Putin has signed a law that removes the Taliban and HTS from the list of terrorist organizations, according to ISW.

The Russian authorities are continuing to establish a legal framework to exclude the Taliban and HTS from the list of banned terrorist organizations. These decisions have multiple objectives. This information comes from UNN, citing a report from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Details

It is noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing the removal of the organizations "Taliban" and "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" (HTS) from the terrorist list.

According to Russian "military correspondents," such actions will promote political and economic rapprochement between Russia and the "Taliban," particularly by opening new trade routes through Afghanistan. The decree also creates opportunities for Russia to interact with the temporary Syrian government led by HTS. Analysts state that this will allow Russia to maintain military bases in Syria and ensure their security.

Key findings from the ISW report:

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be trying to ease potential tensions in Russian-Azerbaijani and Russian-Kazakh relations after the Russian air defense reportedly shot down a passenger plane from "Azerbaijan Airlines" on December 25, resulting in its crash in Kazakhstan.

Recently, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian storage, maintenance, and repair facility for "Shahed" drones in Oryol, Oryol Oblast.

The Russian authorities continue to lay the legal groundwork for removing the Taliban and "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" (HTS) from the official list of banned terrorist organizations.

Russian troops have advanced near Kreminna, Siversk, Toretsk, and Kurakhovo.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on December 28 that Russian military personnel have completed the autumn conscription for 2024.

Reminder

According to ISW, Russia continues to scale up the production of "Shahed" drones in anticipation of the winter campaign against Ukraine for 2024-2025, despite sanctions and technical limitations.