Section: Research & Analysis
About the loneliness of the three: the rapprochement of Russia, China, and North Korea
North Korea’s ceremonies and international implications Last week, ceremonies were held in North Korea to commemorate the “victory” in the Korean War of 1950-1953. The extravagance of the celebrations fully matched the absurdity of the event. North Korea, which invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, lost 3,900 square kilometers...
Poland in the crosshairs of the Kremlin: Russia raised the stakes to avoid a total defeat
Poland is one of the main targets for Russia. This is not surprising, given the country’s significant support to Ukraine, which lies beyond the Vistula River. However, recent events vividly demonstrate how far the Kremlin is willing to go to hinder Polish aid. This has escalated tensions to an even higher level. Enemy of my enemy On July...
Sanctions loophole. Almost all sanctioned goods worth billions of dollars make their way into Russia
Just in the last six months, Russia imported banned chips from Western companies worth more than $502 million, which are used for the production of rockets and other types of weapons. Machines for the defense industry were also imported, amounting to at least $171 million, along with Western spare parts for civil aviation worth $389 million, and...
NATO fails the “courage test.” Helicopter invasion of Poland could have serious consequences
On the first day of August, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) faced a challenge it hadn’t seen in a long time. Currently, NATO is failing to effectively respond to this challenge. It is important to highlight that this challenge is not only directed at Poland alone, whose border with Belarus was violated by two military...
FPV drones: a new threat to the Ukrainian military. How to respond
In the coming months, FPV drones, also known as first-person-view drones, where the operator controls the drone through special goggles, could become Russia’s primary response to Ukrainian advantage in modern technology. No Western weapon supplies can keep up with the speed at which these drones can destroy it. There might even be a real...
Coercion to guilt. “We forgive and ask for forgiveness” — a formula that leads to genuine reconciliation
The complex history of Polish-Ukrainian relations July is the month when Ukrainian-Polish relations traditionally become tense. Every year, the Polish Sejm adopts resolutions regarding events that took place in Volyn in 1943. These resolutions, while concerning historical events, are mostly filled with political interpretations and evaluations....
How the West loses to Russia in energy sanctions
Western countries fought so vigorously against “oil” dictators in Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Venezuela that they failed to notice the biggest one right under their noses. The USA, UK, and EU not only bought Russian oil and gas for decades but also built pipelines, displacing other importers in favor of the Kremlin, and helped the latter...
The rise and fall of Putinocracy. How much of the future does the Kremlin’s master have?
When the leader of a state begins to talk more about the past, it is a sign that he usually has nothing to say about the future. Boris Yeltsin’s farewell and the emergence of Vladimir Putin On the last day of 1999, the New Year’s Eve for Russians turned out to be unlike usual. During what seemed to be a traditional address of the...
Another gas blackmail? Russia puts pressure on Europe and threatens to disrupt transit through Ukraine
Gazprom threatens to halt gas transit through Ukraine if Naftogaz continues arbitration proceedings against the Russian monopoly. Experts and officials in Ukraine believe that the likelihood of gas transit to European countries being halted is quite high. More details on the consequences of such a step are provided below in the material from...
Drone warfare: what kind of kamikaze drones are used by Ukraine and Russia?
Last year, terms like “shahed” or “moped” became part of every Ukrainian’s lexicon. Today, kamikaze drones have become a common occurrence both on the frontline and far behind it in the Russian-Ukrainian war. Espreso (Ukrainian media outlet) presents information about kamikaze drones used in the conflict, their...