Section: The Centre for Eastern Studies (Poland)
Belarusian citizens ambivalent about Russian aggression against Ukraine
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several independent opinion polls have been conducted. The Andrei Vardomatski Analytical Laboratory has carried some out by telephone and the British think tank Chatham House has done so online. These have consistently shown a negative attitude among the vast majority of Belarusians toward the possible...
Russia’s attack on Ukraine: day 158
The Russians intensified their shelling and bombardment of Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Nikopol and towns near them and south of the Kryvyi Rih (mainly around Zelenodolsk). The assault on Mykolaiv on the night of 31 July was assessed by the defenders as one of the heaviest since the war began. Nikopol, which has been under constant shelling for several...
Grain under fire: agreement to unblock Black Sea ports
On July 22 in Istanbul – after a series of negotiations initiated by Turkey with the participation of the UN – Ukraine and Russia agreed on the terms for the creation of a secure corridor for the transportation of grain, food and fertiliser from three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea: Odesa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhne. The two...
Russia’s attack on Ukraine: day 147
Russian troops continue to shell and attempt to take control of the border areas of Chernihiv (Mykolaivka), Sumy (including Esman, Zaruts’ke, Pavlivka, Volfyne, Yastrubyne, Zhuravka) and Kharkiv oblasts (Kharkiv and towns to the north, east and south-east of it). Intense fighting is taking place along the Pytomnyk–Udy line, with the aim of...
Ukraine: the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has a new head
On 19 July, a selection committee approved the selection of Oleksandr Klymenko as head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) – a separate unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office that prepares indictments based on materials provided by the Na …read more Source:: Centre for Eastern Studies...
Russia: a wartime economy
In recent weeks, Russia has introduced further legal changes to adapt its economy to the needs of the war in Ukraine. This includes a law which has been passed on special economic measures to support the Russian armed forces during “counter-terrorism and other operations” outside the country. The document authorises measures such as the temporary...
Russia’s attack on Ukraine: day 144
Russian troops regularly shell border towns in the Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts. These are preceded by intelligence activities carried out, among others, using Orlan-10 drones. Particularly intensive shelling has taken place in Kharkiv and north and east of that city, along the Donec River floodplain. The latter direction should be linked...
Turkish dilemmas in the shadow of the war in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine forcefully evoked the question of Turkey’s international position and political strategy in its neighbourhood, but also in its relations with the West and Russia. In the first months of the aggression, Turkey reaffirmed its alignment with the West and its fear of Russian power and ambitions. The war also provided an...
A creeping annexation. Russia’s plans to partition Ukraine
Russia was forced to modify its plan after its military operation in Ukraine failed. The original intention was the rapid political subjugation of Ukraine. The new plan involves Russia consolidating its position in the territories that it has managed to seize thus far. As a result of major resistance on the part of Ukrainian society, the Kremlin...
Rapprochement: Moldova’s president visits Kyiv
On 27 June Moldova’s President Maia Sandu paid an official visit to Kyiv, the first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She met, among other officials, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and visited Bucha, Irpin and Borodyanka. During her visit Sandu pledged Moldova’s support for the ‘brave Ukrainian nation’ and declared...
