Russia’s “hybrid warfare” concept embraces economic warfare as one of its key elements. Yet, less attention has been paid to the details of the economic war between Russia and Ukraine in the conflict over Crimea and parts of Donbas (eastern Ukrainian region encompassing Luhansk and... MORE

Russia has adopted a policy of parallel recognition of two sets of elections in Ukraine: the country’s parliamentary elections and the “elections” in the Russian-occupied parts of Donbas (eastern Ukrainian region encompassing the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk). This is, innovatively, a policy of pre-emptive... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin exuded confidence about his Ukraine policy during the Valdai Club discussion in Sochi on October 24. Conceding that Ukraine is a European country, Putin repeated his line that “Ukraine was pieced together as a state, and it is a composite state,... MORE

In its latest display of mission readiness (in mid-October 2014), the special forces brigade “Fulger” (Thunderbolt) of the Moldovan Ministry of Interior provided a massive show of force by conducting a field exercise involving 350 of its 500-strong force (publika.md, October 22). The exercise featured... MORE

On October 22, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk delivered the grim news to his constituents that, by the end of the year, Ukraine will be short four million tons of coal (TSN.ua, October 22). Pro-Russian separatists control more than half of the coal mines in... MORE

On October 23, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka met with a group of Belarusian writers. In any country surrounding Belarus, a meeting like this would probably not be similarly newsworthy. The country has two writers’ unions and a PEN-Center. Only one of these entities, called the Union... MORE

As more people die in eastern Ukraine in the fighting between government forces and Russia-backed rebels, Moscow seems determined to pursue its internal economic goals despite the damage already caused by the West’s sanctions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, on October 19, that his... MORE

Because the Crimean Tatars and their assembly, the Mejlis, have opposed the Russian Anschluss of their homeland since the beginning, Moscow and the Russian occupying authorities on the Ukrainian peninsula have attempted to break it by banning some of its leaders, harassing others, and raiding... MORE

The German government’s response to Russia’s war against Ukraine—and by extension, Berlin’s assessment of Russia—is undergoing some reconsideration. Moscow has shaken Germany’s “trust” once more by flouting the armistice in Ukraine’s Donbas (eastern region encompassing the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk). The annexation of Crimea... MORE

The German government has come round to the view that Russia’s actions against Ukraine potentially threaten the “European peace order.” Policy debates in Germany reflect, belatedly and still tentatively, this assessment (see accompanying article). Germany has not yet initiated a policy review in keeping with... MORE