Section: The Centre for Eastern Studies (Poland)
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...
Armed drone found at Leipzig Airport
On 5 August, Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that staff at Leipzig/Halle Airport had discovered a drone carrying explosives and a detonator. The device was found in the immediate vicinity of a Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft carrying ammunition that had previously arrived from France and was awaiting onward...
Ukraine: suspension of shipping to Black Sea ports and the associated risks
On 22 July, Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy, Taras Vysotskyi, announced that no commercial vessel had entered Ukraine’s Black Sea ports that day. Shipowners suspended sailings over concerns about the safety of their vessels following an intensification of Russian strikes. On 19 July, an attack on the Golden Leo killed nine...
Change of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
On 21 July, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the dismissal of General Oleksandr Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and the appointment of General Mykhailo Drapatyi, Commander of the Joint Forces, to replace him (see the profile in the Appendix). The reshuffle came against the backdrop of protests that began...
Ukraine: new government overshadowed by a controversial dismissal
On 16 July, the Verkhovna Rada approved Serhii Koretskyi as prime minister by a majority of 289 votes and confirmed the composition of his cabinet. The new government reversed the merger of two ‘super-ministries’. The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agricultural Policy was split into the Ministry of Economy, headed by Oleksandr...
Zelensky vs Fedorov: Ukraine’s Defence Minister dismissed
On 15 July, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov would not be part of the new government. The government reshuffle and the allegedly slow implementation of reforms to the mobilisation system served as the pretext for dismissing the highly popular minister. However, the president cited Fedorov’s...
Ukraine deals a blow against shipping in the Sea of Azov. Day 1602 of the war
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Ankara summit: Europe’s mobilisation for NATO 3.0
At the NATO summit in Ankara (7–8 July), Europe and Canada presented President Donald Trump with a significant increase in defence spending, new military procurements and industrial investments. They also expressed their readiness to assume primary responsibility for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area and the defence of Europe under the NATO...
Russia: the government is powerless in the face of the fuel crisis
Since the end of May, Russia has been experiencing a fuel crisis marked by physical shortages of fuel across most regions of the country, accompanied by rising prices for petrol and diesel. This disruption – considered the most severe in the fuel sector since the establishment of the Russian Federation – directly results from ongoing Ukrainian...
