This Week’s Highlights

• The Russian navy will participate in joint exercises alongside NATO members for the first time in 10 years, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing the Black Sea Fleet. In addition to Russia, the exercises in February off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan will also feature ships from Pakistan, the United States, Britain, China, Japan, Turkey, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, The Moscow Times reports.
• U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has selected retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of defense, according to people with knowledge of the decision, according to Politico. In his capacity as the CENTCOM commander, Austin signed a U.S.-Russian memorandum of understanding with a Russian counterpart in October 2015 that included steps their pilots should take to avoid an inadvertent clash over Syria, Reuters reports. In March 2016, Austin also stated its concern that weaponry provided by Russia to Iran will fall into the wrong hands.
• “India’s relationship with each country is independent of its relations with third countries. We hope that this is well understood and appreciated by all our partners,” said Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments on India earlier this week, the Tribune India reports. Speaking in the context of Quad, Lavrov had said the West was drawing India into anti-China games as part of a “persistent, aggressive and devious policy.”
• Resetting relations with the U.S. and strengthening strategic ties with Russia will be among the top priorities for China next year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said as he outlined the country’s diplomatic agenda for 2021, the South China Morning Post reports. “We must deepen China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperation ... in various areas and at different levels ... so as to build a Sino-Russian pillar for world peace and security and global strategic stability,” Wang said, according to a foreign ministry statement.
• A record number of vessels have in 2020 sailed through Russia’s shipping lane in the rapidly melting Arctic known as the Northern Sea Route, The Moscow Times reports. Norway’s Center for High North Logistics has recorded 62 full transit voyages through the Northern Sea Route as of Dec. 9, while ships sailed 37 times through the route in all of 2019, it said. 
• Russian President Vladimir Putin's support among young voters has roughly halved in the past year, according to independent survey results released Dec. 10. While 36 percent of voters aged 18-24 said they would cast their ballots for Putin in 2019, only 20 percent expressed the same intention in November 2020, the Levada Center polling agency said, according to The Moscow Times.

 

I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda

Nuclear security:

• No significant developments.

North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs:

• Russia and China could be competing to offer new fighter jets to North Korea, according to a Russian press report. Avia Pro, a Russian aviation news service, reported Dec. 9 Russia's plan to export new MiG-35 multirole fighters to the North is being challenged by China. (United Press International, 12.09.20)

Iran and its nuclear program:

• Iran plans to install more advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges at an underground plant in breach of its troubled deal with major powers, The confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report obtained by Reuters said Iran plans to install three more clusters of advanced IR-2m centrifuges in the underground plant at Natanz, located about 300 kilometers south of Tehran. (RFE/RL, 12.04.20)
  • Russia's Foreign Ministry on Dec. 9 called on Iran to show "maximum responsibility" in preserving the JCPOA. (The Moscow Times, 12.09.20)
  • European powers have warned Iran that its plans to expand its atomic energy program risk scuppering efforts to revive the JCPOA. (Financial Times, 12.07.20)

New Cold War/saber rattling:

• The Netherlands has ordered the expulsion of two Russians with diplomatic accreditation after a Dutch intelligence agency accused them of espionage targeting the country’s science and technology sectors. (RFE/RL, 12.10.20)

• A Russian national’s arrest on suspicion of espionage in Denmark is a mistake, Russia’s Embassy in Copenhagen told Interfax Dec. 9. The unnamed Russian citizen is suspected of providing information about Danish energy technology to Russia’s intelligence service, Reuters quoted Danish public prosecutors. (The Moscow Times, 12.09.20)
• Mysterious brain injuries sustained by U.S. diplomats and CIA officers serving overseas in Cuba, China and Russia were likely caused by directed, pulsed radio frequency energy, according to a study conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. (Foreign Policy, 12.05.20)
• Russia is beefing up its forces in its Kaliningrad exclave and has already formed a full motorized rifle division that includes a regiment of tanks, a naval admiral said Dec. 7, citing the need to respond to what he said was a NATO build-up nearby. (Reuters, 12.07.20)

