The loss of Aleppo is a major reversal for Damascus and its allies and will return the issue of Syria to the top of the agenda in Russia-Türkiye relations.

The fact that the Russian elites have such high hopes for Trump speaks volumes. Internally, they are striving for normalization, rationalization, and pragmatism: things that Putin cannot give them.

The military value of Russia’s strike on Ukraine using the new Oreshnik missile was limited. The Kremlin’s real intent was to intimidate Europeans.

Even if the Abkhazian opposition manages to capitalize on its success by putting forward a successful candidate in the upcoming presidential election, the next leader will still have to find common ground with Moscow.

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Alexander Baunov, editor-in-chief of Carnegie Politika and a senior fellow at Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, to discuss the upcoming Trump presidency and what effect it may have on Russian foreign policy and the war in Ukraine.

If even a peace proposal from Trump is rejected by Putin, then it means the demise of the Russian “victory plan” and any remote prospect of ending the war.