quantum sensors;
Where are Russia's wonder weapons?
U.S. officially joins the hypersonic weapons club;
Biology-based armor advances;
Next up: naval drone deliveries
Pursuing its version of victory, Ukraine has a bold vision for the future. For Russia, it seeks a thorough defeat, one that will prevent future Russian aggression against Ukraine or nearby states.
A Russian terror campaign;
How Moscow is beefing up its military-industrial complex;
A foothold in Africa;
Former convicts threaten Russian citizens;
Getting students into fighting shape
China to launch state-owned ride-hailing platform;
China's internet censors gear up during Lunar New Year;
Chinese, local workers clash at Indonesia nickel smelter;
DRC President demands more from China deal;
FBI seeks victims of China's overseas pressure campaign
Throwing the wounded back onto the front;
Wagner makes gains...
...And garners new sanctions...
..As a defector threatens to spill the beans;
How Russia is still fighting in Ukraine
AFPC has visited Ukraine routinely over the years, but none of our trips there (or elsewhere, for that matter) has been anything like our wartime visit to the capital Kyiv and port city Odesa January 20- 29.
Russia, China join forces to spread disinfo;
How Finland is hardening its population against propaganda;
More pressure on Meduza
How is Russia still fighting in Ukraine?...Part of the answer lies in energy.
Is a limitless source of green energy within reach? With unrelenting global reliance on fossil fuels, a worsening climate, and growing dependency on (often-unreliable) renewables, the world desperately needs a solution.
China's Coast Guard patrols an Indonesian gas field;
Pakistan's Gwadar port locked down after protests;
India deploys stingers at China border;
FBI search escalates fight over China's overseas police outposts;
Hong Kong runs "deradicalization" program
A domestic resistance rises;
The Kremlin redraws the map;
Medvedev wants to punish "traitors;"
Estonia eyes Russian assets;
Moscow has money to burn
PLA Navy simulates attacks on Japanese islands;
China tells Australia: worry about Japan, not China;
China rejects U.S. COVID vaccine offerings;
COVID patients saddled with debts as insurers refuse coverage;
China stops issuing visas to Japanese and South Koreans
Russia's new naval intimidation;
Criminal conscripts prepare to return home;
Russian hackers take aim at U.S. nuclear scientists;
Russia eyes reinforcements for its Ukraine fight;
The mounting costs of Moscow's campaign;
Protectionism, Kremlin style
Amid border tensions with China, an Indian show of force;
Nepal elections usher in pro-China shift;
Pakistan becomes an oil client of the Kremlin;
Taliban-ISIS feud still simmers
With few exceptions, aiding Ukraine in its efforts to push back against Russian aggression continues to enjoy broad bipartisan support, both in Congress and among the American public. But precisely how much Washington can and should underwrite Kyiv’s war effort has become something of a political football — especially among conservatives. The arguments are varied and range from worries over fraud to accusations of misplaced priorities. Each has its grounding in legitimate concerns. Yet each fails to grasp the significance of what is at stake in the current fight against Russia’s imperialist ambitions.
A bipartisan call for U.S. business to change its approach to China
China's COVID spike not due to lifting restrictions - WHO
Putin oversees launch of Siberian gas field feeding China
China accused of fresh territorial grab in South China Sea
Senate committee calls out carmakers' Xinjiang supply chain
Moscow begins weaving a new narrative;
Needed: A fund for independent media;
Russia's new samizdat industry;
Tightening Kremlin restrictions on the internet
Putin ramps up wartime propaganda;
Gaming Moscow's munitions;
How Russia's economy weathered the past year;
Another military reshuffle in Moscow
U.S. adds 36 Chinese companies to trade blacklist;
China recalls six officials from UK for beating protester;
U.S. charges Chinese student for harassing peer;
Government appeals dismissal of lawsuit against casino tycoon;
Mongolians protest theft of coal sold to China
The current triumphalism among many in the West regarding the decline of Russian disinformation is somewhat premature. That's because, while Russian propaganda outlets are now having a more difficult time reaching European nations, they're still making major gains in advancing the Kremlin's position—and eroding that of the West—throughout the developing world.
DARPA pushes limits on low satellite orbits;
Brain enhancement will have options;
DTRA automating decontamination;
Jointly countering hypersonics;
Russian exoskeleton development continues
Japan breaks from pacifist legacy, doubles defense spending;
Washington, Manila repair ties... with an eye on Beijing;
Democracies converge on Indonesia to offset China's influence;
China doubles down on Cambodian investments;
China's inaugural "Indian Ocean Forum" sidelines India