• German Eurofighter jets intercepted four Russian Il-20 Coot electronic intelligence aircraft over the Baltics last week. (Defense Blog, 12.07.20)

• Estonia has installed a barbed-wire fence along an 8-kilometer section of its border with Russia in the first installment of its three-year border infrastructure project, media in Estonia reported. (The Moscow Times, 12.07.20)

NATO-Russia relations:

• The Russian navy will participate in joint exercises alongside NATO members for the first time in 10 years, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing the Black Sea Fleet. The Aman-2021 multinational exercises will take place in February off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan. In addition to Russia, the exercises will also feature ships from Pakistan, the United States, Britain, China, Japan, Turkey, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. (The Moscow Times, 12.10.20)
• Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan has attacked U.S. plans to sanction his country for its purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system as a show of “disrespect” to a NATO member state. One of the people familiar with the U.S. plans said the sanctions were being crafted to be “as mild as possible” to neutralize anger toward Erdogan in Congress while avoiding serious damage to the extensive U.S.-Turkey military relationship. (Financial Times, 12.10.20)

Missile defense:

• No significant developments.

Nuclear arms control:

• No significant developments.

Counter-terrorism:

• As the Taliban and the U.S. were finalizing their February deal, Taliban leaders were in frequent communication with al-Qaeda, consulting with their counterparts on the terms of the agreement and assuring them that they would not be betrayed, according to U.N. monitors. The active coordination between the two groups has continued to this day, despite the Taliban's commitment to sever ties as a condition of the peace deal, according to U.N. and Afghan officials and current and former Taliban members. (The Washington Post, 12.09.20)

Conflict in Syria:

• U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has reportedly selected retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of defense. If confirmed, Austin, who also ran U.S. Central Command before retiring in 2016, would be the first Black person to lead the Pentagon. Austin, who has been described as the architect of the plan for defeating ISIS in Iraq and Syria, testified in his CENTCOM capacity in September 2015 that Russia is engaged in a military buildup in Syria. Yet Austin said Russia’s goals in Syria are unclear. “We really don’t know what their intentions are,” said Austin. Asked if the U.S. military was concerned the Russian buildup could threaten coalition aircraft, Austin told a Senate hearing that with both sides operating in the same space "that possibility is clearly there." Austin then signed a U.S.-Russian memorandum of understanding with a Russian counterpart in October 2015 that included steps their pilots should take to avoid an inadvertent clash over Syria as they carry out separate air strikes against militant groups. In March 2016, Austin stated his concern that weaponry provided by Russia to Iran will fall into the wrong hands and proliferate throughout the Middle East. (Politico, 12.08.20, The Guardian, 12.08.20, Reuters, 09.16.15, Reuters, 10.20.20, RIA Novosti, 03.08.20, AP, 03.21.19)
• Russian combat robots have been tested in Syria, Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov told reporters. "The Kalashnikov company is actively working in this area. They are manufacturing combat robotic complexes, which are already being used in Syria. Some other enterprises of ours are also working on such complexes," Chemezov said. (Interfax, 12.07.20)
• Moscow’s Basmanny Court arrested in absentia the fourth member of the Nusra Front terror group over the death of pilot Roman Filipov in Syria. On Feb. 3, 2018, a Russian Su-25SM plane, piloted by Filipov, was hit by a surface-to-air missile by the terror group members. (TASS, 02.07.20)

Cyber security:

