Late last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk, the U.S.-based oligarch with extensive influence on American politics, had been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. The revelation came weeks after reports that similar calls were potentially made by former U.
For Russian liberals, late opposition leader Alexei Navalny represented a glimmer of hope for a democratic future. Yet for many Ukrainians, especially in the context of a decade of war, he was a more complex figure, often casting doubt on whether Russian opposition to Vladimir Putin necessarily aligned with support
Moldovan presidential candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo claimed he would continue supporting Ukraine, a statement dismissed by incumbent President Maia Sandu during a presidential debate on Oct. 27.
Belarus schedules next presidential election for January 2025. Belarus reportedly shoots down the second Russian drone amid ongoing incursions into its airspace. The EU supports Poland’s migration plan, including suspended right to asylum amid the continued artificial migration crisis at the Belarus border. Subscribe to the Newsletter Belarus Weekly
Although Russian interference has taken many forms in Moldova since its independence in 1991, the election and referendum results on Sunday shocked many pro-European Moldovans. Despite opinion polls showing clear support for entrenching the desire for EU accession into the country's constitution, the success of the EU referendum came down
A draft budget submitted to the Russian parliament last month has outlined the Kremlin's plans to keep spending high in its wartime economy, with ambitions to maintain the steady levels of growth the country has seen since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Surging government spending on war
Czech journalist Ray Baseley was denied entry to Georgia without an explanation after arriving at Tbilisi airport on Oct. 22 to cover the upcoming parliamentary elections.
When Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony in February 2024, the country’s liberal dissidents vowed to carry on their mission: to end the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Eight months on, however, and Russia’s opposition is bitterly divided, with little to no
The Polish government approves Donald Tusk's controversial migration strategy, suggesting to temporarily suspend the right to asylum amid the artificial migration crisis orchestrated by Belarus. Lukashenko says Russia’s nuclear weapons deployment in Belarus was long overdue, confirms Russian control over nuclear warheads. Belarusian political prisoner Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk re-sentenced for
Poland can make Ukraine's accession to the EU contingent on the resolution of the Volyn massacre as joining the bloc is not a matter of the country's survival, a Polish minister said in a media interview published on Oct. 15.
Estonia has emerged as a staunch advocate for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, pushing its NATO allies to step up military aid and make long-term commitments to Kyiv’s defense. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has been at the forefront of this effort, urging Kyiv's partners not merely to
Editor's note: The interview has been edited for clarity. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Despite receiving popular support during the 2020 elections, the Belarusian opposition leader was kicked out of her country, her supporters were jailed en masse, while the country she wanted to
Georgia and Ukraine have long been close. Witnessing revolutions that brought democratic pro-Western governments, both countries later witnessed a Russian military attack, in the Kremlin's attempt to pull both states back into Moscow's orbit. It now looks like in Georgia, 16 years after a brief war that left 20% of
Lithuania urges the International Criminal Court to investigate dictator Alexander Lukashenko and his regime for crimes against humanity, citing mass repression, deportations, and persecution of Belarusians. Vladimir Putin of Russia announces amendments to nuclear doctrine, threatening nuclear response for aggression against Belarus. IAEA director general confirms safety of controversial Belarusian
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Oct. 2 that exempts defendants from criminal liability if they join the Russian army, according to Russia's legal information portal.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the Warsaw Security Forum attended by the Kyiv Independent, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur explained that "everybody in the society will contribute a bit more."
Austrians went to the polls on Sept. 29, handing victory to the far-right, anti-migration Freedom Party (FPO). The party gained 29% of the vote, its best result to date. Founded in 1956 by Anton Reinthaller, a former Nazi SS officer, the party has long been climbing into the country's mainstream,
The Kremlin is facing a backlash from Russian military bloggers outraged at reports of specialist troops being sent to storm Ukrainian positions in order to maintain pressure on the front lines. Facing a shortage of manpower and a pressing need to maintain the grinding advances in eastern Ukraine, Russia has
In a meeting with a top Russian militant, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko admits to a decade-long cooperation with occupied Donetsk and complicity in hosting abducted Ukrainian children. The U.S. condemns Belarusian state-owned TV channel for broadcasting “repentance” of U.S. citizen turned Belarusian political prisoner Yury Ziankovich. Far-right German
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of running a "mafia state" and compared him to a slave owner during his speech at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 24. Lammy, who took over as British Foreign Secretary in July 2024, has
Last October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine would strike Russia's Black Sea Fleet wherever it will be stationed — implying that could also include occupied parts of Georgia, where Russia has kept a garrison and is rumored to be constructing a naval base. "We will reach them everywhere," the president
The de facto leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party stunned Georgians — who are rarely shocked by the turbulent political situation in the country — by declaring that Georgia should "apologize" for Russia's 2008 war against the country. Oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili's statement on Sept. 14 was a campaign promise made ahead
Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian oil refineries are trying to achieve what Western sanctions couldn’t: grinding down what fuels Russia’s war machine and the backbone of its economy in an echo of the Allies' oil bombing campaign on German assets in World War II. Since the start
U.S. government legal actions targeting a network of Russian influence last week have exposed shortcomings in the country's laws designed to tackle the malign influence of foreign agents, experts told the Kyiv Independent. Treasury sanctions targeted leaders of Russian state-owned news outlet RT, formerly Russia Today, a media organization
In the wake of a Ukrainian incursion in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko began to move his country’s Armed Forces closer to Ukraine’s borders. And Ukrainian officials began to pay attention to those movements. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry warned that Belarus is "concentrating a significant number
Speaking at a press conference, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said the perpetrators' goals were to "extort information, to blackmail individuals and institutions, and to wage de facto cyberwar."
Belarusian fighter jets reportedly shot at a Russian drone in Belarusian airspace for the first time. Sweden to review Belarusian asylum application rulings amid criticism for using outdated country information. Belarusian activist awaits Serbian court’s extradition ruling, fears persecution and torture at home. Subscribe to the Newsletter Belarus Weekly
Ukraine should become a member of the EU despite disagreements with Poland over the historical issue of the mass killings of Poles in Volyn in the 1940s, Speaker of the Polish Parliament Szymon Holownia said on Aug. 31.
Sitting on NATO's eastern frontier, Lithuania has been punching above its weight when it comes to aiding Ukraine. Ranked among the top military donors in terms of GDP per capita, the country of 2.8 million has provided Ukraine with helicopters, drones, armored vehicles, and air defenses, not to mention
Minsk rejects Kyiv's calls to remove troops from the border amid rising tensions between Ukraine and Belarus. Russian drone incursions into Belarusian airspace becoming the norm: In the latest Russian attacks on Kyiv, at least three Shahed drones entered Belarusian airspace. Belarus and China agreed to strengthen ties, signing free
In an interview with Russian state TV, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claims he deployed a third of his army to Ukraine's border earlier this year. Lukashenko pardons 30 Belarusian political prisoners, while another 1,400 remain behind bars on politically motivated charges. Lithuania builds a military base for 4,000
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Azerbaijan for the first time since the beginning of its full-scale war on Ukraine on Aug. 18, the latest significant development in the South Caucasus country's delicate balancing act between East and West. The visit comes amid a larger, historic realignment between the three countries
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