Section: The Centre for Eastern Studies (Poland)
Ukraine: two years’ free trading of arable land
Two years ago, on 1 July 2021, a law on the land market came into effect which enabled trade in arable land for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine. Over these 24 months, more than 400,000 hectares of land have been sold, accounting for around 1.5% of the land covered by this law. Although the Russian invasion launched in...
Russia’s game with the West: Moscow withdraws from the grain deal
On 17 July, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov announced that the Russian Federation had withdrawn from the Black Sea Grain Initiative; on the same day, the Russian foreign ministry also conveyed this decision to Turkey, Ukraine and the UN Secretariat. By refusing to extend the agreement, Russia revoked its security guarantees for the transit of...
Second successful attack on the Crimean Bridge. Day 509 of the war
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Ukraine in the face of a demographic catastrophe
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has aggravated the country’s already extremely difficult demographic situation, creating the prospect of a demographic catastrophe. Over the course of its three decades of independence, Ukraine has experienced a deepening population loss due to negative birth rates and high migration dynamics. Although...
Russia’s generals frustrated. Day 505 of the war
Russian forces pushed the Ukrainian defenders out of more positions on the forest massif south-west of Kreminna, an area bounded by the River Donets to the south and the Zherebets river to the west. They also approached the village of Torske located on the Zherebets, through which the main supply route for the Ukrainian units defending themselves...
NATO Summit in Vilnius: breakthroughs and unfulfilled hopes
The main topics of the NATO Vilnius Summit held on 11–12 July were deterrence and deterrence, Ukraine’s future membership of NATO, and deepening relations with partners in the Indo-Pacific. The Alliance is partly returning to the defence planning processes and structures that were in place during the Cold War, but which NATO abandoned in...
The commanders of Mariupol’s defence return to Ukraine. Day 502 of the war
Ukrainian troops are continuing their offensive operations on the Zaporizhzhia front. In recent days, fighting has been concentrated around the village of Robotyne, where subunits of the 47th and 65th Mechanised Brigades have been attempting for over a month to push through the defence line of the Russian 42nd Motorised Rifles Division. The...
Rocket attack on Lviv. Day 498 of the war
On 6 July, the Russians launched a rocket attack on Lviv and the surrounding region. One rocket hit a complex of buildings in the city centre; ten civilians were killed and 42 wounded. Thirty-five buildings were destroyed or damaged. Two more of the 10 Kalibr cruise missiles used in the attack were said to have hit Lviv (the Ukrainian Air Force...
Russia’s nuclear project in Hungary: France’s growing role
Despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Hungarian government has declared it is fully determined to build the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant, the main contractor of which is Russia’s Rosatom. Several important decisions have been taken over recent weeks to remove the barriers to implementing the project. For example, Hungary and Russia...
Back to trench warfare. Day 495 of the war
At the beginning of July, the fighting in the Bakhmut area began to intensify again. Ukrainian forces renewed their attacks south-west of the town, and declared that they had made further advances towards the enemy-occupied town of Klishchiivka. Russian forces went on the offensive to the north-west of Bakhmut, striking at the Donets-Donbas canal...
