January 1, 2024 –Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE officially joined BRICS.
January 2, 2024 – Türkiye announced it would not allow two minehunter ships donated by Britain to Ukraine to pass through its waters en route to the Black Sea. Ankara cited Article 19 of the Montreux Convention regarding the passage of warships during wartime, effectively preventing the escalation of naval presence in the Black Sea basin.
January 3, 2024 – Two explosions killed nearly 100 people in Kerman, Iran, during a memorial ceremony for General Qasem Soleimani. ISIS[1] claimed responsibility for the attack.
January 5, 2024 – North Korean coastal artillery fired hundreds of rounds near the South Korean islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong, forcing civilian evacuations. Seoul responded with live-fire drills.
January 7, 2024 – the UK government has announced a £300 million funded programme to manufacture fuel for next-generation nuclear reactors. The initiative aims to make the UK the first country in Western Europe to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel.
January 9, 2024 – The President of Ecuador declared a state of “Internal Armed Conflict” and ordered the military to neutralize 22 transnational organized crime gangs. The decree followed a wave of violence and the storming of a TV station.
January 11, 2024 – The Iranian Navy seized the US-linked oil tanker St. Nikolas in the Gulf of Oman.
January 12, 2024 – The USA and the UK launched a series of air and missile strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen (Operation Prosperity Guardian). This was the first major military response to the Houthi blockade of the Red Sea and their attacks on commercial shipping.
January 12, 2024 – The military junta of Myanmar and an alliance of ethnic armed groups agreed to a ceasefire in Shan State following mediation by Chinese officials. The deal highlighted Beijing’s growing role as a primary security broker in Southeast Asia and halted renewed fighting near the Chinese border.
January 14, 2024 – North Korea successfully test-fired a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead.
January 16, 2024 – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles at what it called “spy headquarters and terrorist targets” in Iraqi Kurdistan (Iraq), Syria, and Pakistan. This led to a brief but sharp military exchange with Pakistan (which retaliated on January 18). It was the first time IRGC officially approved use of Kheibar Shekan ballistic missiles to destroy the targets.
January 22, 2024 – NATO launched military exercise Steadfast Defender 2024, involving approximately 90,000 troops. The drills were designed to simulate a conflict with a
“near-peer adversary” (implicitly Russia) and test the alliance’s ability to reinforce Europe’s eastern flank quickly.
January 26, 2024 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered an interim ruling ordering Israel to take all measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.
January 28, 2024 – The governments of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced their immediate withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). These nations have increasingly severed ties with France and the West while strengthening security cooperation with Russia.
February 1, 2024 – During a visit to Hormozgan Province, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi issued an order to start the construction of the nuclear power plant in Sirik (estimated electricity generation capacity of the NPP is about 5,000 megawatts).
February 2, 2024 – The US military launched airstrikes against over 85 targets linked to Iran’s IRGC and affiliated militias in Iraq and Syria. The strikes were a response to a drone attack on a US base in Jordan (Tower 22) that killed three American troops in late January.
February 3, 2024 – the Russian Navy launched its fifth Borei-A Class nuclear missile submarine Knyaz Pozharsky (also known as Project 955A), equipped with 16 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
February 8, 2024 – Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz has sent a congratulatory message to Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution. It is the first such congratulatory message from the Saudi king to the Iranian leadership since the two Gulf neighbors agreed to restore diplomatic ties in 2023.
February 8, 2024 – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone conversation, reaffirming their opposition to US interference in other nations’ affairs and pledging to deepen strategic cooperation.
February 8, 2024 – Westinghouse has signed an agreement with Community Nuclear Power Limited for the construction of four AP300 small modular reactors in the North Teesside region of northeast England. It would be the UK’s first privately-financed SMR fleet.
February 13, 2024 – the USA and Bulgaria have signed an intergovernmental agreement to cooperate on the development of the European country’s civil nuclear programme, including the plan for new units at the Kozloduy NPP.
February 14, 2024 – US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner publicly warned of a “serious national security threat”, later identified by officials as a developmental Russian space-based anti-satellite nuclear capability. Moscow dismissed the claims, but the event sparked a global debate on the militarization of space.
February 16, 2024 – During visits to Berlin and Paris, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky signed long-term bilateral security agreements with Germany and France. These pacts institutionalized Western military and financial support for Kiev for the next decade, regardless of NATO membership status.
