
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Russia Expands Its Fleet in Sea of Azov to Some 40 Ships, Kyiv Warns
The Russian navy has boosted its presence in the Sea of Azov to approximately 40 ships, giving it the ability to control that body of water and to strike virtually at will along Ukraine’s coastline there, Vadim Skibitsky, a representative of the main intelligence directorate... MORE

Both Kremlin and White House Aim for Success in Helsinki
The visit by United States National Security Advisor John Bolton to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials resulted in an agreement to hold a long-awaited “historic summit” with Putin and President Donald Trump in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16.... MORE

Russian Government Approves Draft Convention on Legal Status of Caspian Sea
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree, on June 21, approving the Draft Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. And he encouraged President Vladimir Putin to ultimately sign the Convention (Pravo.gov.ru, June 22). Even though the complete official text of the... MORE

Moldova’s Democratic Façade Crumbles as Supreme Court Invalidates Democratic Election
On June 25, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova denied opposition candidate Andrei Nastase (leader of the Dignity and Truth Platform Party) legal recourse, thus upholding the June 21 decision of the Appellate Court to invalidate the mayoral elections in the capital Chisinau... MORE

Russia’s Entire Leadership Team Visits Minsk
A team of top-level Russian guests, including President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the heads of both chambers of the Russian parliament, Valentina Matvienko (Federation Council) and Viacheslav Volodin (State Duma), visited the Belarusian capital of Minsk, on June 19. This high-ranking delegation... MORE

Ukraine Passes New Law ‘On National Security’—What Next?
The second reading of Bill 8068 (Rada.gov.ua, accessed June 25), “On National Security,” successfully passed through Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament), with 248 votes in favor, thus providing a new framework law designed to overhaul the country’s statutory national security and defense architecture. The initial draft... MORE

Romania’s Poor Infrastructure Undercuts Its Defense Efforts
Romania’s lack of modern infrastructure hampers its economic development as well its security and defense policies. Without up-to-date roads, highways and rail links, Romania cannot use its interior lines to counter an attack on its territory. Romania’s response in case of an invasion will also... MORE

Chinese Behavior in Siberia Sparks Local Anger Against Beijing—and Moscow
Russians have long feared that the demographic imbalance between an overpopulated China and an underpopulated Siberia and Russian Far East will eventually result in Beijing’s taking control of what is now part of the Russian Federation. And Moscow has manipulated that fear since Soviet times... MORE

Armenian Governments Takes up Fight Against Corruption and Organized Crime
The period of relative calm in Armenian politics that followed the May 8 election of protest leader Nikol Pashinyan as the new head of government (see EDM, May 22) may have come to an end. The new cabinet had previously announced that anti-corruption measures would... MORE

Against Background of World Cup, Russia Restores Nuclear Potential of Kaliningrad
Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast is currently hosting several of the games of the World Cup soccer championship, but this Baltic exclave has recently attracted widespread attention for an entirely different reason. On June 18, Western media reported on Russia apparently undertaking ambitious renovation works on a... MORE