The war in Gaza has given the Kremlin powerful grounds for accusing the West of double standards. This explains why President Vladimir Putin's rhetoric has changed to sound more anti-Israeli.

Workers in former Soviet states have long headed for work over the border, but migrants ending up in the army are now a deterrent and alongside lower wages, jobs are now on offer elsewhere

Moscow has had a longstanding relationship with Hamas. It seeks to erode a US-led world order that Putin calls an "ugly neo-colonial system" coming to an end in favour of a multipolar world.

The grain deal between Russia and China is part of a growing trade portfolio and has important implications for both countries and the rest of the world.

Russia's credibility in the region was diminished by its backing of the Syrian regime, so it has limited cards to play. But Moscow stands to benefit from Western distraction in its war on Ukraine.

Kyiv now controls state-of-the-art armour. Its strategies will determine if the hardware can help change a complex war under skies it does not control, or if the arrival is just symbolic.

Politics were played down when Russia brought former Soviet states into a trading bloc to counter the EU. But suspicions over deeper motives were there from the start. Sanctions are a major test.

Microsoft customers will no longer be able to renew services in Russia. Meanwhile, local substitutes like Astra, RedOS, and BaseAlt vie for a higher market share.

After almost three decades, Azerbaijan has restored its sovereignty over Karabakh. More than half of 120,000 or so Armenians have already left and many more are expected to follow.

A once-unshakeable alliance has been disrupted by a one-sided dependency and a feeling of unrepaid loyalty as Putin's invasion of Ukraine echoes through his near-neighbours as well as the wider world