February 16, 2024 – The annual Munich Security Conference began in Germany, dominated by calls for increased military aid to Ukraine and European defense spending.
February 17, 2024 – Russian forces took full control of the fortified city of Avdeevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (Russia).
February 24, 2024 – ECOWAS announced the lifting of strict economic sanctions on Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
February 24, 2024 – Two years have passed since Russia started its Special Military Operation in Ukraine.
February 26, 2024 – The Hungarian parliament voted to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, which was the final obstacle to the alliance’s expansion.
February 28, 2024 – A Congress of Deputies of Transnistria (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) adopted a resolution appealing to Russia for “protection” against an economic blockade by the Moldovan government.
March 1, 2024 – The leaked recording of four German officers, including the head of Germany’s Air Force, Ingo Gerhartz, discussing the deployment of the German Taurus missiles in Ukraine, was published and caused a serious scandal in Europe.
March 1, 2024 – President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia had no intention to deploy nuclear weapons in space.
March 2, 2024 – The political situation in Haiti deteriorated after the criminal gangs G9 and G-Pip fighting for political power in the country attacked two prisons in Port–au-Prince and Croix-de-Bouc and released the detainees.
March 2, 2024 – Pakistan’s National Assembly elected Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister.
March 6, 2024 – President Vladimir Putin held negotiations with the IAEA Director–General Rafael Grossi in the Kremlin to discuss the issue of the attacked Zaporozhskaya NPP.
March 6, 2024 – The Ukrainian troops were reported to have been deployed in Sudan in 2023 to participate in the civil war there and support the Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council in exchange for arms supplies.
March 7, 2024 – The Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Kingdom of Sweden entered into force and Sweden officially became a member of NATO.
March 11, 2024 – Jens Stoltenberg claimed that NATO had no intention to increase the number of allied countries with deployed nuclear weapons after the Sweden entrance.
March 12, 2024 – The main part of the international naval exercises Maritime Security Belt conducted by Russia, China and Iran started in the Northern part of the Indian Ocean.
March 12, 2024 – The Prime Minister of Armenia Nicol Pashinyan stated that Armenia will withdraw from the CSTO if the organization does not address the issues raised by Armenia.
March 15, 2024 – The Netherlands picked France’s Naval Group as a supplier of four attack submarines in a project worth €5.65 billion.
March 16, 2024 – Niger revoked the military cooperation agreement with the United States.
March 17, 2024 – The US Air Force conducted successful test of AGM-183 hypersonic missile from the U.S. Andersen Air Force Base on Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
March 18, 2024 – The US Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced that the United States is willing to engage in bilateral arms control discussions with Russia and China.
March 18, 2024 – The Prime Minister of Armenia Nicol Pashinyan announced the beginning of the process of demarcation and delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
March 22, 2024 – ISIS–K[2] conducted a coordinated dreadful terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow. The attack killed 150 people and injured more than 600.
March 28, 2024 – Naval Group (France) and PT PAL (Indonesia) signed a contract for 2 locally built Scorpène Evolved Full LiB submarines for Indonesia.
April 1, 2024 – Israel launched a missile attack on the diplomatic quarter in Damascus where Iranian diplomatic institutions were targeted with a commander of al-Quds force and senior Iranian military official Mohammad Reza Zahedi being killed.
April 2, 2024 – North Korea tested Hwasong-16B, a multistage, solid-fueled rocket engine for a presumably “new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile”.
April 5, 2024 – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko approved bringing in a bill on suspending the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty into the House of Representatives of the National Assembly.
April 7, 2024 – Gen. Charles Flynn, the US Army Pacific commander in an interview with Yonhap News Agency stated that the USA will deploy ground-based launchers capable of firing SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles in the Indo-Pacific region to address “rising security threats”, amid escalating tensions in the region.
April 12, 2024 – The US accelerated the deployment of a strike group of fighter jets and navy warships to the Middle East, as the region braced for possible attacks by Iran and its allies.
April 13, 2024 – Iran seized the MSC Aries commercial ship with links to Israel as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
April 14, 2024 – Iran launched a full-scale attack on Israel with 350 different means, namely drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles in response to the Israeli attack on the diplomatic quarter in Damascus (Operation True Promise).
