The year 2022 was also marked by war and crises. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine will soon be one year old. In Iran, large parts of the population have been protesting against the regime of the Islamic Republic for around three months. In this episode of “Handelsblatt Today”, International Correspondent Mathias Brüggmann talks about the situation in the two countries.
For the first time since the Russian attack on Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has visited his closest ally, Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, in Minsk. So far, the Belarusian troops have been able to stay out of the fighting in Ukraine. Now, however, the opposition fears Russia’s possible entry into the war: “Belarus is dependent on Russia’s finances, on cheap oil and gas and on many billions in loans. And at some point Putin will tighten the noose,” Brüggmann assesses the Belarusian room for manoeuvre.
The expert is rather pessimistic about the course of the war in the coming year: “Putin will not give up easily. As long as he can somehow, he will try to attack Ukraine, make territorial gains – and maybe hope that morale will drop at some point,” says Brüggmann. In a very cold winter, the attacks on civilian infrastructure such as water and power plants are “wearying” for the Ukrainian population. He believes a next wave of attacks could be imminent.
Iran: “The mullahs’ regime is not willing to compromise”
Brüggmann also talks to Ina Karabasz about the situation in Iran: Since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Iranian vice squad, a wave of protests has swept through the country, on the one hand the theocratic regime and on the other hand the associated precarious living conditions of the Iranian people strongly criticize the population.
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The protest movements were recently followed by a three-day general strike, which numerous business people joined in order to paralyze the country’s economy. Brüggmann sees parallels in the rulers of Iran with the head of the Kremlin: “The mullahs’ regime wants to preserve the theocracy and is not willing to make any compromises.”
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