United States

North Korea

Ukraine

Russia

Military & Security

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said preliminary evidence indicated that Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile to strike a home in Radushne, near Kryvyi Rih, killing two parents and three of their children, Reuters reported on July 30.

Russia, Ukraine: Russia's Use of North Korean Missiles Deepens Ukraine's Air Defense Crisis

Armenia

Economics

Politics

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Yerevan could refer its dispute with Russia over the South Caucasus Railway concession to international arbitration, NEWS.am reported on July 30.

Armenia, Russia: Pashinyan Raises Arbitration Threat Over Russian Railway Concession

Poland

A suspected Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crashed in an uninhabited area of eastern Poland early July 30 during a large-scale Russian air attack on western Ukraine, causing no casualties, Reuters reported the same day.

Poland, Russia: Suspected Russian Missile Crashes in Poland

Russian President Vladimir Putin told outgoing State Duma lawmakers that Russia would achieve its objectives in Ukraine and "do everything for victory," TASS reported on July 27.

Russia, Ukraine: Putin's Victory Pledge Raises Postelection Manpower Expansion Risk

A Russian ballistic missile struck a private training ground in the Kyiv region's Bucha district during a defense industry exhibition, killing at least 10 people and injuring over 100 others, Interfax-Ukraine reported on July 24.

Ukraine, Russia: Russia Strikes Defense Exhibition Near Kyiv in Daylight

Mali

Togo

A large convoy of Russian military vehicles arriving from the Togolese port of Lome has crossed the Mali-Burkina Faso border and is headed to Bamako, Jeune Afrique reported on July 23.

West Africa: Russia's Africa Corps Secures First Military Shipment to Mali Through Togo

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a 35-minute meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' ministerial gathering in Manila, Philippines, The Guardian reported on July 23.

U.S., Russia, Ukraine: Rubio-Lavrov Meeting in Manila Predictably Yields No Breakthrough

Europe

EU ambassadors approved the bloc's 21st sanctions package against Russia on July 23, its largest in four years with 218 listings, after granting Greece a renewable one-year exemption allowing EU companies to continue shipping Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries, Reuters reported the same day.

EU: Bloc Agrees to Watered-Down 21st Russia Sanctions Package

Snapshots

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (center) chats with U.S. senators before heading to a closed-door meeting at the U.S. Capitol on July 28, 2026. 

Energy

If enacted, the proposed bill would give Trump broad new authority to impose tariffs on major Russian oil buyers, but selective enforcement means it would unlikely compel Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

New U.S. Sanctions Bill Unlikely To Impact Russia's Oil Exports or War Strategy

Assessments

Ethiopia

South Africa

Brazil

Egypt

Iran

Saudi Arabia

China

India

(From left to right) Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attend a plenary session at the BRICS summit in Kazan on Oct. 24, 2024.

The bloc's push to develop an independent payment system for trade will not immediately undermine the U.S. dollar's global dominance, though it could reduce the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions.

The Implications of an Independent BRICS Payment System

Peru

Israel

United Kingdom

A couple rides past Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles displayed at Azadi Square in Tehran on July 24.

U.S.-Iran Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A Likely U.S. Escalation in Iran, Zelensky Travels to Washington

Ukrainian servicemen maintain a 2S22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region on May 27 in Pokrovsk, Ukraine.

With grinding ground offensives yielding minimal gains at a severe human cost, Moscow is likely to escalate devastating aerial strikes designed to cripple critical infrastructure and force Kyiv into concessions.


What the Fall of Kostiantynivka Would Mean for the Ukraine War 

People gather for a second consecutive day of protests in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 17, 2026, following the controversial dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Zelensky's potentially imminent decision to dismiss the army chief under mounting public pressure would weaken his authority, while prolonged turmoil could further strain Ukraine's war effort.

Defense Minister's Ouster Plunges Ukraine Into Biggest Wartime Political Crisis Yet

Cars stand in line for gasoline at a Lukoil gas station on July 8, 2026, outside of Moscow, Russia.

Russia will retain the ability to produce and export most of its oil, but sustained Ukrainian strikes will erode its refining capacity, exacerbate domestic fuel shortages and raise the risk of deeper production cuts.

Ukrainian Strikes Deepen Russia's Fuel Refining Crisis

Lebanon

Indonesia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

France

ASEAN leaders hold hands for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the 48th ASEAN summit in Cebu, central Philippines on May 8, 2026. 

