Russia–United States proxy conflict

Russia–United States proxy conflict
	Part of the Post-Soviet conflicts
	; Russia United States Major proxy conflict locations
Date	26 December 1991 – present; (32 years, 7 months and 1 day)
Location	Global
Status	Ongoing: Russo-Georgian War; Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War; American involvement in the Syrian Civil War; War in Donbass; Yemeni Civil War; Venezuelan presidential crisis; Russo-Ukrainian War Russian invasion of Ukraine; ;
Belligerents
Russia	United States
Yugoslav Wars (1991–2001) FR Yugoslavia; Republika Srpska; Serbian Krajina; Western Bosnia (from 1993)	Croatia; Slovenia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Herzeg-Bosnia; KLA
Syrian Civil War (2011–present) Syria; Hezbollah; Iran; PMF Support: China ; Iraq ; Alleged support: North Korea ; Algeria ; Egypt ; Cuba ;	; Syrian opposition (2011–17); Free Syrian Army (2011–17); Army of Conquest (2015–17) Support: Turkey ; Qatar ; Libya (2012–14) ;
Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present) Donetsk People's Republic; Luhansk People's Republic	; Ukraine Support: Estonia ; Lithuania ;
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Supreme Political Council; Houthis; Ahrar al-Najran Support: Iran ; Alleged support: North Korea ; Hezbollah ; Iraq ; Syria ; Oman ; Qatar ; Eritrea ;	; Cabinet of Yemen; Sudan; UAE; Bahrain; Kuwait; Qatar; (until 5 June 2017); Jordan; Djibouti; Egypt; Senegal; United States; Al-Qaeda Support: Somalia ; Turkey;
Commanders and leaders
Vladimir Putin; (President of Russia); Mikhail Mishustin; (Prime Minister of Russia); Sergey Shoygu; (Ministry of Defence); Bashar al-Assad; (President of Syria); Hassan Nasrallah; (Secretary-General of Hezbollah); Hadi Al-Amiri; (Leader of the Badr Organization); Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi; (Leader of Ansar Allah); Qais al-Khazali; (Secretary-General of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq) ; Akram al-Kaabi; (Secretary-General of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba) ; Nouri al-Maliki (Vice President of Iraq); Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (Deputy Chairman of Popular Mobilization Committee); Abu Ala al-Walai (Secretary-General of Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada); Nicolás Maduro; (President of Venezuela) Former leaders Boris Yeltsin † (1991–1999); Yegor Gaidar (1992); Viktor Chernomyrdin (1992–1998); Sergey Kiriyenko (1998); Yevgeny Primakov (1999–1999); Sergei Stepashin (1999); Vladimir Putin (1999–2000; 2008–2012); Mikhail Kasyanov (2000–2004); Mikhail Fradkov (2004–2007); Viktor Zubkov (2007–2008; 2012); Dmitry Medvedev (2008–2020); Radovan Karadžić (1992-1996); Saleh Ali al-Sammad † (−2018); Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim; Abdul Aziz al-Hakim; Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil (Leader of Hezbollah Al-Hejaz); Hugo Chávez † (1999–2013); Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi † (2004);	Joe Biden; (President of the United States); Kamala Harris; (Vice President of the United States); Lloyd Austin; (Secretary of Defense); Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi; (President of Yemen); Juan Guaidó; (Acting President of Venezuela); Volodymyr Zelenskyy; (President of Ukraine) Former leaders George H. W. Bush † (1991–93); Bill Clinton (1993–2001); George W. Bush (2001–2009); Barack Obama (2001–2017); Alija Izetbegović † (1992–96); Mutlaq bin Salem Al Azima (2011–2014); (Former Commander of the PSF);
Units involved
Russian Armed Forces; Hezbollah; Syrian Armed Forces; Iranian Armed Forces; Republican Guard; Houthi fighters; Yemen Armed Forces (pro-Saleh); Popular Mobilization Forces; Korean People's Army; National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela (pro-Maduro and Chávez);	United States Armed Forces; Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia; Peninsula Shield Force; Bahrain Defence Force; Free Syrian Army; Yemen Armed Forces (pro-Hadi); National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela (pro-Guaidó);

Script error: No such module "Draft topics". Script error: No such module "AfC topic".

The Russia–United States proxy conflict, sometimes also referred to as the Russia–United States Cold War^[47]^[48] and the Second Cold War^[49] is the ongoing period of struggle for world influence between the Russian Federation and the United States of America. The two countries have provided varying degrees of support to opposing sides in world conflicts, most visibly the current wars in Syria, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and disputes in the Persian Gulf, Levant, Venezuela and Iran.^[50]

Background[edit]

Cold War[edit]

History[edit]

1990s[edit]

On 31 March 1991 the Yugoslav Wars started and resulted in the Breakup of Yugoslavia. Russia supported Yugoslavia.^{[citation needed]}

2000s[edit]

2010s[edit]

After the US withdrawal from Syria in late 2019, Russia moved forces into the area, and mediated various arrangements and agreements between various parties to the conflict.

