Mediation is a key feature of Turkish foreign policy. As it shares maritime borders with Russia and Ukraine, as well, Ankara seems genuinely interested in a swift settlement of the war. But can Turkish efforts succeed?
The words of Poland's Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, that Poland should shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine, fit into the increasingly hawkish tone of EU countries regarding Putin's aggression against Poland's eastern neighbor.
Residents of Central Europe are following developments in Ukraine with rising concern. But there are other threats to the region. The demographic forecast looks dire...
Romania's defense industry remains largely stuck in the past, with outdated factories and obsolete equipment, much of it unchanged since the Ceausescu era. The Romarm report reveals a critical dependence on imported materials and highlights the urgent need for investment to revive the industry and meet modern defense demands.
In a surprising twist, Ukrainian forces have launched an unexpected attack in Russia's Kursk region. Romanian military analyst Sandu-Valentin Mateiu provides insights into this bold move and its potential impact on the ongoing conflict.
Can media alone fight against fake news? How misinformation changes the role of media? Watch the TEFI pannel "The Media's Fight Against Information Overload & Smear" straight from the GLOBSEC Forum.
Let's use our imagination and try to confront one of our greatest historical fears: What if the Russians attacked us now? What forces could Romania rely on, on its own, excluding NATO support, should Russia cross our threshold?
In the Arctic, Russia is militarily superior to the West. NATO is trying to catch up, but needs to adapt its defenses to climate change. A special mission in the High North is expected to provide crucial lessons. We visited the "Alliance," a NATO research vessel specialized in scientific missions in marine and underwater regions, aimed at collecting and analyzing essential data to enhance the alliance's detection and defense capabilities.
Hungary's pro-government media machine has recently launched a massive smear campaign against 444.hu and Bellingcat (NL), while also targeting their international partners, PressOne (RO), Gazeta Wyborcza (PL), and SME (SK). These outlets cooperate in a cross-border journalistic project, The Eastern Frontier Initiative (TEFI) covering regional security, co-financed by the European Commission.
Slovakia is set to continue multi-billion-euro military purchases despite long-standing opposition from former and current Prime Minister Robert Fico. Changing security dynamics in Europe, particularly due to the conflict in Ukraine, have prompted significant investments in modernizing the country's armed forces.
This isn't a movie. The decisions we make affect people's lives: we want to follow the law, but we also want to remain humane, says Dr. Michał Żmihorski, professor at the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Białowieża, describing the harsh daily reality just 3 km from the Belarusian border.
How many came, how many went on, how many stayed? Why is no one interested in knowing their real numbers?
For years, I've been hearing from Ukrainian politicians that Ukraine is getting closer to joining NATO. And for years, I've been saying it's a pipe dream because as long as the war with Russia continues, no one will take us in, says Ukrainian political scientist Nikolai Kapitonienko
The owner of the easternfrontier.eu website is Wyborcza sp z o.o., a member of The Eastern Frontier Initiative consortium. If you have any questions about the TEFI project, send them to info@easterfrontier.eu. The address is operated by one of our partners, 444.hu.
Protecting the privacy of the users of our websites is of great importance to us. Therefore, we are publishing a document explaining the rules and methods of collecting, processing and using information about the users of these websites. The following PRIVACY POLICY came into force on 1 April 2024.
The use of editorial materials of Wyborcza Sp. z o. o. or their adaptation requires the consent of Wyborcza Sp. z o. o. and the acquisition of a licence.
Learn more about us and our European project.
From time to time Vladimir Putin performs a well-choreographed show about how open he is to negotiations with the Ukrainians. At the beginning of April, Alexander Lukashenka was another protagonist in this play. This Russian pseudo-reluctance to negotiate is part of Russian strategy, despite the fact that the Hungarian government media treats Putin's openness as a fait accompli.