• A Russian man wanted by the U.S. for a massive bitcoin theft scheme has been sentenced by a French court to five years in prison for money laundering. Aleksandr Vinnik was handed the punishment in a French court on Dec. 7 after a trial where prosecutors laid out a scheme where he would send emails disguised as invoices laced with malware that would cripple the target’s computer until a ransom had been paid in cybercurrency. (RFE/RL, 12.07.20)
• Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive of cyber security company Kaspersky, said in a video interview with the Financial Times that bans on the company’s antivirus software by the U.K. and U.S. governments in 2017 on security grounds had triggered a 25 percent drop in its U.S. corporate sales. With business growth stalled in the West, he said Kaspersky would launch systems to help airports or private landowners jam drone signals and election software secured by blockchain “so you can vote for the prime minister from your smartphone.”  (Financial Times, 12.05.20)
• Pfizer and BioNTech said documents related to their COVID-19 vaccine had been exposed in a cyber attack on the European Medicines Agency. The vaccine makers on Dec. 9 said documents relating to the regulatory submission had been “unlawfully accessed” on the EMA server. The regulator had earlier on Dec. 9 disclosed that it had been the “subject of a cyber attack” and said it was launching a full investigation and collaborating with law enforcement. (Financial Times, 12.09.20)

Elections interference:

• No significant developments.

Energy exports from CIS:

• Russia restarted construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on Dec. 5, Ukraine’s Hromadske television channel reports, citing a document from Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency. Work on the Russia-Germany trans-Baltic line stopped almost one year ago due to U.S. sanctions. To get around sanctions, the pipelines company is using Russian ships in an effort to finish the pipeline, which is 90 percent complete. (Ukraine Business News, 12.07.20)
  • The U.S. is asking Germany and the EU to halt construction of Nord Stream 2. "Now is the time for Germany and the EU to impose a moratorium on the construction of the pipeline," the U.S. acting ambassador to Germany, Robin Quinville, said. (AFP, 12.05.20)
  • Germany’s government sees U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream 2 as illegal and does not predict any change under a Biden administration, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. (Ukraine Business News, 12.07.20)
• Brent crude prices topped $50 a barrel for the first time since early March on Dec. 10, the latest milestone in a remarkable oil-market recovery fueled by supply curtailments and drivers returning to the road. (Wall Street Journal, 12.10.20)

U.S.-Russian economic ties:

• No significant developments.

U.S.-Russian relations in general:

• The U.S. has imposed another set of sanctions targeting Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Russia’s North Caucasus region of Chechnya and a loyal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. Treasury Department on Dec. 10 announced sanctions against Kadyrov, as well as five individuals and six Russia-registered legal entities with close ties to him. (RFE/RL, 12.10.20)
• The U.S. has added Russia to its special watchlist of countries that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations” of religious freedom, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Dec. 7. (The Moscow Times, 12.08.20)
• The U.S. exercises World War II “revisionism” by classifying Russian visa-seekers born on a disputed island chain in the Far East as Japanese nationals, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Dec. 6. Russians born on the islands of Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashiri and Etorofu have been required to name Japan as their birthplace to receive permanent residency since 2018. (The Moscow Times, 12.07.20)
• A federal judge dismissed the criminal case against U.S. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Dec. 8, two weeks after Trump pardoned him, but portrayed the Justice Department's previous arguments for dismissing the matter as ''dubious to say the least'' and suggested he ''likely'' would have rejected them. (New York Times, 12.08.20)
• After much delay, lawmakers have determined which Russian-made apps must come pre-installed on smartphones sold in Russia under the so-called “law against Apple.” (bne IntelliNews, 12.11.20)

 

II. Russia’s domestic policies

Domestic politics, economy and energy:

