Ukraine
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Ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine don't want to be Orbán's pawns
Ethnic Hungarians living in the Zakarpatya region, in the far south-west of Ukraine, have become an important piece in the
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Europe needs to think about the endgame in Ukraine
‘Extraordinary times require extraordinary leadership,’ said Daria Kaleniuk, head of the Anticorruption Action Centre in Kyiv
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Caught in the jaws of the ‘russkiy mir’: Ukraine’s occupied regions a year after their annexation
Although Kremlin propaganda has attempted to present the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as permanent
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Eggs, jackets and Amazon. Why the Ukrainian Minister of Defence was replaced
Finally, president Volodymyr Zelensky intervened at the ministry of Defence. The replacement of minister Oleksi Reznikov with Rustem Umerov was a response to crises that could have been prevented if the government had timely reformed the defense procurement system earlier. -
Kolomoisky arrest is 'key test' of Zelensky's anti-corruption campaign
The arrest of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky on 2 September is seen as a definite break with the old ways of doing business. By arresting the man whose television station backed his presidential election campaign back in 2019, Zelensky presents himself as an anti-corruption crusador. -
Surveys show: Ukrainians still rally around the flag
Ukrainians are determined to withstand Russian terror and unwilling to make concessions. This is one of the outcomes of the annual opinion polls that are traditionally presented on the occasion of Ukrainian Independence Day, on the 24th of August. Whereas official celebrations had to be cancelled for the second year in a row, four reputable polling organizations show that pride in Ukrainian citizenship is at an unprecedented high. -
A country of volunteers and activists. How civil society helps to withstand the war
The Maidan was a turning point for the Ukrainian civil society. Since the Revolution of Dignity local and national initiatives of
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Kherson: life in a flooded city
On the 6th of June, the day of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, journalist Igor Burdyga arrived in Kherson. He returned to his hometown to document the devastating effects of the Dnipro's rising waters flooding the city. Burdyga’s firsthand account of the weeks that followed shows how, despite ruined homes, waist-high floods, and food shortages, Kherson’s residents are still finding reasons to smile. -
Not Germany or France but US main obstacle for Ukraine’s access to NATO
Fifteen years ago Germany and France refused Ukraine membership of NATO. Now the USA are the main obstacle. On the eve of the NATO-summit in Vilnius (11-12 July) the stakes are high. Ukraine will not accept promises about ‘deepening the partnership’ but will ask for a clear invitation. -
Ukrainian civil society appeals to NATO leaders ahead of summit
More than seventy Ukrainian think tanks, NGOs and other organizations are calling on NATO to hurry. According to them, a commitment to membership acts as a deterrent to Russia and gives Ukraine energy and confidence in victory. -
In Russian captivity. Six circles of hell
The treatment of Ukrainian soldiers in Russian captivity is torture. Russian guards use all kinds of methods to break the Ukrainian soldiers. The Ukrainian journalist and grenadier Yevhen Shybalov described in the Ukrainian bilingual weekly Zerkalo Nedeli / Dzerkalo Tizhnya (Mirror of the Week) the six circles of hell that he discovered in Russian captivity. -
Arrest warrant for children's ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova
The International Criminal Court in The Hague asked for the arrest of Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner of Children's Rights in Russia. With 22 children she is clearly no ordinary mom. One of them is a 15 year old boy from Mariupol. The Russian publication Verstka portrayed the woman who is considered instrumental in the deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children. -
Sociologist Grigory Yudin: ‘The war is now forever’
Sociologist Yudin doesn’t expect the war will end as long as Russia’s resentful leader Vladimir Putin is in the Kremlin: 'They’re preparing the country for a long and difficult war.’ -
One night in Bakhmut: waiting for the end
Few inhabitants remain in the city of Bakhmut in Eastern Ukraine. Some are waiting for the Russians to arrive. Others are staying to help others, or because they have nowhere else to go. -
Russia's agression ended Ukrainian ambivalence
Putin did not create the Ukrainian nation. It has a long history. What Russia's agression did achieve, however, is end the people's ambivalence between East and West. -
Wagner group cemeteries growing across Russia
Yekaterina Barkalova visited the village Bakinskaya in southwestern Russia, and saw how more than 300 fighters from the notorious Wagner mercenary company were buried in Bakinskaya since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine -
How to save Ukraine's economy from the war
The Russian war against Ukraine has had a disastrous impact on the country’s economy.The functioning of the country depends almost entirely on international financial aid but it’s still not sufficient compared to the country’s needs. -
New commander, new goals for Russia in Ukraine
Now it is clear that the Russian army is not able to wage an offensive war for lack of ammunition and sophisticated troops, the Russians change tactics. According to ex-diplomat Vladimir Frolov in an article for Carnegie Politika the idea is to buy time till spring and use evacuated Kherson as fortification and protection of free access to Crimea. -
Russia increases military presence in Belarus
In October Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and president Vladimir Putin announced to deploy a new regional group of joint Russian and Belorussian forces in Belarus. What is behind this move? In a piece for Carnegie Politika the in Minsk based political analyst Artyom Shraibman argues that it's part of the ongoing erosion of the sovereignty of Belarus. -
What does Russia's martial law entail?
