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What did late December 2020 show about Russian deployments?
Summary
Two reports from 21 and 22 December 2020 placed Russian military activity in East Asia and Central Africa.
What was Russia's military doing beyond Europe in the days before 25 December 2020? Two reports from the preceding days point to East Asia and Central Africa.
On 22 December 2020, South Korea said it had scrambled fighter jets after four Chinese and fifteen Russian military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said China had notified it in advance of a joint military exercise between China and Russia.
On 21 December 2020, Rwanda deployed what it called a protection force to the Central African Republic after its peacekeepers were attacked by rebel forces advancing on the capital, Bangui. The Rwandan and Central African Republic governments accused former President François Bozizé of backing the rebels and plotting a coup, which he denied. Russia also sent troops and heavy weaponry to support the government.
What the reports show
The two episodes are separate. In one, Russian aircraft took part in a joint exercise with China that Seoul had been told about in advance. In the other, Russia sent troops and heavy weaponry to back a government facing a rebel advance. Both reports describe Russian military activity far from its borders in the same week.
