![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-europe.jpg)
Latest Articles about Europe's East
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Putin-call-in-show-640x360.jpeg)
Moscow Steps up Intimidation Campaign in Black Sea Region
During his annual televised national call-in show, on June 30, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin mostly talked about the COVID-19 pandemic, as the novel coronavirus is once again sweeping through Moscow and the provinces. Implicitly (but deliberately) embodying the image of the “good tsar” versus... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Zelensky-and-Di-Maio.jpg)
Italy and Ukraine Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation
On June 10, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio paid an official visit to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. The rich agenda broached all aspects of bilateral relations... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/belarusian-potash-640x416.jpg)
EU Sectoral Sanctions Put a Heavy Burden on Lukashenka’s Regime
On June 21 and 24, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada imposed several new sanctions packages against Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime. The actions form part of a coordinated Western response to the serious human rights abuses observed in Belarus... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Russian-military-exercise-640x360.jpg)
As Russian Military Prepares for Zapad 2021, Heavy Armed Forces Stay Close to Ukraine
In April, Russia’s Ministry of Defense ordered units to move from their permanent bases to positions close to the border with Ukraine, provoking widespread concern about the rising tensions between Moscow and Kyiv (see EDM, April 8). Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu later announced that these... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Volodymyr-Zelenskyy-640x479.jpg)
Biden-Putin Summit Sparks Political Confrontations Inside Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s planned visit to Washington in July is set to take place amidst the lowest level of trust with The White House in years. After Presidents Joseph Biden of the United States and Vladimir Putin of Russia held a bilateral summit in... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Belarus-sanctions-640x360.jpg)
Brussels’s Virtue Signaling on Belarus May Prove Counterproductive
On June 24, the Council of the European Union introduced so-called sectoral sanctions against Minsk. According to the well-informed Russian business daily Kommersant, despite their formidable appearance, the actual strength of these European sanctions is likely to fall short of expectations. Thus, when it comes... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Aluminium-640x360.jpg)
Sale of German Aluminum Company to Russia Raises Security Concerns
United States President Joseph Biden’s European meetings with the G7 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) earlier this month highlighted some of the extant policy differences between the US and its allies despite the positive PR assaults that sought to minimize them. One well-known... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Putin-Geneva-640x416.jpg)
Russia Predictably Steps up Attacks on US-European Unity
The post-Geneva changes in Russia’s behavior are not quite going in the direction United States President Joseph Biden had indicated after inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet and deescalate the dangerously high tensions between the two countries. Biden seems to have calculated that the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Russian-Caspian-Flotilla-640x407.jpg)
Russia’s Caspian Flotilla No Longer Only Force That Matters There
Although Russia’s Caspian Flotilla remains the dominant naval force on the Caspian, it is not the only one that matters anymore. All four other littoral states—Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan—have been building up their own naval presences, particularly since various intra-regional disputes over access to... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/HMS-Defender-in-Odesa-port-2-640x360.jpg)
Russia Bungles Pre-Planned Intercept of UK Navy Vessel off Coast of Crimea
A shooting skirmish or a deadly collision between Russian and Western warships or aircraft in the Black Sea would almost certainly cause a serious crisis, evolving into a military confrontation, a regional armed conflict and, perhaps eventually, a global war. Such a doomsday scenario appeared... MORE