Vladimir Putin is eyeing the conflict between Israel and Iran as an opportunity to thrust himself to the forefront of the international stage, more than three years into his invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow presents itself as Tehran's ally, but its real ambition may be to turn Middle East chaos into a global diplomatic windfall.

While much of the world's gaze is fixed on the escalating Iran-Israel crisis, it would be dangerously naïve to assume that the war in Ukraine is winding down. Quite the opposite, in fact. Beneath the radar of global headlines,