Kremlin quashes soldier's wives protest and bolsters backing for Iran, warns US thinktank

The US-based centre reflects on how towards the end of the 80s and the start of the 90s, Soviet leaders felt the significant influence of social movements led by Russian soldiers' relatives. As such, the Kremlin now likely intends to proactively censor and disparage similar movements before they can wield comparable influence.

ISW maintains that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have learnt from the Soviet Union's previous failures in fully censoring soldiers' relatives. As a result, his tactics have shifted to apply measured censorship and discrediting methods to thwart these movements before they gather steam.

The US think tank also stresses that the Kremlin is reinforcing its support for Iran. This is affirmed by the recent statement from the Russian foreign ministry this Saturday, denouncing the counterattacks on sites backed by Iran's militias in Iraq and Syria, executed by the US on Friday.

ISW highlights that the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, characterised the American counterstrikes as a "blatant act of American-British aggression". She argued that these actions underscore the "aggressive nature of the US policy" and its "total indifference to international law".

Zakharova also lambasted the UK for its involvement in Saturday's assault on Houthi objectives in Yemen. She stated that London "has yet to answer" for its "eagerness" in supporting provocative US policies.

ISW analysts underline that Russia often references international law to challenge the legitimacy of the US's actions in the Middle East.