Section: Research & Analysis
Lancets: How Russia manufactures kamikaze drones despite sanctions
IStories or Important Stories (an independent Russian website specialising in investigative journalism) continues to tell how Russia circumvents sanctions. “Russia still has something to cool down the enthusiasm of those eager to wage war. Ukraine, for example, has purchased Turkish Bayraktar drones. The Russian Lancet, which flies at twice...
Between Russian and Hungarian captivity: how the “game” with 11 Ukrainian soldiers led Orban into the Kremlin trap
It could have been just good news or the start of diplomatic reconciliation between Kyiv and Budapest, shifting the accumulated distrust between the two capitals. After all, the release of 11 Ukrainian soldiers from Russian captivity is an exceptional event, and Ukraine appreciates countries that achieve such feats. However, instead, it turned...
State-kidnapper: How Russia kidnaps Ukrainian orphans and raises them as Russians
IStories or Important Stories (an independent Russian website specialising in investigative journalism) stated that nearly 2,500 orphans who could have been forcibly deported from Ukraine have been discovered. We reveal how Russian authorities kidnap Ukrainian children and attempt to raise them as Russians. In Russia, there is a state database of...
A miser plays 3 times. How Western companies that cling to Russia lose markets, business, and reputation
Putin’s army has been waging a war of destruction against Ukrainians for 16 months in a row. It makes no sense for global brands to hide their business in Russia anymore. The list of Western companies that have chosen to work for a state sponsor of terrorism is well known. Many of them have made it clear that they are not going to leave the...
“In 2025, we will cut off the “independence” of Transnistria due to non-payment. If Moscow doesn’t do it earlier”
Sergiu Tofilat is a Moldovan politician and expert, one of the most authoritative public experts in Moldova on energy issues. We met in Chișinău to discuss a matter that also concerns Ukraine. About Transnistria. Contrary to common myths, the main source of funding, and overall existence, of this Russian-occupied enclave stretching 200 km along...
Britain has found a way to return confiscated funds of Russian oligarchs to Ukraine
The question of confiscating Russian assets abroad has been discussed practically since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. All Ukrainian allies agree that Ukraine should receive compensation through the seizure of Russian assets. However, no common solutions on how to do this have been reached yet, and each...
Confiscation as the last argument: How does the United States see the mechanism of transferring Russian assets to Ukraine?
A year ago, in June 2022, Canada passed special legislation called the Special Economic Measures Act, which introduced the procedure for the confiscation of Russian assets. At that time, this step was seen as an important milestone towards ensuring compensation for Ukraine. And most importantly, it served as a precedent for other countries,...
5 steps towards Russian funds for reconstruction of Ukraine
The European Union has concluded that it cannot legally confiscate frozen Russian assets in the EU, but it has finally identified a potential path for their utilization. No country in the world can meet all of Ukraine’s reconstruction needs. The scattered frozen Russian assets around the world remain the real and primary source of recovery....
Global brands continue to finance the war
After the start of full-scale war and the mass withdrawal of international companies from the Russian market, the visit of Ukrainians to stores became reminiscent of an episode from the TV series In a Better World: how to buy a chocolate bar without sponsoring terrorism. According to data from the KSE Institute, out of nearly 1,500 large foreign...
Peacekeepers from Africa: what is good and bad about their visit
Belarus, Brazil, Vatican, Indonesia, China, Mexico, Turkey, South Africa. The number of countries offering their mediation in ending the Russian-Ukrainian war is constantly growing: leaders of many nations are trying to promote themselves in this war by assuming the role of peacemakers. And so, the delegation of African countries (which included...