On October 19, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a ...
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Russian elites unlikely to split
Since the beginning of the war rumours spread concerning the possibility of a split among the Russian elites. But despite individual dissent there is no reason to expect such a split nor organised collective action against the ‘special military operation’ in the foreseeable future. -
Putin's address to Russia
In his address to the nation on Wednesday Putin announced ‘partial mobilization’ for the war in Ukraine. He also supported the
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Rob Lee: 'Huge breakthrough Kherson unlikely'
Journalist Lilia Yapparova interviewed military analyst Rob Lee on Meduza about Ukraine’s push to liberate the Kherson region from Russian occupation. 'Will they be able to take back all of Kherson? I don't know. But I think they will be able to at least take back some towns and have some success.' -
First grain ship left Ukraine but agreements have limited succes
For the first time since the Russian invasion, a ship carrying grain was able to leave the port of Odesa on August 1. A day after the agreement was signed, however, Odesa was hit by a Russian missile strike. And a week later, Ukrainian agricultural tycoon Oleksiy Vadatursky was killed when a Russian missile destroyed his house. -
Old and New Ukrainian Paths to European Integration
Getting the candidate status for EU membership on 23 June 2022 for Ukraine and Moldova was far more than a symbolic gesture. For the first time in its history Ukraine has the prospect of a European future.But there is a long way to go and Ukraine needs help and support. In the end it might strengthen the EU substantially. -
Diary of Katya Savchenko: 'I can’t believe that we managed to escape'
From February 27 till March 31 the Russian army was fighting around and eventually occupying the Ukrainian town of Bucha, 30
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How the West misunderstood the criminals in the Kremlin
Several months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the global discussion about the war has divided into two opposing
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Real Fascism to combat fake Nazism: Patrushev’s dreams of a warfighting Russia
Chief of Russia's Security Council Nikolay Patrushev is the person closest to Putin, and the most sinister figure in Russia's
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Despite Doomsday predictions, Bulgaria proves there is life after Russian gas
On April 27 Gazprom abruptly shut off the gas taps to Bulgaria and Poland, because the countries refused to pay for their contracts
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Russian soldiers: 'We have no idea who we are fighting for'
Moscow has yet to confirm the exact number of Russian soldiers currently fighting in Ukraine. According to various estimates,
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'It is impossible for the system in Russia not to change'
While waging war on Ukraine, the Russian state has intensified its already tight control over the Internet, press, and opposition at
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Russia's elites are desperate about the war
People in power, middle class business men who prospered under Putin, technocrats who are not allowed to leave:
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Zelenskyi’s spokesperson: soldier, actor, psychologist, propagandist
One of the most intriguing advisors of president Zelenskyi is the 46-year old Oleksiy Arestovych, who predicted the war in
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Russia's catastrophic geopolitics: Putin is late by a century
International scolars on gepopolitics like the American professor John Mearsheimer don't seem to understand that their
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Brainwashing at Russia’s universities: how teachers have to present Putin’s policy
Soon after the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine started, university teachers all over Russia were ordered to teach their
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What is known about the deportation of Ukrainian citizens to Russia?
Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of forcibly taking thousands of civilians to the Russian Federation. They also warn for
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Ukrainian journalists in open letter to colleagues: it’s 'Russia's war', not 'a two sided crisis'
In an open letter to colleagues abroad, a group of Ukrainian journalists warned for the pitfalls of Russian
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Will the 'European Dream' of Ukraine ever come true?
Public opinion in Europe supports the fight of Ukrainians against Russia. The EU reluctantly offered a protracted path to
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Putin’s last stand: how to lose a war simply by starting one
How did this war with Ukraine even become a possibility? Maxim Trudolyubov, editor of the Riga-based Russian
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Ukraine’s occupied towns are facing a tough choice: collaborate or resist?
