Vladimir Rozanskij

The Kremlin is seeking to strengthen its control of the CSTO, the political-military bloc that incorporates several former Soviet republics. Putin wants a right of "coordination". The member states have not yet ratified the changes demanded by Russia. In Kazakhstan, part of the population is asking to leave the alliance.

Used as a universal symbol of support for the Russian government and its "special military operation" on Ukrainian soil. An artificial sign of Putin's totalitarianism. But young Russians do not lend themselves to the regime's propaganda.

With 5,530 punitive measures, Russia is the most affected country in the world. The likely risk of becoming a global "financial pariah". Crises are expected in all sectors, from banking to construction. China will not be able to compensate for the lack of Russian gas and oil exports to Europe.

Many Orthodox teachers, priests and artists are reacting to Patriarch Kirill's homily on war and the "moral invasions" of the West. These appeals were immediately censored and sanctioned in Russia, but spread by faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate living abroad. "The body of Christ that is the Church is being torn apart by the weapons of Russian soldiers". And they remember when Solzhenitsyn wrote: "I would not allow my children to take part in a conflict with the Ukrainians".

The invasion ordered by Putin has caused a generational split: young people criticise the regime, the elderly support the Russian president. According to Kremlin propaganda, Ukrainians are bombing their own homes. The conflict is destroying family units in Russia.

President Tokaev talks with Putin and Zelensky. Kazakh authorities and companies worried about the fallout from the conflict and Western sanctions against Russia. In terms of the Kremlin's geopolitical aims, with a large population of Russian origin, Kazakhstan's situation is similar to that of Ukraine.

It was the point of tension between Kiev and Moscow before the Russian attack. Since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine has garnered a true sense of natonal unity. Ukrainian army cleansed of out-of-control militias in Donbass. The Kremlin will not easily achieve victory.

The humanitarian association is reference point for schools of thought not aligned with Putin. With the invasion of Ukraine, the regime's warlike and hyper-nationalist rhetoric needs to eliminate alternative voices. Memorial activists are circulating cartoons that highlight the grotesque reality Russians are forced to live with.

The exclusion from the Swift banking system and the freezing of the Russian Central Bank's assets decided by the West are a heavy blow for the Kremlin. There is a risk of collapse of the rouble and a run on ATMs. The US and Europe want to trigger a popular protest and push Putin to negotiate.

In many Ukrainian churches of the Moscow Patriarchate, the name of Patriarch Kirill was not mentioned during Sunday liturgies. The Moscow Orthodox hierarchy allegedly did not approve of the invasion. From the conflict a possible push for the reunion of all the Churches of Ukraine.

The leader of the Russian Orthodo church calls for assistance to refugees and the needy, for mutual understanding between the conflicting parties. For Putin, however, the attack was inevitable: the defence of Russian values from Western aggression.

65.2% share the position of the autocephalous Church, which supports the government in Kiev. Patriarch Kirill (Gundjaev) has so far avoided commenting on the issue, and as early as 2014 had distanced himself from the annexation of Crimea