Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 21, 2024
July 21, 2024 - ISW Press![](https://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumb-wide/public/ISW%20LOGO%202_326.jpg?itok=ZLwvJOx5)
Russian State Duma Chairperson Vyacheslav Volodin recently visited Nicaragua and Cuba, likely as part of ongoing Kremlin efforts to project its influence in the Western hemisphere and rally states against the US and the West. Volodin's visits to Nicaragua and Cuba immediately followed Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko's visits to Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, during which Golovchenko signed multiple bilateral economic and trade agreements, possibly as part of Russian schemes that use Belarus to help Russia evade Western sanctions.