Russia’s Central Bank raised its key policy rate to 21 percent in late October as the Russian authorities struggle to manage a wartime economy that is in danger of overheating due to a combination of factors including rising inflation, sanctions pressure, and record defense sector spending. While Kremlin officials and many international analysts insist that
The ongoing Israel-Iran hostilities risk disrupting global oil markets and reigniting inflation. But the United States and its allies should not hesitate to release strategic reserves if this conflict threatens to spike oil prices. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) of crude oil is currently well-stocked for domestic needs. After accounting for fifty-two-week averages of
Ukraine conducted one of the largest and most effective drone attacks of the entire war in the early hours of September 18, causing a blast at a weapons depot deep inside Russia that was large enough to be picked up by earthquake monitoring stations. According to Ukrainian sources, the attack involved more than one hundred
Ukraine’s long-range drone bombing campaign targeting military and industrial sites inside Russia has had a dramatic series of successes over the last few weeks. The most eye-catching achievement was the attack on Russia’s Morozovsk airbase, which Ukrainian officials claim damaged Russian jets and destroyed stockpiles of munitions including glide bombs used to pummel Ukraine’s military
Not so long ago, the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was widely seen as one of the “be there or be square” events for the world’s business elites, political leaders, and global influencers. Often called Russia’s Davos, SPIEF takes place every June in Russia’s second city, which also happens to be Vladimir Putin’s
At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin was defiant about the Russian economy. “Despite all the obstacles we are facing and the illegitimate sanctions imposed against us,” he declared, “Russia remains one of the key participants in global trade and is rapidly expanding the new logistics and geography
Ukraine carried out one of the longest range drone strikes of the war so far on April 2, hitting an oil refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan region approximately 1300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The attack was the latest in an expanding campaign of drone strikes that have inflicted significant damage on Russia’s oil and gas
Amid worsening ammunition shortages and mounting concerns over the future of Western military aid, the Ukrainian army has largely switched to active defense in recent months. Nevertheless, as the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches the two-year mark, talk of a stalemate remains premature. While heavy fighting continues at various hot spots along the front
Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in southern Russia early on January 25, sparking a blaze that highlighted an emerging new front in the war unleashed by Vladimir Putin almost two years ago. The incident was the latest in a series of recent attacks on Russian energy infrastructure as Ukraine seeks to bring the
Pakistan-Iran relations nosedived sharply on January 16, when Tehran carried out unilateral strikes in western Pakistan, following its recent attacks in Iraq and Syria. In turn, Pakistan adopted a two-stage strategy: First, it downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran by recalling its ambassador. Then, forty-eight-hours after the attack, it conducted retaliatory strikes inside southeastern Iran, targeting
