Section: The Centre for Eastern Studies (Poland)
Trump’s new-old strategy towards Russia and Ukraine
In recent days, US President Donald Trump has made a series of gestures and concessions towards Russia. He has decided to suspend sanctions, allowing Russian diesel exports to the US and other countries, and has refrained from imposing new ones under the so-called Graham Act. …read more Source:: Centre for Eastern Studies...
A thaw in relations? Hungary unblocks the opening of two clusters in Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations
On 13 October, at the EU–Ukraine Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg, all EU member states agreed to open the second (Internal Market) and third (Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth) negotiating clusters with Ukraine, comprising a total of 17 negotiating chapters. …read more Source:: Centre for Eastern Studies...
Data centres in Russia: the consequences of Ukrainian drone strikes
Between 7 and 11 October, Ukrainian drones struck three data centres belonging to the Russian technology company Yandex. On 14 October, another data centre in Balakovo (Saratov Oblast), owned by Sberbank – Russia’s largest commercial bank – came under attack. On 18 October, a server facility in Leningrad Oblast used by VK (formerly...
War of nerves: Ukraine needs funding, EU demands reforms
For several weeks, the Ukrainian authorities have been highlighting acute liquidity problems. President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated that an additional $27 billion would be needed for defence by the end of this year, while Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi stressed that the government must secure $29.5 billion from international partners this year...
Ukraine’s problems with US intelligence data and the Starshield system
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s partners (implicitly the US) had failed to notify Ukraine of Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv on the evenings of 12 and 13 October. Referring to the second attack, he stressed that Kyiv’s TEC-4 thermal power plant had been hit and a residential building damaged....
Saxony-Anhalt: AfD and BSW demand an end to aid for Ukraine
At a special session on 14 October, the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt adopted a joint resolution submitted by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), entitled ‘Peace talks instead of expanding the war in Ukraine’. The AfD (39 MPs) and BSW (5) hold a majority in the 83-seat state parliament (Landtag) but...
More resolve than resources: Romania and the drone threat
In recent months, the number of violations of Romanian airspace and territorial waters by Russian drones, and occasionally also by Ukrainian ones, has increased markedly. Between 1 January and 27 September this year, Romania’s Ministry of National Defence recorded 30 such incidents, accounting for more than 60% of all incursions into...
Staying the course: Merz in Kyiv
On 4 October, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) paid his second visit to Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He was accompanied by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Minister, Katherina Reiche (CDU) and a delegation of German business representatives. Merz and Zelensky took part in a German-Ukrainian...
Kremlin handpicks new State Duma deputies in ‘special election operation’
Between 18 and 20 September, Russia held parliamentary elections to determine the make-up of the new 450-member State Duma, the lower house of parliament. The vote coincided with an annual series of regional and local elections. For the first time, parliamentary ‘elections’ were also held in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine,...
The Ukrainians are overwhelming Moscow’s air defence. Day 1672 of the war
…read more Source:: Centre for Eastern Studies...
