A possible realignment in the Middle East?
https://ru.krymr.com/a/28931434.html
Президент готовится подписать план широкомасштабного перевооружения на фоне территориальных амбиций и эскалации с Западом
http://inosmi.ru/politic/20171221/241061918.html
https://www.letemps.ch/culture/2017/12/19/vladimir-poutine-sarme-nouvelles-conquetes
https://www.inopressa.ru/article/20Dec2017/newsweek/military.html
https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2017/12/20/745989-pensiyu-zamorozili
Russia continues to get a strong return on its investment.
In the final months of 2017, the most significant advance in Russia’s relationship with Latin America was arguably the inclusion of eight Latin American teams in the 32-team field for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Russia was almost absent from media coverage of the BRICS+ summit in Xiamen in September 2017 and Vladimir Putin’s address to the APEC summit in Da Nang, Vietnam in November did not even mention Latin America. In contrast to high-profile Russian political and military initiatives in Latin America in 2008 and 2013–2014, its engagement with the region in 2017 has been uneven.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/russian-engagement-latin-america-update
The U.S. military is making sure it's prepared to face threats in Europe.
http://www.newsweek.com/counter-russia-threat-us-military-spend-200-million-europe-airbases-751907
http://www.ng.ru/armies/2017-12-19/100_corvet191217.html