Hungary makes some efforts to enhance energy security through closer cooperation with Azerbaijan, as illustrated by MVM's acquisition of a 5% stake in the Shah Deniz gas field. While the agreement aims to reduce Budapest's dependence on Russian energy, concerns arise as Azerbaijan continues to import Russian gas. This dynamic underscores how Hungarian energy policy is influenced by the intersection of Fidesz's "Eastern Opening" policy and Russian-Azeri-Turkish interests in the South Caucasus region.
"I'm asking why the head of state of the Slovak Republic paid a private visit to a person with a very dubious name, and that person's name being Mr. Soros," PM Robert Fico said at a press conference in early March 2018.
Since February 2022, the question of how to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian war has been on the agenda, with foreign and domestic experts speaking out on the issue every day. Their arguments are usually based on political considerations, but the military aspects of the conflict should also be considered.
On June 25, 444 was the only Hungarian news portal included in the Russian Foreign Ministry's ban list, which restricts access to 81 European news services, listed by country.
To successfully protect Polish territory against aerial attacks from the east, a forward-deployed, anti-access area denial NATO air defense system is needed in the Ukrainian skies.
We need to get smarter about our sources of information, says Jakub Kalenský, specialist on Russian hybrid activities, disinformation campaigns and countermeasures against them.
"At this point the political war begins for SNS," said leader of the junior-coalition Slovak National Party (SNS) Andrej Danko in his first reaction to the attempt on the life of PM Robert Fico. He added that there will be changes towards the media, "and I guarantee you that I will no longer be shy".
Several conclusions can be drawn from the data about Russian support for the war. The first and most important is that Russian society does not seem to be broken by hardships and losses. A vast majority still agrees that the war should continue.
Russia and Belarus are right in assuming that if we fail to control the situation at our border, the far-right will triumph in both the national and European elections. This, in turn, has the potential to blow up the European Union from within - believes the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland.
For more than thirty years, Armenia and Azerbaijan were locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. However, in September 2023, Baku swiftly regained full control of the mountainous enclave, prompting the capitulation of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh and the exodus of its Armenian population to neighboring Armenia.
The world needs to hear a clear statement from the West that it will help Ukraine win, says former U.S. Army general.
During the EU pre-accession negotiations, Peter Javorcik was part of the negotiating team, wrote the application on his computer, and sat next to chief negotiator Ján Figel at the accession negotiations. He was responsible for making sure the Slovak side always had all documents and materials ready. He still works for the European Union.
Ukraine has become an AI battleground due the involvement of Western tech companies. This foreshadows the role of private companies in the war of the future. They decide which side (or sides) to support in a conflict according to their own business interests. In some special cases private companies may be legally 'directly engaged in hostilities', but their accountability is very different from that of state actors.
- I put a lot of hope in the rejuvenation of the Weimar Triangle. I've been very much in favor of this format since its very origin in the early nineties, and I think this is now a new occasion to get it back on track - says Christoph Heusgen, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference
Our society's relationship to truth and facts is undergoing a fundamental change. Where we might once have believed that a large part of the population of central and eastern Europe would have a common understanding of who our allies are and who the potential aggressor is, we can no longer be sure.
While still in power, the leader of Poland's national-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) Jarosław Kaczyński announced that, within the next two years, Poland is set to have the strongest land army in Europe. Everything suggests that the ruling liberal coalition will keep their predecessors' promise.
There was complete agreement that Europe needs to spend more on its own safety, the only difference was the words used to express this.
In the absence of societal support, maintaining financial and military assistance to Ukraine will obviously become more challenging. This may well lead to further Ukrainian military failures - in a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy - which would be completely contrary to the most basic security interests of the EU and NATO.
Seven priority developments are currently progressing in six different regions of Hungary, though the formula remains the same: the Hungarian state, as minority owner, has set up joint ventures with the defence industry companies relocating here.
The Romans used to say "si vis pacem, para bellum", if you want peace, prepare for war. Now, though, the mantra "peace requires strength" resounds at every step.
Dzisiejsza gazeta (e-wydanie)
