Section: The Centre for Eastern Studies (Poland)
A strategic gas alliance between the EU & the US
On 25 March, US President Joe Biden and the President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen announced a ‘Joint Statement between the European Commission and the United States on Europe’s Energy Security’. It emphasised the two sides’ mutual commitment to reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian energy...
Saving face abroad: the Belarusian opposition in exile on the war in Ukraine
In the light of the Lukashenka regime’s de facto complicity in the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Belarusian political circles in exile have undertaken a number of actions on the international stage. …read more Source:: Centre for Eastern Studies...
Russia’s attack on Ukraine: day 31
The military situation in Ukraine remains relatively stable for another day. Local successes were recorded by Ukrainian units in the Sumy Oblast, which captured the battle-ravaged Trostyanets and the villages of Krasnopillia and Slavhorod, located on the border with Russia, as well as by the defenders of Kharkiv, who recaptured the village of...
Russia’s attack on Ukraine: day 32
The military situation in Ukraine has not changed significantly. The aggressor is continuing to rotate their forces, withdrawing some of the sub-units which have so far been involved in the combat to their home areas and replacing them with the same kind of units. …read more Source:: Centre for Eastern Studies...
Troops withdrawing? Russian forces still on Ukraine’s borders
On 22 April, the so-called active phase of the combat readiness test of the Southern and Western Military Districts (MDs) being held at military training grounds in Crimea and the surrounding waters reached its final stage. A total of 10,000 soldiers, 1200 heavy weapons and military equipment, over 40 combatants and 20 auxiliary ships were...
Ukraine: pro-Russian TV channels closed down
On 2 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed off on a decision taken the same day by the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) to impose sanctions on the parliamentary deputy Taras Kozak and his media enterprises, primarily three TV news channels. The sanctions will apply for a period of five years, and include the blocking of...
Zelensky’s Ukraine: the mechanisms of power are failing
President Volodymyr Zelensky gained full power under a year and a half ago, but it is already becoming increasingly difficult for him to implement his declared political goals. This is due to the increasingly weak control he wields over his own Servant of the People party, his incompetent choice of collaborators and, more broadly, his lack of a...
How did 5 million hectares disappear? Secret land privatisation in Ukraine
On 6 November, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, announced during the presentation of the results of the economic audit of Ukraine that 5 million hectares of agricultural land had disappeared from state ownership. He thus confirmed the words of the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (also named, the State...
Ukraine: a Constitutional Court verdict ignites a political crisis
During a closed session on 27 October, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CC) issued a ruling that has halted the functioning of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (Ukr. NAZK). This body is one of the key institutions responsible for fighting corruption, which was created after the Revolution of Dignity. The court also found...
The growing role of Ukraine on the Central European gas market
According to data from Ukrtranshaz, the operator of Ukraine’s underground storage facilities, the country has accumulated 27 bcm of gas in them as of 16 September, which is the largest volume in 10 years. According to the head of Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolev, the volume of the stored gas may reach 28 bcm before the heating season begins. In...
