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Latest Articles about Europe's East
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Ukraine’s Sanctions Against Pro-Russian Oligarch Medvedchuk—All About Oil and Coal
On February 19, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) imposed sanctions on Ukrainian tycoon and politician Viktor Medvedchuk and his wife, Oksana Marchenko (Pravda.com.ua, February 19). Medvedchuk is a leader and people’s deputy of the pro-Russian party Opposition Platform–For Life, the largest... MORE
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Amidst Repressions, Minsk Is Snapping Back
Three legal trials in Minsk attracted maximum attention during the middle of February. One of them has already ended with a verdict—two-year prison sentences to Katerina Bakhavalova and Darya Chultsova, journalists of Belsat, a digital TV channel broadcasting from Poland and not accredited in Belarus.... MORE
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Reforming Territorial Defense in Ukraine: Danger in Delay
Late last year, on December 16, the Ukrainian parliament took up a new draft bill (#4504) on territorial defense (Rada.gov.ua, December 16, 2020). The proposed legislation, written by a group of lawmakers headed by Andrii Sharaskin, is based on recommendations from domestic experts as well... MORE
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More Contentious Issues Surface Between Kyiv and Moscow in the Minsk Contact Group
The latest session of the Minsk Contact Group (see EDM, February 18) lifted a curtain’s corner on several disputed issues that had not been publicly aired thus far. The Ukrainian delegation had raised these issues in a position paper within the Minsk Group in November... MORE
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West’s Renewed Focus on Solidarity and Coordination Perturbs Kremlin
The disastrous visit to Moscow of the European Union’s top diplomat, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, on February 4–6, followed in quick succession by three major international events last week, together served to illuminate Russia’s resolute but hopeless self-isolation on... MORE
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Minsk Announces Possible Changes to Its Foreign Policy
Foreign policy featured among the central topics of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly (ABPA), on February 11–12 (see EDM, February 16). This is no surprise, as the ongoing political crisis, which broke out following the August 2020 presidential election, has had a disruptive impact on the... MORE
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Russia Calibrating Low-Intensity War in Ukraine’s East
From January 21 through February 14, Russian and proxy forces killed 13 Ukrainian soldiers and wounded at least another 19 along the frontline in Ukraine’s Donbas. Most of these casualties were inflicted by snipers, some of whom were apparently deployed from Russia’s interior for a... MORE
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Escalating Russian-Western Tensions Are Reflected in Confrontation in Donbas
In a high-profile interview with Rossiya state TV, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Moscow is ready to “sever relations with the European Union.” The EU is Russia’s most important trading partner, but if it continues to impose additional sanctions and interfere in Russia’s... MORE
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The All-Belarusian People’s Assembly: A Gathering of Winners?
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka delivered a four-hour speech on February 11, 2021, at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly (ABPA), the sixth such gathering since 1996, when Lukashenka skillfully used this extra-constitutional entity to defeat a rebellious parliament. At that time, Lukashenka enjoyed the support of well over... MORE
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Crimea Platform: Ukraine’s Initiative to Raise the Costs of Russia’s Occupation
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government are preparing to host a summit of heads of state and government, aiming to mobilize a more effective international response to Russia’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. The summit is planned to inaugurate the “Crimea Platform,” a multi-level... MORE