• Russia reported a record 613 coronavirus deaths Dec. 11 as the country prepares to launch a mass vaccination drive by the end of the week. The previous one-day record stood at 589 fatalities on Dec. 2. (The Moscow Times, 12.11.20) Here’s a link to RFE/RL’s interactive map of the virus’ spread around the world, including in Russia and the rest of post-Soviet Eurasia. For a comparison of the number and rate of change in new cases in the U.S. and Russia, visit this Russia Matters resource.
• More than 100,000 Russians at higher risk of severe coronavirus cases have been vaccinated with the domestically made Sputnik V vaccine. (The Moscow Times, 12.03.20)
• Only 57 percent of Russians observe social distancing rules, according to a poll by the Levada Center in November, while only 45 percent avoid unnecessary trips to public events. (Financial Times, 12.09.20)
• AstraZeneca will test whether a combination of its COVID-19 vaccine and Russia's Sputnik V shot can boost effectiveness in fighting the disease. Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine only requires patients to avoid drinking alcohol for six days, not 42 as previously recommended, its developer said Dec. 9. (The Moscow Times, 12.09.20)
• A foreign-funded campaign is being waged to discredit Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Dec. 11. (The Moscow Times, 12.11.20)
• Although the Kremlin’s 4 trillion ruble ($54.3 billion) COVID-19 support package amounted to a scant 4 percent of gross domestic product, or less than a tenth of the assistance provided by Germany, Italy and the U.S., Russia estimates the contraction in its GDP has slowed from 8 percent year-on-year in the spring to 3.6 percent in the third quarter of 2020, which placed it in the top five of G20 nations. Russia benefited from a stimulus ordered by Putin before the virus struck, of which 1.75 trillion rubles has been spent this year. (Financial Times, 12.08.20)
• “We estimate that EM securities attracted around $76.5 billion in November, significantly higher than the $23.5 billion in October. Recent headlines on potential vaccines, combined with the resolution of uncertainty regarding the U.S. election, have benefited capital flows greatly,” economist Jonathan Fortun, who tracks capital flows at the Institute of International Finance (IIF), said in a paper. (bne IntelliNews, 12.07.20)
• A record number of vessels have in 2020 sailed through Russia’s shipping lane in the rapidly melting Arctic known as the Northern Sea Route. Norway’s Center for High North Logistics foundation has recorded 62 full transit voyages through the Northern Sea Route as of Dec. 9. Ships sailed 37 times through the route in all of 2019, it said. (The Moscow Times, 12.11.20)
• Russian consumer price inflation accelerated to 4.4 percent year-on-year in November 2020, up from 4 percent seen in October and breaching the Central Bank of Russia target rate of 4 percent, according to the latest data from the Rosstat statistics agency. (bne IntelliNews, 12.08.20)
• Putin has signed bills into law elevating a low-profile advisory body known as the State Council, criminalizing secession and prioritizing the Russian Constitution over international law. (The Moscow Times, 12.08.20)
• Lawmakers in Russia’s lower house of parliament have voted to approve legislation that would give former presidents lifetime immunity from prosecution. (The Moscow Times, 12.09.20)
• Putin's support among young voters has roughly halved in the past year, according to independent survey results released Dec. 10. While 36 percent of voters aged 18-24 said they would cast their ballots for Putin in 2019, only 20 percent expressed the same intention in November 2020, the Levada Center said. (The Moscow Times, 12.10.20)
• Putin has proposed looking into the creation of a special human rights court in the country. (TASS, 12.10.20)
• Putin’s former son-in-law Kirill Shamalov purchased $380 million worth of shares in Russia’s top petrochemicals company for $100 after marrying the president’s daughter, according to a report by the iStories investigative outlet. (The Moscow Times, 12.07.20)
• Protests over the arrest of former Khabarovsk governor Sergei Furgal continue in the Far East. Dec. 5 saw the 22nd consecutive weekly rally in Khabarovsk. (bne IntelliNews, 12.11.20)

• Russian rights activists on Dec. 10 condemned draft legislation including a significant expansion of who can be labelled a "foreign agent" as a new clampdown on dissent. (AFP, 12.03.20)
• Russia plans to recruit prisoners sentenced to forced labor to clean up pollution in the Arctic, TASS reported Dec. 10, citing Federal Prison Service official Elena Korobkova. (The Moscow Times, 12.11.20)

Defense and aerospace:

