On February 24th, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To many, this was a shocking development and unthinkable escalation that marked a heated beginning to a second Cold War. However, to others in the Middle East, the trajectory of events in eastern Europe was less surprising in light of Russia’s deep involvement in several ongoing regional conflicts. Read about the wars that fuel Putin’s ambitions in Part 1 of our latest Wire Special Series on Russia and the Middle East.
After a decade of revolution, anarchy and civil war, a new UN-sanctioned unity government was sworn into power in the North African nation of Libya in March. The milestone agreement comes after seven years of political division between rival governments in Tripoli and Tubruk, which were each backed by different foreign powers.
As the domination of coronavirus in the international headlines wanes, news from war-torn Libya is again getting attention. But of what significance is the swift military reversals of the last few weeks, who are the parties continuing to fight nine years after the dawn of the Arab Spring, and why are Russia and Turkey so involved in the conflict?
