The armistice in Ukraine’s east affords Russia a breathing pause to institutionalize the secessionist Luhansk and Donetsk “people’s republics.” The “Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR)” is even less institutionalized and more chaotic than the nearby Donetsk republic (“DPR”). Various armed formations in the “LPR” are operating,... MORE

On January 1, 2015, a military unit of the “Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR)” ambushed and killed the commander of the LPR’s rapid-reaction battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Aleksandr Bednov (“Batman”) and six of his men. They were shelled from both sides of the road while traveling in two... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. In order to stimulate centrifugal processes in Ukraine, the Kremlin needs the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” to remain within Ukraine’s political system pro forma, albeit outside Kyiv’s control de facto.... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. Moscow proposes to resolve the conflict in Donbas (eastern Ukrainian region encompassing the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces) by turning the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk territories into proto-states, to be linked with the rest of Ukraine in a quasi-confederal... MORE

A tactical shift is noticeable in Russia’s policy toward Ukraine. The Kremlin has adjusted its rhetoric, and Russian diplomacy its terminology. They seem to suggest that Russia is restraining its territorial and political objectives in Ukraine. In parallel, Russia is suspending offensive military actions by... MORE

Russia seems about to suspend the military phase of its multi-dimensional assault on Ukraine. The Kremlin’s “Novorossiya” project (see EDM, May 27) is shelved until further notice. Instead, Moscow is switching to what Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov has termed “a post-war phase, so to... MORE

Renato Usatyi’s “Patria” party, a Russian entry in Moldova’s political arena (see EDM, December 3, 4), propagated three messages in this campaign: 1) against the European Union, and for the Russia-led Customs Union/Eurasian Union; 2) against the Moldovan Communist Party’s leadership under Vladimir Voronin, so... MORE

The Democratic Party of billionaire Vlad Plahotniuc is the second-largest in the tripartite Pro-Europe Coalition (PEC). The November 30 elections saw the Democratic Party advance to 16 percent of the votes cast, and 23 parliamentary seats (up from 12.5 percent and 19 parliamentary seats in... MORE

Moldova’s Pro-Europe Coalition should be able to continue governing after the November 30 parliamentary elections (see EDM, December 2, 3, 4). The coalition’s three parties—each running separately—garnered a combined 46 percent of the votes cast (down from 52 percent at the preceding elections in 2010).... MORE

Lacking mainstream political partners in Europe’s East, the Kremlin has recently picked the small, far-left Party of Socialists to advance Russia’s objectives in Moldova. The main objective is to undermine the pro-Western leadership team in Moldova, the European Union’s closest partner in the region. The... MORE