It has long been suspected that Vladimir Putin’s ambitions do not stop at Ukraine.
European allies have argued that helping Kyiv hold steady in the face of Russian aggression is stopping the Kremlin from seizing sovereign territory in other countries.
And while Russia has not taken any other territory outside of Ukraine for the last three years, there’s no doubt that Moscow is trying out new ways of extending its influence to other parts of the world.
Here’s a look at just three of the latest examples where the Kremlin is trying – and, in some cases, failing – to exert its influence on other smaller nations.
Russia’s interference in Georgia
Once part of the Soviet Union, Georgia borders Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the Black Sea.
The country’s October election was expected to reflect the growing body of support for leaning more closely towards Europe – and away from Putin’s grasp.
The incumbent, pro-Russia, authoritarian Georgian Dream party was therefore expected to be kicked out of office.
But the party, who deny any Kremlin links, won by a landslide in what can only be seen as a victory for Russia.
The surprise result quickly sparked an intense backlash and widespread speculation that the election was stolen.
The country’s independent president, Salome Zourabichvili, declared the election had been a “Russian special operation”, echoing Moscow’s name for the Ukraine war, the “special military operation”.
Reports of voters’ ID cards being confiscated, videos of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation and violence at the polls all began to circulate on social media.
Then in late November, the Georgian Dream party decided to suspend negotiations on joining the EU – triggering mass protests.
Over the last week, demonstrators have been flocking to the streets, calling for fresh elections while the phrase, “no to Russia” has been graffitied around the parliament building.
Immediately after the election, the country also fell into a constitutional crisis as the four opposition groups refused to enter parliament over what they said were falsified elections.
During the first session of parliament on November 25, only the members of the Georgian Dream attended while several thousand protesters fought riot police outside.
But prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, of the Georgian Dream, has refused to negotiate, baselessly claiming the protests are funded from overseas.
The Georgian Dream PM has also been using the same language as Putin when it comes to this protest.
Both have compared it to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan revolution, when Kyiv’s then-president was kicked out by pro-EU forces – allowing Russia to move in to grab the Crimean peninsula.
However, Putin insists he has nothing to do with the chaos.
He told reporters: “We have no relations with them, with the Georgian leadership. None whatsoever. But I just marvelled at their courage and firm character, which they showed in order to defend their point of view. ”
Meanwhile, an opposition leader Nika Gvaramia told the BBC: “It’s a liberation fight. We know who we’re fighting with, and that’s Russia.”
Moldova narrowly votes against closer ties with Russia
Another former Soviet republic, Moldova is land-locked between Romania and Ukraine.
It has been in a similar struggle as Georgia in recent months, as voters consider aligning themselves more towards the EU.
Pro-European incumbent Maia Sandu fought pro-Russia Alexandr Stoianoglo – whom she fired as her prosecutor general – in the presidential election last month, and won, but not without a bloody fight.
Sandu secured the first round of the vote with 42.4%, just shy of the 50% needed to secure the presidency, while her rival lagged behind her on 26%.
However, Sandu had been expected to win comfortably on the first round, especially amid Moldova’s ongoing attempts to join the EU.
The election then had to go to a run-off.
Sandu soon claimed there was evidence 300,000 votes had been bought and warned “thieves” wanted to take Moldovans’ votes.
It’s thought she was alluding to the Russian oligarch who was promising cash handouts to anyone who would support his calls to tell the EU a “firm no” .
The country’s election commission also warned that votes from Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Turkey were being illegally transported, too.
Much like in Georgia, the Kremlin denied interference, saying: “We resolutely reject any accusations that we are somehow interfering in this. We are not doing this.”
Sandu’s national security adviser also warned there was “massive interference” from Russia during the electoral process that had “high potential to distort the outcome”.
Meanwhile, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell and the European Commission said there was “unprecedented interference by Russia”.
Sandu won in the run-off round by 55% of the vote, following a police attempt to update the country daily about just how many people had been arrested for receiving payments in exchange for votes.
Sandu’s victory also comes after one of her informal campaign slogans gained traction: “They cannot steal as much as we can vote.”
Russia’s hold on Syria weakens
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is a strong ally for Russia and offers another way for Putin to assert himself in the Middle East.
Putin also has to remain in Syria for trade reasons as Russia’s presence in the country helps prevent a Qatar-Turkey natural gas pipeline being set up which could threaten the dominance of Russian fuel in the region.
So Russia has been providing rockets to Syria after al-Assad lost control over the country’s second largest city, Aleppo, last week.
Russia successfully launched a military intervention to bolster Assad’s army in 2015, and recaptured Aleppo from rebel forces the following year.
At the time, Putin boasted to his defence minister: “There is no question that liberating Aleppo from radical groups […] was done with the direct involvement and even a decisive influence of our service personnel.”
The Kremlin has kept around 5,000 troops in Syria since, just as a security measure.
But this time the sudden uprising is different and Russia is not prepared to deal with it.
The Russian militant Wagner group has gone, after their leader died under mysterious circumstances last year, and Moscow has its hands full with Ukraine.
In fact, Assad allegedly asked Iran for assistance instead of Russia this time as a result, although the Kremlin tried to regain control of the situation by saying Putin had discussed the situation with Iran over the phone this week.
However, if Assad is kicked out by the rebels, Moscow will lose its control in the Middle East – and damage its reputation not only as an ally, but as a heavyweight on the global stage.
And it’s not looking positive – Russia has already pulled some of its resources from Syria to fight in Ukraine, and Assad’s troops are not built to fight.
Putin’s stronghold is looking more vulnerable than ever.