OSW - Centre for Eastern Studies

Rivalry between state services: the fight for control over combating corruption in Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inner circle continues its efforts to discredit and undermine the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corrupti...

🔵 Rivalry between state services: the fight for control over combating corruption in Ukraine🇺🇦

🔵 Studies indicate that the public views corruption as the 2nd greatest threat to the state's stability, after Russian🇷🇺aggression.

🔵 Analysis by OSW's Piotr Żochowski ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

The European Council greenlights greater EU involvement in strengthening military capabilities At its meeting on 23 October, the European Council addressed the Joint Communication ‘Preserving Peace – Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030’, presented on 16 October by the European Commission and the Hig...

🔵 The European Council greenlights greater EU 🇪🇺 involvement in strengthening military capabilities

🔵 Member state leaders prioritised support for eastern flank countries, whose airspace was recently violated by Russia🇷🇺and Belarus.

🔵 OSW's Łukasz Maślanka has more ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

🇷🇺Russian soldiers in central Pokrovsk.
🇺🇦Ukrainian troops defending city and access to Myrnohrad.

🔵OSW's update on the @warinukraine 🎞️

Ukraine–EU: finalisation of the DCFTA revision On 13 October, the EU Council decided to reduce or completely remove tariffs on a range of agri-food products imported from Ukraine, including dairy products, fruit, vegetables, meat, and processed me...

🇺🇦 Ukraine–EU🇪🇺: finalisation of the DCFTA revision

💬 The proposed increase in tariff-rate quotas is unlikely to result in a significant rise in Ukrainian exports to the EU.

🔵 OSW's Sławomir Matuszak has all the details ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Trump’s first sanctions, the EU’s 19th sanctions package: the West increases the pressure on Russia On 22 October, Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil – Russia’s two largest oil companies. The restrictions also covered their subsidiaries, amounting to a total of 34 entities. On 23 O...

Trump’s first sanctions, the EU’s 19th sanctions package: the West increases the pressure on Russia

🇺🇸sanctions present a challenge for 3rd countries whose refineries process🇷🇺crude or are owned by🇷🇺companies.

Iwona Wiśniewska & Filip Rudnik have more⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

US sanctions against Serbian oil company NIS On 9 October, the United States’ sanctions on the Serbian oil company NIS, which is owned by Russian entities, came into force.

US🇺🇸 sanctions against Serbian🇷🇸 oil company NIS

The sanctions imposed on NIS demonstrate the United States’ determination to reduce Russia’s revenues from oil exports and to curtail its influence in the Balkan energy market.

Marta Szpala has the details ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Game of drones: the production and use of Ukrainian battlefield unmanned aerial vehicles The Russian–Ukrainian war has been marked by the unprecedented use of unmanned aerial vehicles. The effectiveness of drones on the battlefield has led to their widespread deployment by the Armed Force...

🔵 Game of drones: the production and use of Ukrainian battlefield unmanned aerial vehicles

🔵 The growing scale of drone use has led to significant changes in the structure of🇺🇦Ukraine’s armed forces.

🔵 OSW's Krzysztof Nieczypor & Sławomir Matuszak have the details ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

The three special cases: demographic processes in the South Caucasus Over the past 35 years, the population of the South Caucasus has increased from approximately 15.7 million to around 17.2 million.[1]This growth is entirely attributable to Azerb

🔵 The three special cases: demographic processes in the South Caucasus

🇦🇲🇦🇿🇬🇪At present, Azerbaijanis are the largest ethnic group in the South Caucasus, accounting for more than half of the region’s total population.

🔵 More information from OSW's Wojciech Górecki ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Zelensky’s unsuccessful visit to Washington On 17 October, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting at the White House. During the public part of the meeting (the first 30 minutes), which took place in a cordial at...

🔵 Zelensky’s unsuccessful visit to Washington🇺🇸

🔵 The prospect of effective Ukrainian🇺🇦 strikes and significant Russian🇷🇺 losses was meant to force the Kremlin to agree to a halt in military operations along the current front line.

🔵 By OSW's Tadeusz Iwański ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

On the eve of a heating season: Russia targets weak links in Ukraine’s energy system Around the turn of September and October, Russia launched another wave of attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The aggressor has modified its tactics – instead of attempting to trigger a n...

On the eve of a heating season: Russia🇷🇺targets weak links in🇺🇦Ukraine’s energy system

🔵All indications suggest the recent infrastructure strikes will necessitate the continuation of gas imports throughout the winter period.

Analysis by Sławomir Matuszak ⤵️
osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

At the monopolist’s mercy: Germany’s dependence on Chinese rare earth elements The trade war between the United States and China has triggered serious economic repercussions for the EU, including Germany. In response to Washington’s tariff increases in April 2025, Beijing not on...

At the monopolist’s mercy: Germany’s 🇩🇪 dependence on Chinese rare earth elements

In the absence of viable alternative sources of REEs, Beijing is likely to use export restrictions as a tool to exert pressure on the EU

More details by Aleksandra Kozaczyńska ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Methodical elimination. Efforts to dismantle the local government system in Russia The Putin regime has spent over two decades gradually stripping local governments of their autonomy as part of a consistent process of state centralisation. The effective dismantling of the local gove...

➡️ Methodical elimination. Efforts to dismantle the local government system in Russia

🇷🇺 The process of stripping local governments of their autonomy began shortly after Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000.

🔵 OSW's Miłosz Bartosiewicz has the crucial details ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

YouTube video by Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) Russian - Still a world language?