Involved parties[edit]

Russian supporters and proxies[edit]

Iran[edit]

Russia has been aligned with Iran for years. It intervened in Syria to provide support for the Assad government and to target rebel groups, working together with Iran and using Iranian air bases to stage air strikes.^[51] It also joined Iran, Iraq, and Syria in forming a joint intelligence-sharing coalition as part of the fight against ISIL.^[52] The alliance coincided with the US-led coalition created a year earlier to fight ISIL. The competing military actions were seen as part of a larger proxy conflict between the United States and Russia.^[53]^[54]^[55] However, Russia's tie with Saudi Arabia has become increasingly warmed since 2010s despite numerous differences, thus sometimes affected Iran's stance on relations with Russia.^[56]

Syria[edit]

Russia has been a military ally of Syria since 1956, and during the Syrian Civil War it continued supplying Syria's government with arms, sending military and technical advisers to train Syrian soldiers to use the Russian-made weapons, and helping to repair and maintain Syrian weapons.^[57] Investigations by reporters suggest that Russia is helping to keep the Syrian economy afloat by transporting hundreds of tonnes of banknotes into the country by airplane.^[58]

Donetsk People's Republic[edit]

Luhansk People's Republic[edit]

North Korea[edit]

Yugoslavia and Serbia[edit]

Houthis[edit]

Iran and its allies, along with Russia, have been allegedly been support the Houthis. (including Hezbollah, Qatar, North Korea, Iraq, Venezuela, and Oman (even though Oman claims to be neutral)^[59] However, it has almost never been at 'official' support.^[60]^[61]^[62]

Hezbollah[edit]

Russia does not consider Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization and allegedly supplies the group with weapons.^[63] Hezbollah has long been an ally of the Ba'ath Party government of Syria, led by the Al-Assad family and helped the Syrian government in its fight against the armed Syrian opposition. As early as November 2011, The Jerusalem Post reported that protesters in Syria, enraged at Hezbollah's support for the Syrian government, burnt Hezbollah flags and images of Nasrallah,^[64] while pro-government protesters have carried posters of Nasrallah.^[65]

In August 2012, the United States sanctioned Hezbollah for its alleged role in the war.^[66] Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah denied Hezbollah had been fighting on behalf of the Syrian government, stating in a 12 October 2012 speech that "right from the start the Syrian opposition has been telling the media that Hezbollah sent 3,000 fighters to Syria, which we have denied".^[67] However, he said that Hezbollah fighters have gone to Syria independently and died there doing their "jihadist duties".^[68] Hezbollah states it supports a process of reforms in Syria and is against what it calls US plots to destabilize and interfere in Syria.^[69]

In January–February 2012, Hezbollah fighters were reported to have helped the government fight the rebels in Damascus and in the Battle of Zabadani.^[70] Later that year, Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon and took over eight villages in the Al-Qusayr District of Syria.^[71] According to the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper, Nasrallah said that Hezbollah fighters helped the Syrian government "retain control of some 23 strategically located villages [in Syria] inhabited by Shiites of Lebanese citizenship".^[68] In September 2012, Hezbollah's commander in Syria, Ali Hussein Nassif, was killed along with several other Hezbollah militants in an ambush by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) near Al-Qusayr.^[72]

Iraqi militias[edit]

Various Iraqi groups, many of them as part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, have been described as Iranian proxies while garnishing large support from Russia.^[73]^[74]

Maduro supporters in Venezuela[edit]

American supporters and proxies[edit]

NATO[edit]

Saudi Arabia[edit]

Georgia[edit]

Others[edit]

Other involved parties[edit]

Turkey[edit]

United Arab Emirates and other GCC countries[edit]

India[edit]

Pakistan[edit]

Involvement in World conflicts[edit]

Syrian Civil War[edit]

From early stages of the Syrian conflict, Russia, under its contractual obligations, delivered ammunition and weapons to the Syrian government;^[75] in early 2012 Russia's contracts with Syria for arms were unofficially estimated to be worth 1.5 billion US dollars, comprising 10% of Russia's global arms sales.^[75] The arms sales to the Syrian government provoked criticism on the part of Western as well as some Arab nations.^[75] The Russian government dismissed criticism noting that the arms sales to Syria did not violate any standing arms embargoes.^[75]