
Latest Articles about Europe

Role of Cryptocurrencies in Financing Russia’s ‘Hybrid’ Wars
Myrotvorets, a controversial independent Ukrainian website that claims to track persons threatening Ukraine’s security, has called on the authorities in Kyiv to investigate Russia’s alleged use of cryptocurrencies (via the WEX digital currency exchange platform) to fund subversive activities potentially in support of one of... MORE

Merkel, Macron Plan Meeting With Putin After Ukraine’s Presidential Election
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron each conferred with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Berlin and Paris, respectively, on the same day, April 12, between the two rounds of Ukraine’s presidential election. With challenger Volodymyr Zelensky far ahead in the opinion polls,... MORE

Gazprom Feeling the Competition in Europe—Even From Russian Rivals
With surging American and Middle Eastern liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports already threatening Gazprom’s pipeline-based market share in Europe (see EDM, April 3), the Russian energy giant is lambasting another LNG competitor—Novatek, a Russian rival. Novatek denies that it poses a major threat to Gazprom’s... MORE

Ukraine Expands Its Missile Capabilities
Ukraine’s military and political authorities continue to seek an adequate deterrent to contain and deter Russian aggression, particularly in light of the breakdown of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. In response to Washington’s and Moscow’s stated intention, earlier this year, to withdraw from... MORE

Army as a Major Factor in Ukrainian Presidential Elections
It seems logical that, given the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian military frequently plays a significant role in political life. The presidential election of 2019 is, therefore, no exception. Almost all major candidates have to some degree used themes of war and the... MORE

Putin Lauds Arctic Cooperation While Boosting Regional Militarization
The fifth Russia-sponsored international forum “The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue” was staged last week (April 9–10), in St. Petersburg, and President Vladimir Putin used the occasion to demonstrate his particular interest in the international issues affecting this extreme region. He was joined on the panel... MORE

Romania Faces Major Defense Hurdles in 2019
In 2019, Romania will face three major defense policy challenges, which, if not handled efficiently, will hinder its ability to deter aggression on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) eastern flank and improve its military posture in the Black Sea region. These challenges affect the... MORE

Sharpened Rhetoric Increases Ahead of Second Round of Ukrainian Presidential Elections
As Ukrainians prepare to vote for a president in the runoff scheduled for April 21, electoral rhetoric is becoming increasingly divisive and, in some cases, more extreme. In the first round of the elections (March 31), Volodymyr Zelensky overwhelmingly surpassed his opponents, garnering more than... MORE

Putin’s Russia Symbolically Reenacts Stalin’s Push Into Europe
On April 10, 2019, at 10 p.m., fireworks lit up the Moscow sky and a gun salute thundered through the city (Vzglyad, April 10). Gun salutes are a traditional way to commemorate important, mostly military-connected Russian holidays, but April 10 was a working Wednesday and... MORE

Vega Strategic Services: Russian PMCs as Part of Information Warfare?
The Russian investigative agency Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) published a report, on March 28, stating that, in addition to private military armies, Russia has now created a Private Military Company (PMC) of a new type. Specifically, the report examines Vega Strategic Services Ltd. (Vega), “a... MORE