April 15, 2024 – Massive protests broke out in Tbilisi over the introduction of a “foreign agents” bill, which was met with dissatisfaction by the opposition.
April 17, 2024 – The Russian peacekeepers began withdrawing from Karabakh ahead of schedule in accordance with the agreed decision of the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan.
April 24, 2024 – Reports indicated that the United States covertly supplied Ukraine with ATACMS missiles as part of a March 2024 military assistance shipment.
May 1, 2024 – India successfully tested a Supersonic Missile-Assisted Torpedo Release (SMART) system from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
May 7, 2024 – After ceasefire talks with HAMAS failed, Israel proceeded with a military operation and gained control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing.
May 7, 2024 – OPCW could not allege for sure whether chemical weapons were used during the Ukraine conflict due to lack of data obtained.
May 7, 2024 – Belarus announced unscheduled exercises with tactical nuclear weapons.
May 8, 2024 – The US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed the Biden administration halted a shipment of high-payload munitions to Israel over its Rafah operation.
May 9–16, 2024 – U.S. forces took part in the Swift Response Drills held in Moldova.
May 15, 2024 – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting.
May 19, 2024 – The Armed Forces of the DRC prevented a coup attempt.
May 19, 2024 – Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash. In addition to Raisi, the crash also killed Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, and the Imam of Tabriz.
May 22, 2024 – Ireland, Norway, and Spain officially recognized Palestine as an independent state.
May 24, 2024 – The Agreement between the Russian Federation and Japan on Cooperation in Assisting the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was terminated.
May 27, 2024 – Ukraine and Spain signed 10-year bilateral political agreement on security and defense in Madrid.
June 5, 2024 – NATO started naval exercise Baltops-2024 in the Baltic Sea. More than 20 nations participate; increased operational activity near Russian borders.
June 13-15, 2024 – G7 Summit in Italy took place. Leaders approve a mechanism to channel profits from frozen Russian sovereign assets into financial support for Ukraine.
June 15-16, 2024 – Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland, organized by Swiss President Viola Amerd, took place. A large group of Global South states declined to sign the final communiqué of the Summit.
June 19, 2024 – Russia and North Korea sign a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement”. The pact includes a clause on mutual military assistance in the event of aggression.
June 26, 2024 – Attempted military coup in Bolivia. A faction of the military briefly occupies government buildings; the mutiny is suppressed.
July 3, 2024 – Vladimir Putin met with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Astana. The leaders discussed deepening strategic partnership and jointly responding to common security threats.
July 9-11, 2024 – Washington NATO Summit (75th Anniversary). The Alliance reaffirms Ukraine’s accelerated path toward membership and expands military assistance programs.
July 10, 2024 – NATOmember states agreed to establish an Integrated Cyber Defence Centre. The Centre became a part of NATO military commanders’ informing system on possible threats and vulnerabilities in cyberspace, including privately-owned civilian critical infrastructures necessary to support military activities.
July 14-16, 2024 – Houthi attacks on southern Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping lanes. The US and the UK respond with strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen.
July 28, 2024 – Masoud Pezeshkian, representing the reformist coalition, became the President of Iran.
August 10-12, 2024 – Large-scale cyberattacks on energy systems in Germany, Czechia, and Poland. EU officials cite evidence of coordinated external involvement.
August 14-16, 2024 – Internal conflict in Niger. Clashes erupt between the ruling junta and elements loyal to the former government; the junta accuses France of interference.
September 11, 2024 – The first head-to-head debate of the 2024 US presidential election campaign took place between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The debate highlighted the candidates’ divergent approaches to Russia. While Kamala Harris implicitly reiterated the necessity of strong support for Ukraine, Trump emphasized his ability to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, claiming he could bring the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to an end.
September 15, 2024 – An assassination attempt was made on Donald Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, the State of Florida, the US The incident triggered a massive wave of public sympathy, which solidified Trump’s support base and potentially swayed floating voters.
September 17-18, 2024 – In an Israeli cyberattack dubbed Operation Grim Beeper thousands of pagers intended for use by Hezbollah members simultaneously exploded across Lebanon and Syria. This incident was described as Hezbollah’s biggest security breach since the start of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2023. It led to a surge in violence across the region.