Local mayors in East-Ukrainian towns surrounded by Russian forces face a stark choice: do they surrender or stay in power to
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War of obsession: Why Putin is risking Russia’s future
By invading Ukraine Putin has shown that he has put his obsession with this neighbour above the national interest of Putin. As
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What would a war with Ukraine mean for ordinary Russians?
Considering that a war with Ukraine would foster political dissatisfaction even among the part of the population
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Russia’s business elite silently fears cost of war
Russia's business elite is worried and scared about the prospect of war with Ukraine, but stays eerily silent. In matters of
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The power of keeping calm. Why Ukraine downplays Russian aggression
The topic of a possible war has recently dominated Ukraine’s politics and media. For OSW, Warsaw-based
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What Scenarios Might Emerge in Ukraine?
As Western countries recall diplomats from Kyiv amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,
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Putin promises 'adequate military responses'
During a meeting at the Ministry of Defense on 21 December Putin promised 'adequate military and technical responses' if the West continues its 'clearly aggressive line' of NATO expansion. Accepting means 'a fundamental overhaul of the current European security order in favour of Russia'. But refusal gives Russia the pretext for military action against Ukraine. -
How do Russians feel about a war with Ukraine?
Militarization stopped being a way to mobilize Russians in support of the government. Instead of mobilization, state propaganda has created a fear of world war. The majority of young Russians has a positive or very positive attitude toward Ukraine. Before launching an offensive, the Kremlin does better to realize who is willing to fight. -
Ukraine crisis: a case study in modern Kremlinology
Putin has loaded the gun. But will the trigger also be pulled? The West cannot know for sure what is intended. The Ukraine crisis is a kind of quantum politics. -
Moscow wants to limit Ukraine's sovereignty via Washington
Many of the debates about the possibility of a Russian military action against Ukraine focus on what what US President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders can do to prevent it (or how to react if it happens.) What has been missing is a reflection on some of the wider contextual motives behind Moscow’s moves to ratchet up tension. -
What Russia’s military movements could mean for Ukraine, Europe, and NATO
Once again Russia is mobilising its forces near the Ukrainian border, but much more covertly than in the past. Moscow’s belief that the EU and US will not step in to protect Ukraine could lead it to take direct military action. -
Russian foreign policy is changing rapidly
The amassment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border makes the world nervous. Putin's retoric is belligerent and the Kremlin refuses to talk to the Ukrainian leadership. Is it deterrence, bluff or the foreboding of war? -
Ukraine, Russia and the last empire in Europe
President Putin and Security Council member Dmitry Medvedev openly discredited Ukraine as an independent state.Causing the rage is a fundamental attitude of imperial Russia, that denies its neighbour's right to independence. -
Russia is an 'island', not ready for détente
Neither expansionism, nor détente with Europe is the answer for the future of the Russian Federation after the break-up of the
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Sticks and carrots in Biden’s Russia strategy
So far it is two cheers for Biden's approach to Russia, Some of the sanctions will be more effective than others. By calling Putin a 'killer' with respect to Navalny, but at the same time inviting him for a meeting, he shows he has sticks and carrots to offer. -
The real fight for democracy starts when the dictators are gone
Three times Russian journalist Ekaterina Sergatskova had to flee: first from Russia, then from Crimea and now from Ukraine. Her last flight was caused by threats after she published a story about the links between Ukrainian neo-nazi's and the wellknown post-Maidan fact-checker StopFake. In this columnshe warns the West that overcoming dictatorship doesn't automatically mean that democracy will blossom. -
Competion between US LNG and Russian gas is great for Europe
Never a dull moment. This is the feeling one has when observing the tumultuous turns of events in the complex entanglement of energy and politics involving Europe, Russia, the US, and countries in the neighbourhood. The US imposes sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and the energy market is politicising. Is the EU-Russia gas relation a liability? Who profits the most from it? -
Russia facing Europe: a roadmap for improvement
In the relationship between Russia and Europe, illusions about rapprochement are gone. However, the relation is not confrontational either. It's in Russia's interest to strengthen economic and technological ties with the EU, argues Dmitri Trenin, director of Carnegie Center Moscow on the website of his think tank. -
'The future of Russia is evolution to a European parliamentary democracy'
In a hall with over 400 (mostly) students at the Campus The Hague, Mikhail Khodorkovsky spoke about the future of Russia. Khodorkovsky declared himself a staunch supporter of evolutionary change in Russia, from a presidential system to a fullfledged democratic parliamentary republic. -
Don't call the conflict in the Donbas a 'civil war'
