Ukraine
Bomb blast kills pro-Russian paramilitary leader in Moscow
A bomb explosion in a luxury residential complex in Moscow has killed Armen Sarkisyan, a pro-Russian paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine, in what authorities are treating as a targeted assassination.
COMMENT: Ukraine eyes key role in Azerbaijani gas transit to Europe
Kyiv wants to become a transit hub for Azerbaijani gas after ending Russian gas transport, but plan faces political, logistical and economic hurdles.
COMMENT: Trump should do a deal with OPEC and tighten sanctions further to collapse the Russian economy
As its parting shot, the Biden administration imposed the toughest sanctions yet on Russian oil. The incoming Trump administration is changing tack and talking about negotiations, but should tighten sanctions further and cause Russia real pain.
KSE: The cost of the damage and funding needs to rebuild Ukraine's economy
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused massive destruction of civilian infrastructure. This includes a wide variety of assets and sectors, which have suffered at least $500bn in damage.
KSE: the G7’s $50bn ERA loans to provide Ukraine with stable financing for next few years
The G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine mechanism is designed to provide Ukraine with an additional $50bn in financial assistance over 2024-27, and will provide a stable source of funding over the next few years.
KSE assumes the war in Ukraine will end this year, lifting growth
Ukraine's economic resilience continues to be tested but if the war ends in 2025, economic growth should rise to 6% per year.
Belarusian firm providing Russia with military-quality microchips
A Belarusian state-owned enterprise has been supplying Russia with microchips crucial for missile production, using Western-manufactured equipment, components and raw materials in violation of international sanctions.
Ukraine’s alarming demographics turn on how many refugees return home after the war
Demographic data paint an alarming picture of Ukraine’s collapsing demographics, a problem that will be made worse by the fact that as time passes, fewer and fewer of the some 8mn Ukrainian refugees outside the country are likely to come home.
Will the Nord Steam gas pipelines be turned back on soon?
The idea of restarting Russian gas deliveries to Europe via the damaged Nord Stream 1 & 2 pipelines has been introduced as a possible bargaining chip in the mooted Russo-Ukraine ceasefire talks. If it happens it would solve many of Europe's problems.
Romanian presidential candidate Georgescu claims Ukraine is an “invented state”
Foreign ministry attempts damage control after far-right, pro-Russian politician Calin Georgescu proposes carving up Ukraine between Hungary, Poland, Romania and Russia.
Germany’s Russian LNG imports surge over 500% in 2024, via other countries
Germany talks loudly about ending Europe’s imports of Russian gas, but as a result of alternative sources of energy, it has seen imports of Russian LNG soar by 500% in 2024 y/y, worth a total of €7.32bn, delivered via other European countries.
Ukraine's stored gas falls to critically low levels, imports urgently needed
Ukraine's natural gas reserves in its massive underground storage tanks have fallen to a critical level and the country urgently needs to import more gas, says Serhiy Makogon, the former head of Ukraine's gas transit operator.
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Brazil's President Lula and Putin hold talks on Ukraine war and BRICS
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukraine conflict, trade and bilateral relations in a telephone conversation on January 27.
ING: EU considering Russian aluminium ban in new sanctions push
The European Union is reportedly considering more import restrictions on Russian aluminium as part of a new package of sanctions targeting Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. But any impact is likely to be limited.
Hungary lets EU extend Russia sanctions
The European Union foreign ministers have agreed to extend Russian sanctions for another six months, after Hungary lifted its opposition.
COMMENT: Why is Ukraine struggling to mobilise its citizens to fight?
Ukraine’s mobilisation efforts to replenish its manpower are failing and increasingly threatening Kyiv’s ability to defend itself against the Russian aggression, leading Russian analysts Peter Korotaev and Volodymyr Ishchenko say.
RIDDLE: Sanctions and the Eurasian Economic Union
The first months of 2025 are likely to mark a turning point in the history of sanctions against Russia: after three years of "escalating" but steadily reducing the tempo of sanctions policy. Are sanctions working?
Turkey’s role in European security on agenda as top diplomats of Ankara, EU meet
Donald Trump policies could set in motion an attempt at reconfiguring relations.
Protests against Fico’s pro-Kremlin turn intensify across Slovakia
The intensification of the pro-Kremlin turn of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico drew the largest crowd of demonstrators to the streets of the Slovak capital Bratislava since protests against Fico's Smer party-led cabinet began in late 2023.
Ukraine offers coal and experts to settle Transnistria’s energy crisis without Russia
If Ukraine solves the energy crisis in Moldova, it would thwart Russian efforts to exploit the crisis to pursue its political interests in Moldova.