• On Dec. 9, Russia's strategic forces conducted an annual exercise, officially described as a "training of the control of the strategic offensive forces." The exercise, directed by Putin, involved ICBM, SLBM and ALCM launches. (Russianforces.org, 12.09.20)
• The Kremlin on Dec. 9 sounded the alarm over the theft of sensitive equipment from a secretive "doomsday plane" designed for the country's top command in event of a nuclear attack. The Interior Ministry said police in the southern city of Taganrog had been alerted that 1 million rubles ($13,600) worth of equipment was stolen from an Ilyushin Il-80 plane at an airfield. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the breach as an "emergency situation" and vowed that "measures will be taken to prevent this from happening in the future." (The Moscow Times, 12.09.20)
• The first Su-57 fifth-generation fighters with the advanced second-stage engine will be assembled in 2022, head of Russia’s Rostec Sergei Chemezov said Dec. 7. (TASS, 12.07.20)
• Serial deliveries of the latest T-14 “Armata” tank to the Russian troops will begin in 2021, Chemezov said Dec. 7. (TASS, 12.07.20)
• Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, the last Defense Minister of the Soviet Union and a Marshal of Aviation, has died at age 78. (The Moscow Times, 12.09.20)

Security, law-enforcement and justice:

• An alleged suicide bomber has attacked a security service building in the southern Russian republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, injuring at least six, news outlets and authorities reported Dec. 11. Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee said the unidentified bomber detonated himself while authorities attempted to detain him in the village of Uchkeken some 1,500 kilometers south of Moscow. It said six law enforcement officers were “slightly injured” and were receiving medical care. (The Moscow Times, 12.11.20)
• Chechen teenager Abdullakh Anzorov, who was shot dead by French police in October after he beheaded a teacher near Paris, has been buried in his family's village in Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya. (RFE/RL, 12.07.20)
• Putin rejected attempts to bring high treason charges for the transfer of public domain data abroad as complete nonsense and a tragicomedy. (TASS, 12.10.20)

• A former police chief in Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk has been convicted for accepting bribes in the form of the popular Georgian dumpling khinkali, authorities and media said Dec. 9. (The Moscow Times, 12.02.20)

• Putin misspoke Dec. 10 by asserting that treason charges against former journalist Ivan Safronov relate to his short-lived career at Russia’s state space agency Roscosmos this year. (The Moscow Times, 12.10.20)
• It is impossible to open a criminal case on the incident with opposition blogger Alexei Navalny right now, Putin said at a meeting with the members of the Human Rights Council. "We cannot open criminal cases each time when a person escapes death." (TASS, 12.11.20)

 

III. Russia’s relations with other countries

Russia’s general foreign policy and relations with “far abroad” countries:

• “India has always pursued an independent foreign policy based on its national interest. India’s relationship with each country is independent of its relations with third countries. We hope that this is well understood and appreciated by all our partners,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments on India earlier this week. Lavrov had said the West was drawing India into anti-China games as part of a “persistent, aggressive and devious policy.” (Tribune India, 12.11.20)
• The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and TVEL, the nuclear fuel manufacturer subsidiary of Russia's Rosatom, have signed a supplementary agreement to the fuel supply contract for the VVER-1000 reactors in operation at Kudankulam. The agreement includes the introduction of TVS-2M nuclear fuel and an extension of the fuel cycle from 12 to 18 months. (World Nuclear News, 12.09.20)
• EU leaders Dec. 10 extended punishing economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine for another six months, an EU spokesman said. The sanctions, which target whole sectors of the Russian economy including its valuable oil businesses, were extended to mid-2021. (AFP, 12.10.20)
• The EU will impose sanctions on alleged serious human rights abusers around the world under a new law agreed on Dec. 7—but campaign groups called immediately for it to be widened to tackle international corruption. The move comes after the U.S., Canada and U.K. set up similar systems to impose travel bans and asset freezes—and used them to target individuals in countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Myanmar. (Financial Times, 12.07.20)
• Senior members of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party met with Lavrov in Moscow on Dec. 8. During its visit, described beforehand as "very important" by the Kremlin, the delegation of AfD parliamentarians voiced harsh criticism of the political atmosphere in Germany and deputy leader of the party, Tino Chrupalla criticized EU sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, saying his party was worried about the state of German-Russian relations. That concern was echoed by Lavrov, who said that "numerous problems have piled up between Berlin and Moscow and they are becoming more numerous." Chrupalla also called for the completion of Nord Stream 2. (Deutsche Welle, 12.08.20)
• Russia has signed an agreement with Sudan to build a naval base on the country's Red Sea coast, in Moscow's latest push into Africa as it seeks to renew its geopolitical clout. The deal, published on the Russian government's website Dec. 8, will see Moscow establish a "logistical support center" in Port Sudan, where "repairs and resupply operations" can take place. The agreement signed Dec. 1 is valid for 25 years and will be automatically renewed for 10-year periods if neither side objects. (The Moscow Times, 12.09.20)

