In his annual phone-in conversation with Russia’s populace and in follow-up interviews, President Vladimir Putin has expounded at length on Russia’s current policy objectives regarding Ukraine (Interfax, Kremlin.ru, April 16, 17). Putin’s remarks evidenced both strategic consistency and tactical adjustments necessitated by Ukraine’s ongoing political... MORE

Russia demands a “special status” for certain territories in Ukraine and Moldova as a device to promote territorial secession processes. Moscow encourages local Russophile groups to claim a “special territorial status” or orchestrates such demands on their behalf, instigating state fragmentation. The first case study... MORE

President Petro Poroshenko recently instructed the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to “nip any separatist organizations in the bud […] so that Ukraine should not again have to pay a heavy price later on,” as is now the case in Donetsk-Luhansk (Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, March 25).... MORE

Quantitative indicators show a dramatic reorientation of Ukraine’s natural gas supply strategy. Dependence on Gazprom has become a thing of the past. Kyiv demonstrates political resolve to pursue supply diversification and adapt to changing market conditions with the European Commission’s backing. Along with supply diversification,... MORE

For Part One Click Here  On April 2, Russian Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrainy signed an agreement on natural gas sales-and-purchases to cover the next three months. Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized his government, which in turn instructed Gazprom, to sign this agreement, with a substantial... MORE

On April 1, on President Vladimir Putin’s instructions (Kremlin.ru, March 31; Interfax, April 1), Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev prolonged the validity of the existing agreement on Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine until June 30, effective immediately. Originally signed by Russian Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrainy... MORE

On March 30, Irina Vlah was officially declared the winner of the election for the post of Bashkhan (head of the executive authority) in Moldova’s Gagauz Autonomous Territorial Unit (Gagauz Yeri). As now confirmed, Vlah won the election in the first round on March 22,... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. Ukraine’s EuroMaidan movement triggered two conflicting processes: Ukraine’s resolute, unambiguous course toward Europe (reinforced by subsequent presidential and parliamentary elections) and Russia’s response through a multidimensional war against Ukraine and seizure... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. Most of the “old” Europe—pre-1999 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union—does not acknowledge the wider implications of Russia’s war in Ukraine (let alone the fact that it is a war). That group... MORE

Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed the deepening cracks in Europe’s understanding of itself as the West’s core, and in its positioning vis-à-vis an openly adverse Russia. Fragmentation processes were ongoing in Europe prior to this war, both above and (with longer-term effects) below the... MORE