Executive Summary: Beijing and Budapest have reportedly finalized the details of an extradition treaty that reflects Beijing’s growing involvement in Hungary’s internal security. The new treaty comes as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has begun investing heavily in various sectors of the Hungarian economy.... MORE

Executive Summary: The Russian Foreign Ministry’s premier journal, International Life, says the Baltic Sea region has become “a potential theater of military conflict,” one where there is no chance that regimes more amenable to Moscow will arise in the absence of a radical shift in... MORE

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is systematically erasing Ukrainian identity in occupied regions to solidify long-term submission and control by banning Ukrainian in schools, rewriting history, and indoctrinating children.  In the occupied territories, the Kremlin is linking Russian citizenship to access to healthcare, SIM cards, and... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow believes the upcoming Alaska summit will end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s international isolation, taking note of its location in Alaska, which Russia once owned.   Russian commentators are interpreting the summit as U.S. acceptance of Moscow’s view that decisions can be made about... MORE

Today, August 9, marks the fifth anniversary of Belarus’s 2020 presidential election. This election represented a critical juncture for Belarus, not just because of its preordained outcome—Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s fraudulent and corrupt victory—but rather because of the mass mobilization of Belarusian citizens and subsequent regime crackdown... MORE

Executive Summary:    In the five years since Belarus’s 2020 protest movement, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s authoritarian regime has become characterized by systematic, violent repression of dissent. The country, isolated from the West, became a military foothold for Russia and fell into political, economic, and informational... MORE

Executive Summary: A recent joint investigation by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Moldovan outlet CU SENS confirmed that Moscow had established secret paramilitary camps in the Balkans to train Moldovan citizens in destabilization tactics ahead of Moldova’s October 2024 presidential elections. The Kremlin... MORE

Executive Summary: In a June raid against right-wing extremist group Movimento Armilar Lusitano (MAL), Portuguese police discovered a cache of weapons, including several 3D-printed firearms (3DPFs). This marks the first time 3DPFs have been found in Portugal. 3DPFs have proven to be popular among extremists,... MORE

Executive Summary: Ukraine’s soaring fiscal deficit, trade imbalances, and stalled reforms undermine post-war reconstruction planning. Foreign investments critical for recovery are also deterred by judicial inefficiencies, incomplete energy sector reforms, and entrenched corruption.  Uncertain financial aid, monetary instability, and mismanaged state assets limit prospects for... MORE

Executive Summary: Romania’s new government, sworn in on June 23, appears committed to modernizing the Romanian Naval Forces, but its naval forces remain severely underfunded and outdated. Bucharest has made some questionable decisions in its effort to regain lost time and opportunities to develop and... MORE