The peace plan advanced last Friday (June 20) by President Petro Poroshenko aimed to reassert the integrity of the Ukrainian state, yet it may mark a new escalation of hostilities in Donbas—the eastern territory of Ukraine encompassing Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russian President Vladimir Putin... MORE

The Russian government refuses to understand that the history of the groups they conquered and the history of the conquerors cannot be combined into one narrative. When the conquerors start reciting their heroic history, they come into conflict with those whom they conquered, who have... MORE

Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warnings, Gazprom has fully halted natural gas supplies to Ukraine since June 16, citing debts calculated by Moscow for past deliveries of gas to Ukraine (see EDM, June 19). The Ukrainian government views Gazprom’s move in the broader context of... MORE

The distinctive feature of the kidnappings in the North Caucasus today is that they are apparently carried out only by Russian government forces. In fact, some analysts assert that the kidnappings of the earlier periods, ostensibly organized by Chechen militants between the first and the... MORE

On June 16, Russia suspended natural gas supplies to Ukraine over non-payment of debts for supplies already delivered. Russia would resume the supplies on condition that Ukraine pays in advance for any gas volume that it would request to import from Russia (pre-payment). On that... MORE

In the Duma, on June 18, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reportedly told deputies: “Russian troops are ready for any eventuality in Ukraine.” The Q & A with Shoigu was classified, but deputies still gave an outline of his statements. The defense minister confirmed Russian combat... MORE

Against the backdrop of the quickly unfolding situation in Ukraine—the annexation of Crimea and the guerrilla war in eastern Ukrainian—there are growing fears in Georgia that Russia will also use similar techniques, including elections or referenda, to annex Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgian politicians and... MORE

On June 8, residents of the village of Vinsady in Stavropol region’s Predgorny district rallied against government plans to allow the construction of a mosque. Six hundred people joined the protest against the authorities’ decision, but went home after a local official reassured them that... MORE

Russia’s response to the EuroMaidan, which dislodged president Viktor Yanukovych’s government, utilized a broad range of political and military tools leveraging Moscow’s influence in shaping the future of its close neighbor. It caught Western governments by surprise, stunned critics, silenced analysts, and left the public... MORE

At 3 a.m., on June 9, a car blew up on the road that connects the Dagestani villages of Kupa and Gunib. Two people, identified as Mukhtar Agaev and Shapi Nurmagomedov, died in the explosion. Both were residents of the village of Sagratl in Dagestan’s... MORE