China-Russia: Allied or Aligned?

• Resetting relations with the U.S. and strengthening strategic ties with Russia will be among the top priorities for China next year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Dec. 11 as he outlined the country’s diplomatic agenda for 2021. “We must deepen China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperation ... in various areas and at different levels ... so as to build a Sino-Russian pillar for world peace and security and global strategic stability,” Wang said, according to a foreign ministry statement. (South China Morning Post, 12.11.20)
• Biden has said he will stand up to China and Russia, but unlike Trump, he has stressed the need to work closely with allies and international organizations to present a united front against two countries that Washington considers its foremost competitors. (The Washington Post, 12.09.20)
• The West “is trying to restore the unipolar model of world order. ‘Poles’ like Russia and China are unlikely to be subordinate to it,” Lavrov told the Russian International Affairs Council Dec. 8. (Russian Foreign Ministry, 12.08.20)
• There are reported signs that a new China-Russia missile attack early warning system is nearing completion, according to Andrew Hmmaond of the London School of Economics. This is based on the Russian Tundra satellites and Voronezh modular ground-based radar stations set up on Chinese territory, and will provide advance information on potential incoming missile trajectories, speed, time-to-target and other critical information necessary for an effective interception. (Korea Times, 12.07.20)
• China’s lending has been concentrated in a relatively small number of countries, with 10 recipients making up 60 percent of the total, according to Boston University research. Loans to Venezuela, the largest recipient, took up more than 12.5 percent, followed by Pakistan, Russia and Angola. (Financial Times, 12.08.20)
• Trade turnover between Russia and China in January-November decreased by 3 percent year-on-year, amounting to $97.38 billion, Russia’s General Customs Administration announced. (TASS, 12.07.20)

Ukraine:

• Ukraine's economy is likely to shrink by 5 percent in 2020, slightly more than the 4.8 percent contraction forecast earlier in the year, Economy Minister Ihor Petrashko said Dec. 7. (Reuters, 12.07.20)
• Ukraine’s consumer inflation sped up 3.8 percent year-on-year in November from 2.6 percent year-on-year in the prior month, Ukraine’s State Statistics Service reported Dec. 9. Consumer prices grew 1.3 percent month-on-month in November compared with a 1.0 percent increase in October. (bne IntelliNews, 12.11.20)
• In a bid to unlock billions of dollars in low interest IMF loans, the Rada restored accountability for false asset declarations, albeit a watered down version. Approved Dec. 4, the new bill raised the limit for “forgetting” an asset 9-fold, essentially from a car to a house. Officials who are not caught in two years get off free. Fines range from $1,500 to $3,000. The possibility of imprisonment is lifted. (Ukraine Business News, 12.07.20)
• According to the national Ukrinform news agency, all uranium mining by state enterprise VostokGOK was suspended on Dec. 7. (World Nuclear News, 12.09.20)
• Hungary summoned the Ukrainian ambassador and accused its neighbor of intimidation on Dec. 7 after Ukraine’s state security service raided the offices of ethnic Hungarians, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. (Reuters, 12.07.20)
• A court in Kyiv has upheld an extension of the pretrial detention of one of the suspects in the high-profile 2016 killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet in the Ukrainian capital. The appeals court on Dec. 7 ruled that the decision of the Shevchenko district court in Kyiv in October to hold Andriy Antonenko in pretrial detention until Dec. 19 is valid. (RFE/RL, 12.07.20)
• A Ukrainian national and former professional soccer player has received 12 years in prison in Russia on espionage charges. The Moscow City Court on Dec. 7 found Vasyl Vasylenko guilty of spying and sentenced him the same day. (RFE/RL, 12.07.20)
• William G. Bilbrough IV, one of three men charged with plotting violence at a Virginia gun rights rally, has agreed to plead guilty Dec. 8 in what federal prosecutors said was a scheme by white supremacists to spark a civil uprising by shooting "unsuspecting civilians and police officers" during the demonstration, according to court filings. Bilbrough's attorney said Bilbrough was consumed with fantasies, including going to Ukraine to fight against Russian-backed aggression. (The Washington Post, 12.08.20)
• The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a resolution urging Russia to end its "temporary occupation" of Crimea and immediately stop transferring weapons to Ukraine. (RFE/RL, 12.10.20)
• Ukraine has entered into talks with Russia and Kremlin-backed separatists over a new troop withdrawal and prisoner swap in Ukraine's war-torn east, Kyiv said Dec. 10. (The Moscow Times, 12.10.20)

