Moldova’s recent local elections faced unprecedented levels of Russian interference. In the lead up to the presidential election next year, the EU should help Moldova counter these threats before it’s too late
Moldova’s total dependence on Russian gas makes it a key front in Moscow’s hybrid war. The EU should help Moldova diversify its energy supplies to prevent further destabilisation.
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Russia sees two types of sovereignty in its civilisational space. Full Westphalian sovereignty – which it believes it has and Ukraine does not. This means that defending Ukraine means defending its sovereignty in full.
Lukashenka is complicit in Russia’s war on Ukraine. But this should not stigmatise members of the Belarusian democratic movement – who need more support than they are receiving.
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities.
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy.
Recent elections have seen Georgia’s ruling party dig in, while Moldova’s has lost the presidency
President Volodymyr Zelensky could violate the constitution as he tries to prevent the Constitutional Court from dismantling governance reforms
Russia’s goal in its neighbourhood is to regain influence, not to be surrounded by neutral, self-sufficient buffer states
No clear postwar situation is likely to emerge in Ukraine. The country’s EU partners will have to help it reform during wartime.
If Moldova can resist Russia’s weaponisation of gas and get through this winter, it should be able to make strong progress on its programme of reforms
The campaign has encouraged Zelensky’s tendency towards governance through informal means. This has allowed him to act speedily – but it risks letting oligarchic influence return
The EU should make use of its significant leverage in Georgia and Moldova to counter their ruling parties’ extensive repertoire of electoral dirty tricks
Introduction Volodymyrska Hill, Kyiv, on a June evening in 2019. Kyivans and tourists stroll along the riverside park’s newly relaid paths, many wending their way…
Dramatic change may not be on the cards, but the EU can and should shift to a ‘status quo plus’ approach that builds on existing activity
Renewed Minsk-Moscow cooperation in the ‘Zapad’ war games should not see the door to Belarus closed
The future of Europe’s relations with Russia looks bleak as the Kremlin pursues an increasingly aggressive foreign policy
The penetration of Ukrainian politics by the super-rich oligarchy still forms a major obstacle to reform
Ukrainian experts on war, politics and national identity
Moldova’s recent local elections faced unprecedented levels of Russian interference. In the lead up to the presidential election next year, the EU should help Moldova counter these threats before it’s too late
Moldova’s total dependence on Russian gas makes it a key front in Moscow’s hybrid war. The EU should help Moldova diversify its energy supplies to prevent further destabilisation.
In Ukraine and North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church is facing deep, even violent, splits, on the one hand; and is edging closer to resolving decades-old disputes, on the other
Russia sees two types of sovereignty in its civilisational space. Full Westphalian sovereignty – which it believes it has and Ukraine does not. This means that defending Ukraine means defending its sovereignty in full.
Lukashenka is complicit in Russia’s war on Ukraine. But this should not stigmatise members of the Belarusian democratic movement – who need more support than they are receiving.
Relations between Moldova and Transnistria seem to be losing some of their traditional hostility. But, if Russia is in a hurry to achieve a public relations victory in Moldova, Chisinau will find it difficult to make progress in talks with the Transnistrian authorities.
The EU should learn from Moldova’s response to its gas crisis. It would be a mistake to link Russian concessions on energy prices to talks in areas such as trade policy.
Recent elections have seen Georgia’s ruling party dig in, while Moldova’s has lost the presidency
President Volodymyr Zelensky could violate the constitution as he tries to prevent the Constitutional Court from dismantling governance reforms
Russia’s goal in its neighbourhood is to regain influence, not to be surrounded by neutral, self-sufficient buffer states
What concepts define Ukrainian history and identity, and how is this important in understanding Ukraine’s response to the Russian invasion?
What can and should the EU do to support Ukrainian sovereignty?
What kind of implications do the developments in Belarus have for the wider neighbourhood and Europe?
Although US President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the election are shameless, they are still more subtle than the outright election rigging that one finds…
In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro stepped in as host and welcomes senior policy fellows Kadri Liik and Andrew Wilson as well as political scientist…
Mark Leonard speaks with Andrew Wilson, Kadri Liik and Nicu Popescu about the Kerch Strait ship capture, what this means and how the international community…
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses peacekeeping in Ukraine and the EU's Russia policy with ECFR's Russia expert, Kadri Liik and ECFR's Ukraine expert Andrew Wilson
Discussion avec Andrew Wilson, senior policy fellow du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR et Mathilde Ciulla, coordinatrice du bureau de Paris de l'ECFR,…
Podcast de la conférence “L’Union européenne et le Partenariat oriental” du 19/10 à la Maison de l'Europe de Paris avec Andrew Wilson, senior…
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with experts Andrew Wilson, Fredrik Wesslau and Gustav Gressel, about rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbass, the Minsk agreement,…
In challenging times for Ukraine, despite public appraisals following the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ten-year mark of the Russian…
Although there’s been some slight shift in public opinion, the crisis doesn’t change the fundamentals of Moldova’s European direction
Andrew Wilson on how the energy crisis affects tensions between Moldova and the breakaway territory of Transnistria
Ukraine was a factor in delaying Johnson’s resignation
Andrew Wilson assesses the relevance of Boris Johnson’s resignation on the war in Ukraine
There is a danger that the West’s solidarity with Ukraine will trump its previous support for the Belarusian opposition. Indeed, the Belarusian democratic movement may find it harder to gain attention
Pavel Slunkin and Andrew Wilson’s analysis on Belarus’ government’s support for Russia on the invasion of Ukraine
This is really the War of the Big Lie. The Lie that Ukraine doesn’t exist. The Lie that Ukraine has no right to full sovereignty because it is a puppet state of the West.
Andrew Wilson gives insight into how the West must handle Putin’s ‘war of the Big Lie’
It is the standard not just Russian but Soviet method: brinkmanship, demand the maximum, don’t concede, extract concessions from the other side
Andrew Wilson on Vladimir Putin’s aggressive stance