Link to full movie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qBd...

The status of the🇷🇺Russian language
🔵Is it still a world language?

🎬The full documentary includes expertise from:
Katarzyna Chawryło, Tadeusz Iwański, Wojciech Górecki, Zuzanna Krzyżanowska & Krzysztof Strachota ⤵️

Drones over Germany – plugging legislative and technical gaps At the beginning of October, unidentified drones were spotted over Munich Airport, disrupting operations at the facility for several hours. This was yet another incident of its kind in recent weeks. A...

🔵 Drones over Germany🇩🇪 – plugging legislative and technical gaps

🔵 The most controversial proposal is the planned amendment to the Aviation Security Act, which would allow the Bundeswehr to assist in intercepting drones.

🔵 By OSW's Lidia Gibadło & Jacek Tarociński ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic: Babiš’s triumph The opposition ANO movement, led by oligarch Andrej Babiš, achieved the best result in the parliamentary elections held on 3–4 October, winning 34.5% of the vote and securing 80 seats in the 200-membe...

Parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic: Babiš’s triumph
🇨🇿ANO's preferred scenario is a minority government led by Babiš, with key votes in the lower chamber supported by deputies from SPD and the Motorists party.
Krzysztof Dębiec has the details ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Iran: reimposition of full-scale UN sanctions On 28 September, full-scale UN sanctions against Iran came into effect in response to its serious violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) concerning the nuclear programme. All the...

🔵 Iran 🇮🇷: reimposition of full-scale UN sanctions

🔵 The reinstatement of full-scale UN restrictions signals the definitive collapse of the political process aimed at resolving the Iranian nuclear issue.

🔵 By OSW's Krzysztof Strachota ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Frontlines in Ukraine #RussiaUkraineWar

🇷🇺Russia and Ukraine🇺🇦both make local gains 🎬

YouTube video by Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) The next Czech prime minister?

Who is the next Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš?

🇨🇿After the Czech elections were won by ANO, it looks certain to lead the next government.
🇨🇿What will Czech policy on🇪🇺Europe,🇷🇺Russia and Ukraine🇺🇦look like?

OSW's Krzysztof Dębiec has the answers ⤵️
youtu.be/IAsnIXtsmIc

Local elections in Georgia: locking down the system Georgian Dream (GD), the party led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, which has been in power for 13 years, secured a decisive victory in Georgia’s local elections on 4 October. According to exit pol...

Local elections in Georgia🇬🇪: locking down the system

🔵The vote was accompanied by turbulent demonstrations, drawing tens of thousands of government opponents to the capital.

Analysis by Wojciech Górecki ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Drones over Denmark: a gap in defence capabilities and allied response Between 22 and 28 September, unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles were detected over the western part of the Baltic Sea region. Sightings were reported in Denmark, Norway and Germany’s northern feder...

Drones over Denmark: a gap in defence capabilities and allied response

"The drone incidents have served as a wake-up call to the Danish🇩🇰public about the proximity of threats."

Piotr Szymański has more information⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Lithuania: new Social Democrat government On 25 September, the Lithuanian parliament (Seimas) swore in the government led by Social Democrat Inga Ruginienė and approved its agenda. The new cabinet is supported by a coalition of three parliame...

Lithuania: new Social Democrat government

🇱🇹President Nausėda ensured Kęstutis Budrys remained as foreign minister, ensuring smooth cooperation in foreign policy, an area of shared responsibility between the president and the govt.

Joanna Hyndle-Hussein has more⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Election in Moldova: PAS wins an outright majority once again On 28 September, a parliamentary election was held in Moldova, in which the ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), linked to President Maia Sandu, won with over 50% of the vote. The...

🔵Election in Moldova: PAS wins an outright majority once again

🇲🇩PAS achieved the result despite a marked increase in the cost of living last term primarily linked to🇷🇺Russia's full-scale invasion of🇺🇦Ukraine.

🔵OSW's Kamil Całus has the details ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...

Czech elections - Who are the main players? #volby2025

🇨🇿Pirate Party led by Zdeněk Hřib

Krzysztof Dębiec has more⤵️

🇨🇿The Czechs are voting #volby2025

🔵Krzysztof Dębiec tells us about the main parties

Vít Rakušan's STAN expects 10-12% of the vote⤵️

Czech election - Who are the main parties? #volby2025

🇨🇿Krzysztof Dębiec gives us a quick rundown about Stačilo! (meaning Enough!) with Kateřina Konečná & Jana Maláčová⤵️

Who will win the Czech election #volby2025

🇨🇿Can Petr Fiala's Spolu remain in power?⤵️

🇨🇿Who will win the Czech elections? #volby2025
🔵Tomio Okamura and the SPD's four far-right parties want to form a coalition with ANO.⤵️

🇨🇿Who will win the Czech elections? #volby2025

🔵The favourites are Andrej Babiš's ANO party⤵️

Germany’s budget: increased investment and debt After nine months of operating under a provisional financial plan, on 18 September the Bundestag adopted the federal budget for 2025. The delay was a consequence of the collapse of the SPD–Greens–FDP ...

🔵 Germany’s 🇩🇪 budget: increased investment and debt
➡️ A particular burden on the state’s financial stability arises from the increasing costs of social insurance and welfare benefits, driven primarily by the ageing population.

🔵 By OSW's Aleksandra Kozaczyńska ⤵️
www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacj...