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Jan 9, 2025 | 
telegraph.co.uk | Samuel Ramani
President-elect Donald Trump has rattled European leaders by urging Nato countries to drastically increase their defence spending. During his press conference at Mar-a-Lago yesterday, Trump declared “I think Nato should have 5 per cent. They can all afford but I think they should be at 5 per cent not 2 per cent.”Trump’s proclamation aligns with his past rhetoric and is a throwback to the latter stages of the Cold War.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
newarab.com | Samuel Ramani
On 19 December, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced that the Yemeni group had carried out a hypersonic ballistic missile strike on central Israel. One week later, the Israeli military retaliated by striking Sanaa International Airport, the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, and the infrastructure of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports. These tit-for-tat military actions set off a renewed spiral of escalation between Israel and the Houthis.
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Dec 11, 2024 | 
newarab.com | Samuel Ramani
On 8 December, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad fell from power after a rapid-fire offensive led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group. While Assad's ouster was widely celebrated in Syria and across the Arab world, the mood in Moscow was much less sanguine.
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Dec 9, 2024 | 
telegraph.co.uk | Samuel Ramani
British MP George Galloway (L) enjoys a friendly chat with the Saddam-era deputy prime minister of Iraq during a conference in Damascus in 2002 Credit: Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fallen from power in the most dramatic fashion possible. Less than two weeks after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels launched a rapid-fire offensive against Aleppo, Assad surrendered power in Damascus and went into exile. Assad’s demise poses a devastating blow to Russia and Iran’s...
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Dec 7, 2024 | 
thetimes.com | Samuel Ramani
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is struggling for survival. On November 27, a rebel coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a rapid-fire offensive against Assad’s forces. Barely a week later, Aleppo and Hama — Syria’s second and third largest cities respectively — had fallen under rebel control. Emboldened by these successes, Syrian opposition forces are carrying out offensive operations targeting Homs and are once again dreaming about regime change in Damascus.
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Dec 3, 2024 | 
telegraph.co.uk | Samuel Ramani
Last week, apparently catching the world by surprise, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels launched a surprise offensive against government-controlled positions in northwestern Syria. Within 72 hours, incredibly, they had expelled Assad’s troops from large swathes of Aleppo. HTS’s triumph restored a rebel presence to Aleppo for the first time in eight years and paved the way for the unfreezing of the Syrian Civil War.
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Nov 22, 2024 | 
telegraph.co.uk | Samuel Ramani
Putin has threatened escalation against the West Credit: Vyacheslav Prokofyev On Thursday evening, President Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian people on the escalation of the Ukraine War. Putin vowed to strike military facilities of countries that use their weapons against Russian facilities and warned that “in case of escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond resolutely in a mirror way.” Putin also decried the increasingly “global character” of the Ukraine War and blamed the West...
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
telegraph.co.uk | Samuel Ramani
Trump will attempt to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Russian President Vladimir Putin has quietly expressed openness to discussing a Ukraine ceasefire deal with US President-elect Donald Trump. Putin’s purported position was divulged to Reuters by five Kremlin insiders and added ammunition to Trump’s plans to freeze the Ukraine War at the start of his presidency. These are promising signs for Trump’s agenda, but is Russia ready to negotiate? The...
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Nov 17, 2024 | 
telegraph.co.uk | Samuel Ramani
Ukraine’s wait for permission to use US-made ATACM long-range missiles on Russian territory is finally over. President Joe Biden has greenlit Ukraine’s use of ATACMs against targets in the Kursk region, where Russian and North Korean forces are seeking to extricate their Ukrainian counterparts from ensconced positions. Biden’s decision is a groundbreaking Ukrainian diplomatic triumph.
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Nov 16, 2024 | 
telegraph.co.uk | Samuel Ramani
Credit: AFP Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to “do everything” to end Russia’s war against his country by “diplomatic means” in 2025. Zelensky conceded that President-elect Donald Trump’s return will hasten the end of the Ukraine war. Zelensky’s comments raised eyebrows as they departed from his typically defiant tone. At the February 2024 Munich Security Conference, Zelensky vowed that Ukraine would defend itself “with or without” allied support. At the UN General...
