- Russian private military company Wagner has likely succeeded in making tactical advances in the Donbas around the Vuhlehirska Power Plant and the nearby village of Novoluhanske. Some Ukrainian forces have likely withdrawn from the area.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is currently undertaking a tour of Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, and the Republic of the Congo.
- Russia will highly likely seek to exploit the visits to blame the West for the international food crisis and win the support of African states which have otherwise remained neutral about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Since 2014, Russia has made significant efforts to secure influence across Africa, with Wagner frequently deploying as one of its favoured tools of influence in the region.
- Russia probably primarily engages with Africa because it believes it will enhance the ‘Great Power’ identity Russia aspires to.
- Its secondary goals are probably to secure commodity concessions and to persuade African states to vote in line with Russia’s interests in international forums.
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Ukraine’s main intelligence directorate said on Telegram that the cause of the fire in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Tatarstan was a ‘mystery.’
Dec. 23