Ukraine
Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy switches rhetorical tack from victory to resistance
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has changed his rhetorical tack and announced a comprehensive ten-point internal “Resilience Plan” during his evening address on November 14, after months of talking about a “victory plan” for Ukraine.
Slovak gas distributor SPP concludes pilot deal with Azerbaijan's SOCAR
SPP is looking at options to replace Russian gas brought by pipeline across Ukraine.
KYIV BLOG: Odesa, bombarded but unbowed
Sporadic Russian missile attacks have become part of everyday life in Odesa, Ukraine’s main Black Sea port city.
Finding workers in wartime Odesa
The challenge to fill workplaces and support small businesses in Ukraine’s beleaguered port city.
Poland’s Tusk moots diplomatic offensive before Trump’s presidency
Poland’s key concern is Trump following through on his pledge to try to quickly end the war in Ukraine, which Warsaw is worried means forcing Ukraine to concede territories lost to Russia by cutting short military aid to Kyiv.
Trump holds first phone call with Putin
US President-elect Donald Trump held his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 7 and warned Moscow “not to escalate the war in Ukraine”
RAGOZIN: What will a Trump-led peace deal in Ukraine look like?
For Ukraine conflict watchers, all eyes now are on President Donald Trump who famously promised to stop the war “within 24 hours”.
COMMENT: Political, economic and security headaches Trump Europe’s mounting problems
The re-election of Donald Trump as US President could become a major headache for Europe that is already struggling to keep its head above recessionary water.
EU leaders gauge impact of Trump’s return at Budapest ECP summit
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe to embrace "strategic autonomy" in the wake of Trump's victory, advocating for a Europe less reliant on American military protection.
Erdogan urges full inclusion of Turkey in EU defence efforts
With second largest land forces in Nato, Ankara may have an ace in efforts to join European bloc if Trump takes US on isolationist path.
KYIV BLOG: Trump 2.0 is good news for Putin, bad news for Zelenskiy
Trump is back. That is bad news for Zelenskiy but good news for Putin. It makes a ceasefire more likely as while Biden was dedicated to supporting Ukraine, Trump’s “America First” mantra means he is likely to disengage.
VISEGRAD BLOG: Central Europe's populists clamour to applaud Trump's victory
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is set to parade his support for Trump at the European Political Community meeting in Budapest on November 7-8.
US financial sanctions on Russia are working, but yet to affect trade volumes significantly
Since December 2023, the US administration has been intensifying its pressure on Russia's financial system with its so-called strangulation sanctions, making it progressively more difficult for the latter to finance its imports.
MOSCOW BLOG: The EU loses its appeal
One of the salient points is that would-be members have never been interested in the “values” part of the deal and see the need to adhere to them simply as an annoyance that has to be tolerated if you want access to the transformation grants.
MOSCOW BLOG: The EU loses its appeal
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the only thing almost all the former republics and vassal states wanted to do was join the European Union. It was a no brainer. Not any more. A growing number of countries have cooled on joining the EU.
KSE: Ukraine Macroeconomic Handbook October 2024
Despite robust real GDP growth in 2024-27, and especially after the end of the full-scale war, Ukraine is expected to lag behind its convergence path to the EU, Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) said in its October Ukrainian macroeconomic report.