United States

Iran

Russia

Military & Security

Russia has been providing Iran with targeting intelligence on U.S. military assets in the Middle East since the outbreak of hostilities on Feb. 28, including the locations of warships and aircraft, The Washington Post reported on March 6, citing U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Russia, Iran, U.S.: Moscow Reportedly Sharing Targeting Intelligence With Tehran

Europe

Ukraine

Economics

Energy

Russian President Vladimir Putin called a drone attack on the Russian-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker Arctic Metagaz in the Mediterranean a "terrorist attack," Russian state media RIA Novosti reported on March 4.

Russia, Ukraine: Putin Calls LNG Tanker Strike Terrorism, Floats Gas Cutoff to Europe

Israel

Politics

Alexey Likhachev, chief of Russia's Rosatom nuclear company, said a strike on Iran's Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant could cause a "regional-scale catastrophe," noting that Rosatom had lost contact with Iran's nuclear authorities, Interfax reported on March 3.

Russia, Iran: Rosatom Warns of Nuclear Risk Near Bushehr Plant

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Russian and Ukrainian officials said the next round of U.S.-mediated peace talks, previously expected March 5-6 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have not been canceled despite ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, Bloomberg reported on March 2.

Russia, Ukraine: Kremlin Says Peace Talks To Proceed Despite Iran Escalation

A local ceasefire took effect near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to enable repairs to a damaged external power line, Reuters reported on Feb. 27, citing Russian officials.

Russia, Ukraine: Temporary Truce at Zaporizhzhia Plant Masks Persistent Nuclear Risk

China

United Kingdom

Uzbekistan

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

The United Kingdom hosted the inaugural Central Asia-U.K. (CA5+UK) foreign ministers' meeting in London, the British Foreign Office said on Feb. 26.

Central Asia, U.K.: London Launches Critical Minerals Push Across the Region

Ukraine and the United States concluded bilateral talks in Geneva, Switzerland, that focused on Ukraine's security, reconstruction and preparations for the next trilateral round with Russia, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov announced on X on Feb. 26.

Ukraine, U.S.: Bilateral Talks in Geneva Conclude Amid Kremlin's Hardening Stance

France

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia had not yet achieved its objectives in Ukraine and that military operations would continue, but that Moscow remained open to political and diplomatic avenues to reach those goals, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Feb. 24.

Russia, Ukraine: Kremlin Says War Objectives Unmet, Military Operations To Continue

Assessments

A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a truck equipped with a machine gun during an air raid alert in Kyiv on Jan. 24, 2026, amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Russia's ability to sustain its war efforts despite mounting economic strain, combined with the U.S.'s new focus on Iran, makes meaningful progress in peace talks unlikely anytime soon.

Ukraine War Enters Its Fifth Year, With No Near End in Sight

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (left) shakes hands with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace on Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

Yerevan and Baku's efforts to finalize a peace treaty and realign toward the West will be tested by Russian influence operations ahead of Armenian elections and Iran's competing geopolitical interests.

To Escape Russia's Orbit, Armenia and Azerbaijan Turn to Each Other -- and the West

Palestinian Territories

Indonesia

Vietnam

Slovakia

Hungary

India

U.S. President Donald Trump (C) holds up his signature on the founding charter of the Board of Peace among other world leaders at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 22 in Davos, Switzerland.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

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

The Weekly Rundown: The Board of Peace Convenes, Russia-Ukraine-U.S. Talks in Geneva

Snapshots

United Arab Emirates

Emirati flags on Feb. 4 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. On Feb. 4-5, delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States held a second round of trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates.

The talks are unlikely to produce a near-term settlement, as Russia will continue to press its territorial demands while using diplomacy to manage sanctions pressure and build leverage ahead of a spring-summer offensive.

The Limits of Russia-Ukraine-U.S. Talks

Russian soldiers wear chemical protection suits as they stand next to a military fueler on the base of a prime mover of Russian Topol intercontinental ballistic missile during a training session at the Serpukhov's military missile forces research institute some 100km outside Moscow on April 6, 2010.

U.S.-China Relations

Over time, this will intensify an ongoing buildup of nuclear capabilities across the globe and make crises involving nuclear powers more unpredictable and prone to miscalculations. 


Implications of the Last Major U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Agreement's Expiration

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a meeting with European national security advisors in Kyiv on Jan. 3, 2026. 

The reshuffle seeks to strengthen Zelensky's negotiating position and mitigate the political fallout from a likely unfavorable peace deal amid weakening Western support and Russia's continued battlefield advances.

Ukraine's Government Reshuffle Signals Preparation for a Tough Peace Deal

Greenland

Denmark

Switzerland

A sniper police officer on the Congress hotel during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on Jan. 24, 2025, in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland.

The Weekly Rundown: Davos, Europe Steps Up Greenland Deployments

Romania

Moldova

Moldovan President Maia Sandu (R) and Romanian President Nicusor Dan on June 10, 2025, in Chisinau, Moldova. Sandu's backing of a hypothetical union signals that joining Romania could eventually emerge as an alternative strategy to Moldova's current plan to join the European Union as an independent state.

Maia Sandu's backing of a hypothetical union signals that joining Romania could eventually emerge as an alternative strategy to Moldova's current plan to join the European Union as an independent state.

Romanian-Moldovan Unification Remains Unlikely, Despite Moldovan President's Endorsement

Nigeria

Colombia

Cuba

Mexico

Venezuela

Taiwan

Norway

Pakistan

Cyber

Environment, Science & Technology

Global Trade

Social Issues

U.S.-Iran Relations

Science & Technology

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2026 highlights high-impact, low-probability risks and trends from the annual forecast presented in more extreme terms.

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2026

Media

Forecast Webcast

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

2026 Annual Geopolitical Forecast Webcast

The Danish-flagged DMS Lauge Koch, an offshore Royal Danish Navy patrol vessel, docks at the Port of Nuuk on March 12, 2025, in Nuuk, Greenland.

Scenarios for the coming year range from unilateral military action by the United States to a U.S.-Denmark agreement to expand Washington's capabilities on the island.


How Could the U.S. Seek To 'Take' Greenland?

Benin

Burkina Faso

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Madagascar

Mali

Niger

Rwanda

Canada

Paraguay

Egypt

Lebanon

Morocco

Qatar

Syria

Turkey

Yemen

Australia

Cambodia

Timor-Leste

Japan

Mongolia

Myanmar

Philippines

South Korea

Thailand

Bulgaria

Afghanistan

Nepal

Flight routes.

As 2026 approaches, we look back at the previous year and consider the top five patterns and trends as measured by geopolitical impact.

2025: A Geopolitical Review

<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, Iran, U.S.: Moscow Reportedly Sharing Targeting Intelligence With Tehran

Russia, Ukraine: Putin Calls LNG Tanker Strike Terrorism, Floats Gas Cutoff to Europe

Russia, Iran: Rosatom Warns of Nuclear Risk Near Bushehr Plant

Russia, Ukraine: Kremlin Says Peace Talks To Proceed Despite Iran Escalation

Russia, Ukraine: Temporary Truce at Zaporizhzhia Plant Masks Persistent Nuclear Risk

Central Asia, U.K.: London Launches Critical Minerals Push Across the Region

Ukraine, U.S.: Bilateral Talks in Geneva Conclude Amid Kremlin's Hardening Stance

Russia, Ukraine: Kremlin Says War Objectives Unmet, Military Operations To Continue

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