The Weekly Rundown: U.S.-Iran Tensions Remain High, ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meet With Myanmar

Media

Cuba

Forecast Webcast

Join our analysts for this webcast recording exploring key topics identified in RANE's 2026 Third-Quarter Geopolitical Forecast.

2026 Third-Quarter Forecast Webcast

Belarus

An officer of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine stands on a destroyed bridge over the Dnipro River, which forms the state border between Ukraine and Belarus, on June 1, 2026.

The threat of Ukrainian retaliatory strikes and Belarus's limited offensive capabilities will likely keep Minsk from directly entering the conflict, but the country will remain a critical base for Russian military pressure against Ukraine and NATO.

Despite Russian Pressure, Belarus Remains Unlikely to Join the Ukraine War

Botswana

Lesotho

Namibia

Eswatini

Colombia

Vessels at anchorage June 18 in Bandar Abbas, Iran, along the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding signed June 17 is highly likely to remain in effect over the coming week, and negotiations toward a final deal will begin.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S. and Iranian Talks, Colombia's Presidential Runoff

A banner depicting the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on June 3 in Tehran. There will be an elevated risk of sporadic U.S.-Iran clashes over the next week, as no signs of a diplomatic breakthrough in U.S.-Iran negotiations on a memorandum of understanding have emerged.

The Weekly Rundown: Armenian Elections, Xi Goes to North Korea

Azerbaijan

Thousands of Armenians participate in a rally in Yerevan's Republic Square on May 26, 2024. 

Prime Minister Pashinyan's likely reelection will empower him to finalize a peace treaty with Azerbaijan and deepen ties with the West, though Russian economic pressure and domestic opposition to constitutional changes could undermine these efforts.

What's at Stake in Armenia's Upcoming Election

<p>Despite being the largest country in the world by area, the Russian Federation occupies territory that is indefensible and unforgiving. The core of Russia, running from the Volga grain belts up through Moscow proper to the Baltic Sea, lacks any natural features to fortify it from attack. This is why the country has traditionally anchored its territory to major geographic barriers far from its core in an attempt to keep foreign powers distant. As a result, Russia has inevitably had to reach east across the frozen tundra of Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, southeast to the Tien Shen mountains of Central Asia, south to the Caucasus Mountains bordering Iran and Turkey, and finally west to the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe. But, there is one major hole in this geographic expanse: The Northern European plane. The Northern European plane is a gap between the Carpathian Mountains and the Baltic sea which, at its narrowest, is 480 kilometers (300 miles) across. This narrow point, referred to as the Polish funnel, lies just West of Warsaw and reaches down Krakow in the south. Russia has faced three major attackers along this axis; Napoleon, Wilhelm II, and Hitler. Most recently, the expansion of NATO and the European Union into Central and Eastern Europe has raised Russian hackles. Moscow would much prefer to control the lands between Russia and the Polish funnel &mdash; pushing as far west as possible &mdash; knowing full well that once an attacker has passed that narrow chokepoint, it is an open march to Russia&#39;s heartland. For this reason, Moscow seeks to occupy or influence its borderlands, or at the very least, maintain their neutrality. Looking beyond its indefensible borders and largely hollow interior, Russia boasts a diverse population of 144,463,450 people and a powerful military. These armed forces, backed by an autocratic political system, help protect the country&#39;s unwieldy land mass. Russia&#39;s economy is inherently fragile and highly dependent on commodity exports ranging from grain to energy. The country is traditionally at its most powerful when a strong, heavy-handed leader is in charge, such as current Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite this, though, the Kremlin must continually deal with internal political divisions, rising ethnic tensions and regional dissidence.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

Russia, Ukraine: Russia's Use of North Korean Missiles Deepens Ukraine's Air Defense Crisis

Armenia, Russia: Pashinyan Raises Arbitration Threat Over Russian Railway Concession

Poland, Russia: Suspected Russian Missile Crashes in Poland

Russia, Ukraine: Putin's Victory Pledge Raises Postelection Manpower Expansion Risk

Ukraine, Russia: Russia Strikes Defense Exhibition Near Kyiv in Daylight

West Africa: Russia's Africa Corps Secures First Military Shipment to Mali Through Togo

U.S., Russia, Ukraine: Rubio-Lavrov Meeting in Manila Predictably Yields No Breakthrough

EU: Bloc Agrees to Watered-Down 21st Russia Sanctions Package

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