Russia's other post-Soviet neighbors:

• International human rights groups are urging both Azerbaijan and Armenia to urgently conduct investigations into war crimes allegedly committed by both sides during weeks of recent fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. Amnesty International has analyzed 22 videos depicting "extrajudicial executions, the mistreatment of prisoners of war and other captives and desecration of the dead bodies of enemy soldiers," the London-based human rights watchdog said in a statement Dec. 10. (RFE/RL, 12.10.20)
  • A steady stream of videos depicting shocking atrocities by Azerbaijani soldiers against Armenian civilians and prisoners of war has emerged on social media. The videos, shot by soldiers and distributed on various Telegram news channels, depict a wide variety of torture, humiliations and mutilations of corpses. There have been several executions of captives shown, and at least two live beheadings. (The Moscow Times, 12.10.20)
• Azerbaijan has held a military parade to mark the country's declared victory over Armenia in a recent war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presided over the parade devoted to what is officially described in Azerbaijan as the Victory in the Patriotic War on Dec. 10. More than 3,000 military personnel and some 150 pieces of military hardware were part of the procession. Turkish military personnel also participated in the event. (RFE/RL, 12.10.20)
• Opposition activists have blocked several streets in Yerevan as pressure continues to build on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian amid opposition calls for him to step down over last month’s cease-fire deal with Azerbaijan. Protesters chanted, "Armenia without Nikol" and "Nikol must go!" as they flooded streets in the center of the Armenian capital on Dec. 11, even after Pashinian and his party indicated a day earlier that they were “ready to discuss” the possibility of holding fresh parliamentary elections. (RFE/RL, 12.11.20)
• Russia has announced a ban on imports of tomatoes from Azerbaijan beginning Dec. 10, in a damaging move for a key export that analysts tied to fallout from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor on Dec. 8 announced the embargo to protect against harmful substances detected in several recent shipments. It said the ban was necessary to “prevent the import and spread” of pesticides to Russia. (The Moscow Times, 12.09.20)
• Lawmakers of Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party have started the new parliamentary session amid a boycott by opposition members who insist that the Oct. 31 parliamentary elections were rigged. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili opened the first sitting of the new parliament on Dec. 11 by calling on all Georgian political forces and society as a whole to end the climate of confrontation "as the country needs depolarization, solidarity and unity." (RFE/RL, 12.11.20)
• Belarusian security forces have detained at least 10 people in the center of the capital, where hundreds of demonstrators had gathered for a march demanding the resignation of Alexander Lukashenko. (RFE/RL, 12.07.20)
• Belarus will close several land-border crossings as of Dec. 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic. (RFE/RL, 12.10.20)
• Lukashenko has called the International Olympic Committee (IOC) a "gang" after being handed a provisional suspension that could exclude him from the Tokyo Olympics next year. (RFE/RL, 12.10.20)

 

IV. Quoteworthy

• No significant developments.