On February 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Italy for a two-day official visit, the first since his election last April. Zelenskyy met the president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte; he additionally visited the Vatican (Agenzia Nova, February 7). Several... MORE

In the positional war in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas, where enemy trenches are often only a hundred meters away from each other, snipers have a target-rich environment and play a critical tactical role. As elsewhere, snipers in the Donbas war proved to be an... MORE

The Belarusian economy has begun to sustain losses due to the disruption of Russian oil supplies. Whereas the country’s gross domestic product grew 1.2 percent in 2019 (annual growth), in January 2020, it was 1.9 percent lower than in January 2019. The government had predicted... MORE

The recent appointment of Andriy Yermak to head the Ukrainian Presidential Office (see EDM, February 21) could increase tensions between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky; while the long-serving minister of interior, Arsen Avakov is likely to ingratiate himself to both sides simultaneously. The... MORE

On February 11, Andriy Bohdan—known as the “shadow cardinal” of Ukrainian politics and a former lawyer of oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky (see EDM, October 9, 2019)—left his post as the chief of the presidential administration. He was replaced by Andriy Yermak, heretofore a presidential advisor informally... MORE

Oppressive silence followed the February 7 Russian-Belarusian summit in Sochi, Russia. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka left that North Caucasus resort city without making any public statement. However, it was clear that silence would not last long given the emotional and charismatic personality of the Belarusian leader.... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here.   Lacking a parliamentary majority and facing elections later this year, Moldovan President Igor Dodon and his Socialist Party are staking out a more centrist political position for themselves, which also... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here.   President Igor Dodon and his Socialist Party are governing Moldova without a parliamentary majority of their own and having to face two years of serial elections (February 2019 parliamentary elections, October 2019 country-wide local elections, November 2020... MORE

On February 18, President Vladimir Putin signed an ukaz (executive order) dismissing his long-time cohort and political advisor Vladislav Surkov (55). The Kremlin tradition known as nomenklatura requires that someone dismissed from a top job be immediately provided with another one. A couple of weeks... MORE

On February 13, the breakaway Transnistria region’s representative to the Joint Control Commission (JCC) demanded that Russian “peacekeeping” forces be augmented from the current size of over 400 personnel to 4,200. The latter figure is notably one that Russian media outlets frequently invoke as the... MORE