Not only Russians, but also scores of western politicians and commentators use the term 'civil war' for the armed conflict in the Donbas. This is a false flag, argues researcher Tobias Wals, to deny Russia's heavy involvement in the military operation. -
The Yuri Tymoshenko Risk
In a worst-case scenario, political-technological trickery could unsettle social stability in Ukraine. Cynical puppet masters are prepared to risk the outbreak of a major domestic civil conflict for the sake of securing the re-election of Ukraine’s incumbent president. -
Ukraine is pregnant with its own version of Putinism
On March 31 Ukrainians will vote for a new president. It looks like a run-off between Petro Poroshenko and TV comedian Volodymir Zelensky. This 'against-all' candidate with no political experience shows that a large chunk of the electorate is fed up with Poroshenko's Putinism-lite. The West prefers to neglect these signs, says journalist Leonid Ragozin. -
Ukraine’s Presidential Elections May Be Unpredictable but Five Things Are Certain
In March 2019, Ukrainians vote for a new president. Don't underestimate Poroshenko, warns consultant Brian Mefford, based in Kyiv. His fight for an independent Ukrainian orthodox church raised his popularity. One thing is sure: thanks to Crimea and the Donbass war, the Russian political bloc has completely lost its clout. -
Turmoil about West-Ukrainian ban on Russian-language culture
The Lviv regional council on September 18 put a ban on Russian-language cultural products, that has drawn a lot of criticism in and
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Footprints of the Russian Military Intelligence Agency GRU are everywhere
The Russian GRU is back in charge. Be it in the Mueller indictment, the annexation of Crimea, the Skripal case, the downing of MH17,
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Russia’s alienation from the West: who is to blame?
In a
Украинская автокефалия как историческая драма
Встреча президента Украины Петра Порошенко и патриарха Варфоломея стала началом четвертого акта большой исторической драмы под
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Black Monday Blues in Moscow
Column Dutch businessman Jeroen Ketting has been
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Putin’s ‘Greater Russia’: misunderstanding or mission?
The controversy that broke out in February 2018 over what Russian president Vladimir Putin did or did not say in a meeting in 2006
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Separation from Ukraine is good for Russia's future
While in Moscow it is commonly accepted that Ukraine's separation from Russia was caused by a plot, Dmitri Trenin argues
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Europe's challenge: a measured response to Russia
With the end of the Cold War the geo-strategic reality in Europe changed. The Charter of Paris, signed in 1990, confirmed the right
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Ukraine’s patronalistic regime is trying to preserve itself
The old clans are re-asserting their power in Ukraine again, while staying on a European course. In Ukraine pro-European political
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Cyber-challenge cuts both ways
Russia now is considered as one of the main actors in cyberwar. But using 'patriotic hackers' can backfire in your own
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Ukrainians can travel visa-free to EU: what should we expect?
With a concert on Maydan Square Ukrainians celebrated that since June 11 they can travel to European countries without a visa. 'Farewell,
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Three years after Maidan the revolution in Ukraine is not over yet
Three years ago the Maidan demonstrations ended in blood and with the flight of president Yanukovich to Russia. Young Ukrainians,
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Two Ukraines and two Russias
For Ukraine and Russia last year proved out to be a year of relative stability, both in political and economical terms. But
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Why do the West and Russia fear each other?
In december Dmitri Trenin, director of Carnegie Moscow Center, published the book 'Should we fear Russia?' He warns the West
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Европа — назад к сферам влияния?
Владимир Путин требует для России положения сверхдержавы, и избрание Трампа может сыграть ему на руку. Но на чем основаны
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Glazyev Tapes: What Moscow's interference in Ukraine means for the Minsk Agreements
More and more details emerge about the Kremlin's involvement in the uprising in Ukraine. The Glazyev Tapes show how deep that
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Ukraine's turbulent past between hagiography and demonization
Western scolars criticize Ukraine for its selective national memory policies. Moscow demonizes Ukrainian national liberation
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Why young people keep leaving Eastern Europe
We are the most educated and globally competitive young generation that Eastern Europe has ever seen, writes Ukrainian journalist
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What is behind Russia's tough talk on Crimea?
Russia reacted unusually strong after a misty shoot-out near the border with Crimea, blamed on 'Ukrainian terrorists'. Putin in
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Europe is weak, Christian Russia is winning
Russia and Europe are fighting an ideological battle. The postmodern, secular and powerless Europe is challenged by Russia, where
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The real goal of Russia's unprecedented missile strikes on Ukraine
On 17 October Russia resumed its indiscriminate missile terror on Ukrainian cities. The attacks started a week ago, on 10 October,
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