Last week (April 12), two Russian Su-24 bombers closely overflew the guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook, in the Baltic Sea, in international airspace. The incident happened relatively close to the Baltiysk naval base, in the Kaliningrad enclave. Two days later, an Su-27 fighter intercepted a... MORE

Ukraine wants the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to consider deploying an international, armed police mission in the secessionist Donetsk-Luhansk territory. The declared rationale is to provide security for “elections” that might be staged in that territory under the Minsk armistice—elections that... MORE

Ukraine is asking for an international, armed police mission under Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) auspices, to be deployed in the secessionist Donetsk-Luhansk territory. Russia and its local proxies hold the monopoly on military presence and policing in that part of Ukraine.... MORE

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka paid a visit to Turkey, last week, in conjunction with the April 14–15 Istanbul meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Founded in 1969, the OIC has 57 members and holds meetings once every three years. At the Istanbul meeting,... MORE

From the outset, the Italian government has been among the most tepid enforcers of the European Union’s sanctions against Russia. And as the impact of Western sanctions has reportedly negatively affected the Italian economy, Rome appears increasingly determined to overcome the current regime of penalties... MORE

The new (March) quarterly survey by the Western-funded Independent Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS)—a polling firm widely considered by Western experts to be the most reputable such organization operating inside Belarus—confirmed a fundamental cultural proximity between Belarus and Russia. According to the results,... MORE

In recent months, there have been key developments and insights regarding the notable number of Belgians fighting in Syria and Iraq. A recruitment organization whose existence was unearthed during a series of trials turned out to be one of the most active; the direct implication... MORE

In the past week, two notable events sparked heated debate in the Belarusian and Russian press: the dispensation to Belarus of a Russian $2 billion loan and a visit to Minsk by Michael Carpenter, the United States’ Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine... MORE

Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Galbur, who also serves as the minister of foreign affairs and European integration, paid a working visit to Moscow, on April 4–5. Just days before, the Moldovan parliament approved a controversial declaration proclaiming “the inviolability, sovereignty, independence and permanent neutrality... MORE

In order to boost the role of the National Guard within the national defense system and to continue to develop its structures, Latvia’s Defense Minister Raimonds Bergmanis recently ordered the commander of the National Armed Forces, Raimonds Graube, to transform the current National Guard regional... MORE