September 22-23, 2024 – the Summit of the Future was held at the UN Headquarters in New York. The primary goal was to address critical gaps in global governance and reaffirm commitment to the UN Charter and the Sustainable Development Goals. The central outcome was the adoption of the Pact for the Future, a non-binding but politically significant document intended to guide multilateral cooperation in various key areas. Russia voted against the document because the amendment concerning the non-interference of the UN in the internal affairs of states was omitted from it.
September 23, 2024 – The Israel defense forces (IDF) started a limited-scale ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon (Operation Northern Arrows).
September 25, 2024 – President Vladimir Putin has publicly chaired a meeting of the Security Council on nuclear deterrence. During the meeting several updates to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, regarding the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons, were announced.
September 27, 2024 – In a targeted airstrike the Israeli military eliminated the leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah. The strike, which hit a secure Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, marked one of the most significant escalations in the region. Other Hezbollah leaders immediately declared a total and open war against Israel, vowing severe retaliation.
September 29, 2024 – Legislative elections were held in Austria to elect the lower house of country’s bicameral parliament. The far-right Freedom Party of Austria emerged victorious, marking the first time a far-right party won the most seats in a legislative election in Austria after World War II. The Freedom Party of Austria is known for its criticism of Western sanctions against Russia and its advocacy for strict migration policies. Its victory reflected a broader surge in support for right-wing parties across Europe.
October 1, 2024 – Iran launched Operation True Promise II against Israel, firing nearly 200 ballistic missiles at targets across Israel. The attack, described as the largest in the ongoing conflict between the two nations, was claimed by Tehran as a direct retaliation for Israel’s assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
October 1, 2024 – Mark Rutte, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, assumed the position of NATO Secretary General, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg. This appointment signaled NATO’s unwavering continuation of support for Ukraine and intensification of its anti-Russian course, shattering any illusions about the possibility of normalizing dialogue in the foreseeable future.
October 1, 2024 – Shigeru Ishiba became the president of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Prime Minister of Japan. His policy agenda, centered on the push for an “Asian NATO” and constitutional revision, signaled a clear intent to transform Japan into a full-spectrum military power, moving beyond its post-war defense-oriented posture. Regarding territorial disputes with Russia, Shigeru Ishiba reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to resolving the territorial dispute and signing a peace treaty with Russia, while simultaneously expressing support for the sanctions regime against it.
October 2, 2024 – The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared UN Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata due to his unwillingness to unequivocally condemn Iran after its massive missile attack on Israeli territory and to recognize HAMAS as a terrorist organization.
October 4, 2024 –Chinese Coast Guard and Russian Border Service vessels have conducted a joint patrol in the Arctic Ocean for the first time.
October 9, 2024 – A group of Iranian parliamentarians called on the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic to authorize the creation of nuclear weapons due to the threats from Israel. Iran’s defense doctrine, following a fatwa by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, considers the development of nuclear weapons to be contrary to the principles of Islam.
October 14, 2024 – China conducted one of its largest military exercises, codenamed Joint Sword – 2024B in the Taiwan Strait. This was a direct response to the statements by Taiwan’s leader affirming the island’s readiness to defend its national sovereignty.
October 15, 2024 – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) destroyed all road and railway connections with South Korea. The North Korean government justified this decision by citing a corresponding amendment to its Constitution, which designates the Republic of Korea as a hostile state, alongside the removal of the clause concerning the pursuit of peaceful reunification of the two states. Relations between the countries had previously deteriorated after South Korean drones, which were distributing propaganda leaflets, were detected in the airspace over Pyongyang.
October 20, 2024 – Presidential elections and a referendum on the country’s membership in the EU took place in Moldova. The incumbent president Maia Sandu and Alexandr Stoianoglo have advanced to the second round, while the proposal to enshrine the strategic course for European Union accession in the country’s constitution received support by a minimal margin of votes.
October 22-24, 2024 – The BRICS summit took place in Kazan. It demonstrated Russia’s enduring capacity to remain a central actor in global politics despite extensive Western sanctions. The Kazan declaration expressed Russia’s support for peace initiative by China and Brazil on ending the Ukrainian conflict as well as a call for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and the admission of Palestine to the UN as a full member. In the final document (the Kazan Declaration), summit participants also emphasized the inclusiveness of the Sustainable Development Goals, the role of new BRICS members, the development of the financial and technological sectors, and the strengthening of cooperation within the BRICS+ framework, outlining a vision for the future of the association in a multipolar world.
