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Latest Articles about Europe's East
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Ukraine Invites Georgia to Act Together Against Russian Occupation
The Ukrainian delegation to the United Nations took the initiative to discuss the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia—Abkhazia and South Ossetia—at a recent meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) (Un.org, March 28). Volodymyr Yelchenko, the permanent representative of Ukraine to the UN,... MORE
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Even Under Pressure, Belarus Defies Clichés
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s April 3 meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, in St. Petersburg, seems to have finally resolved the drawn-out (since January 2016) argument between the two countries about the price of natural gas. According to the new agreement, Belarus will repay... MORE
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Moldova-Ukraine Energy Deal Upsets Russia by Cutting Transnistria Out
Ukraine’s DTEK Trading, owned by Rinat Akhmetov, and Moldova’s state-owned intermediary Energocom signed a one-year contract, on April 1, for the supply of electricity to Moldovan distributors. Energocom/DTEK’s only competitor was the Kuchurgan Power Station, which is located in Transnistria and belongs to the Russian... MORE
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Conflict Escalates Again in Eastern Ukraine: Possible Causes and Consequences
The first quarter of 2017 was marked by a renewed escalation of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. The increased military confrontation began in the vicinity of Donetsk, at the end of January, when saboteur-reconnaissance groups of Russia-backed militants made an attempt to seize the... MORE
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Kyiv Stops Trade With Occupied Donbas, Slaps Sanctions on Russian Bank Subsidiaries
President Petro Poroshenko has banned cargo traffic between the areas held by Moscow-backed militants in the Donbas area and slapped sanctions on the Ukrainian subsidiaries of Russian state-owned banks. This appears logical, given the continuing Russian occupation of Crimea and assistance to the rebels. However,... MORE
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Crackdown in Minsk: End of Latest Belarusian Political Thaw?
On March 25, riot police in Minsk apprehended over 700 people taking part in downtown rallies devoted to “Freedom Day” (Tut.by, March 26), which this year marked the 99th anniversary of the foundation of the historical Belarusian People’s Republic. The presence of large numbers of... MORE
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Illusions and Lack of Reason Revealed by New Protests in Belarus
A series of protests took place in Minsk and several regional cities in Belarus on March 25, which marked the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Belarusian People’s Republic. Some in society (especially among its most active circles) see the date as a historical... MORE
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Washington’s Dysfunction May Embolden Moscow as Russian Defector Gunned Down in Kyiv
Diplomats from the United States and Russian are preparing for US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s planned visit to Moscow next month (April 2017). Tillerson will be talking with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and possibly meeting President Vladimir Putin. Traditionally, US Secretaries of State... MORE
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Belarus: Public Protests in the Geopolitical Context
Predicting that Belarusian authorities would begin apprehending the most active participants of the continuing rallies against the decree on social parasites was like pushing at an open door. While first arrests occurred on March 11 (see EDM, March 14), four days later, amidst a new... MORE
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European Union Poised to Scrap Visa Requirements for Ukraine
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (a.k.a. the Council) struck an informal deal, on February 28, for Ukrainian citizens to travel visa free throughout the EU, except for in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Later, the deal was endorsed... MORE