As conflict rages in Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and the embattled Ukrainian army, a resurgent and belligerent Kremlin is casting its eye around the former Soviet Union, eager to shore up influence in its former colonial territories. All eyes are currently on Europe, but – while the battle for the Donbass is grabbing the headlines – the Kremlin is also looking east, towards the five Muslim states of Central Asia, viewed by Moscow as a bulwark between Russia's southern borders and the restive badlands of Afghanistan.
Russia's War Against Ukraine