October 24, 2024 – The Russian State Duma ratified the Treaty on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Treaty envisages mutual military assistance.
October 26, 2024 – Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia. The Georgian Dream Party managed to secure victory, a result that opposition parties decried as marred, thus, triggering a powerful wave of protests across the country.
November 1, 2024 – Poland announced the start of a line construction of defensive fortifications on the border with the Russian Federation as part of the Eastern Shield program.
November 4, 2024 – The DPRK tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (Hwasong-19) that reached an altitude of 7,687 kilometres.
November 13, 2024 – South Korea, the US, and Japan conducted the trilateral Freedom Edge exercises, during which actions in cyberspace, air defense and anti-submarine warfare were practiced.
November 14, 2024 – Bolivia has received an invitation to become a BRICS partner state.
November 16, 2024 – The US Navy has begun deploying Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft to RAF Lossiemouth in north-east Scotland, the first time since the Cold War that the US Navy has deployed them amid growing concerns in London and Washington about Russia’s activities in the North Atlantic and Arctic.
November 19, 2024 – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has approved the foundations of the state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence.
November 19, 2024 – The 11th session of the commission was held in Pyongyang. It was co-chaired by Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov and DPRK External Economic Relations Minister Yun Jong Ho.
November 21, 2024 – President Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck Ukraine with a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile Oreshnik (designated by NATO as new version of SS-X-31) in response to Kiev’s use of US and British missiles against Russia.
November 21, 2024 – The Economic Congress of the VI International Municipal Forum of the BRICS Countries opened in St. Petersburg.
November 25, 2024 – Аn extensive Russian delegation, which also included Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, held four meetings with Afghanistan’s Vice Prime Minister Mohammad Abdul Kabir, Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob, and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani.
November 26-27, 2024 – The ‘World of Opportunities: Russia–ASEAN’ International Business Forum took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Special attention was given to economic and financial partnerships, along with transportation, technology, innovation, cybersecurity, science and education, medicine, and tourism.
November 27, 2024 – President Yun Seok-yel met with a special envoy of the Ukrainian government and announced that the two countries will seek ways to effectively respond to security threats caused by military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
December 3, 2024 – In a move to strengthen the country’s maritime strength, the Indian Navy is set to introduce indigenously designed nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) by 2036. Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, the Navy Chief, announced this development during a press briefing ahead of Navy Day, marking a pivotal moment in India’s defense strategy.
December 4, 2024 – The Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea officially came into force.
December 6, 2024 – The leaders of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have agreed on formation of common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said at an extended meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
December 8, 2024 – The armed opposition in Syria has completed its March on Damascus Operation. President Bashar al-Assad has resigned. Armed opposition’s leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became the de facto leader of Syria as the General Commander and head of the New Syrian Administration.
December 17, 2024 – The South Korean authorities have imposed unilateral sanctions against 11 individuals and 15 organizations from Russia, as well as against high-ranking members of the DPRK army for alleged “illegal military cooperation” between the countries.
December 19-22, 2024 – The Vietnam Defense Expo 2024. Russia’s exposition held under the auspices of Rosoboronexport occupied an area of over 700 square meters and featured more than 400 samples of military, civilian and dual-use products developed and manufactured by leading Russian enterprises, including those belonging to the Rostec State Corporation.
December 26, 2024 – Based upon accumulated discussion primarily through the Extended Deterrence Dialogue (EDD), the Governments of Japan and the United States have formulated the Guidelines for Extended Deterrence. This document reinforces the Alliance’s existing consultation and communication procedures related to extended deterrence. The Guidelines also address strategic messaging to maximize deterrence and enhance measures for US extended deterrence, bolstered by Japan’s defense capabilities.
December 28, 2024 – The President signed Federal Law on Denunciation by the Russian Federation of the Framework Agreement on a Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation and the Protocol on Claims, Litigation and Exemption from Financial Liability to the Framework Agreement on a Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation.
[1] hereinafter – terrorist organization banned in Russia – Editor’s note.
[2] hereinafter – terrorist organization banned in Russia – Editor’s note.
