Strategic Assessment
Since the start of the Ukrainian crisis, Russia has faced a web of new challenges in both the domestic and international arenas. As a result of the crisis, Russia is experiencing isolation and prolonged political pressure, while at the same time suffering from economic sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe due to its involvement in Ukraine. In order to escape the political isolation and save its faltering economy, Russia has initiated a series of international moves, especially in the Middle East. Through the creation of crises, Moscow seeks to end the economic sanctions and reverse the balance of Russian-Western relations, both in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Yet despite its efforts to expand the crises, Russia has still not succeeded in easing the Western political and economic pressure leveled against it.