Section: The Centre for Eastern Studies (Poland)
Russia: the second wave of the fuel crisis
Signs of a deepening fuel crisis have reappeared in Russia since August, with petrol shortages reported in many regions, alongside rising prices and queues at filling stations. The situation deteriorated after Ukraine intensified its attacks on Russian refineries, following a period of partial market stabilisation in mid-July. At least 22 strikes...
A bridge too far? Ukraine’s operation to isolate Crimea
Over the past three months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on the Russian army’s operational rear on Crimea. The targets have included logistics hubs, road, rail and maritime infrastructure, troop concentrations, air defence systems, ammunition depots and command posts. The operation aims to cut the peninsula off from military...
SBU versus HUR: conflict between Ukraine’s security services
On 3 September, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the dismissal of deputy heads of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (HUR). The decision came in response to an incident in Kyiv in which SBU officers used firearms against HUR personnel. The confrontation stemmed...
Ukraine: criminal group within the Prosecutor General’s Office
On 4 September, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) searched the office of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. On the same day, the agency announced that it had carried out Operation Carthage, targeting an organised criminal group operating within the Prosecutor General’s Office. …read more Source:: Centre for...
Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow and Kyiv: White House resumes peace mediation
On 5 September, President Donald Trump’s special envoys, Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, visited Moscow, resuming efforts to bring Russia’s war against Ukraine to an end after a hiatus of more than six months. Their talks at the Kremlin with Vladimir Putin, attended by his foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and special...
Ukraine: another corruption scandal within Zelensky’s inner circle
On 19 August, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced a special operation codenamed Forrest Gump, targeting a criminal organisation allegedly run by members of the Verkhovna Rada and officials from the Office of the President of Ukraine (OPU). …read more Source:: Centre for Eastern Studies...
A massive Ukrainian attack on Novorossiysk. Day 1637 of the war
…read more Source:: Centre for Eastern Studies...
The Ukrainian-Russian battle of the flags. The offensive that never was
On 12 August, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine had recaptured 745 km² of territory and 26 settlements in a large-scale offensive operation conducted by the Air Assault Forces together with sub-units from other formations on the Oleksandrivka axis, at the junction of the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. The...
Zelensky in Belgrade: Kyiv’s interests, a fig leaf for Vučić and outrage in Kosovo
On 7–8 August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his first visit to Serbia since taking office. His meetings with President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Đuro Macut focused on economic and energy cooperation, as well as the two countries’ European integration. Serbia announced another package of humanitarian assistance for...
Ukrainian attacks pose a growing problem for the Russian economy
Since mid-July, Ukrainian drones have expanded their list of targets inside the Russian Federation, striking warehouses operated by the online marketplace Wildberries. Between 18 July and 5 August, 21 facilities were attacked, killing at least nine people. Preliminary assessments indicate that approximately 25% of the company’s warehouse...
