The Kremlin’s war on Ukraine

We should not have let Putin become what he is today 
An interview with Linas Linkevicius, the former minister of foreign affairs of Lithuania. Interviewer: Vazha Tavberidze

Imperial mania. The road to the third empire Paweł Kowal
In order to create the country’s third empire, Putin needs to concentrate on three states: Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Of the three of these countries, the most important is Ukraine.

Only Putin is to blame for a second Ukraine invasion  Mark Temnycky
There are many western voices echoing Russian claims NATO’s eastwards expansion is to blame for the current tensions. However, neither Russia’s first incursion into Ukraine, nor the current pressure applied can be attributed to anyone other than the Kremlin.

Could Transnistria become the next victim of Russian aggression? – Katarzyna Rybarczyk
Ongoing tensions over Ukraine have the potential to greatly impact other flashpoints in the region. This is most clear with regards to pro-Russian Transnistria, which lies less than 100 kilometres from Odesa.

Dispatch from Donbas. The closer to the border, the less fear – Iwona Reichardt
For those people who live in Donbas, the war has been taking place already for eight years now. They have learnt to live with it, even if not everybody has managed to rid themselves of the trauma since 2014.

Is today’s Russia a “USSR 2.0”? Putin wants us to think so – Agnieszka Bryc
The West’s lack of inner cohesion, slow reactions and a preference for dialogue provide the Kremlin with a chance to effectively play its own game. Putin surely discovered a long time ago that bluffing and good brinkmanship are enough for the West to do everything to prevent conflict. There is only one condition: it must believe that Putin’s Russia is a “USSR 2.0”.

Attitudes to European integration in Donbas: countering the myth of a ‘pro-Russian’ region – Kateryna Zarembo, Oksana Lemishka, Christoforos Pissarides, and Alexander Guest
Data on the attitudes of the population in Donbas to integration with the West or East, reveals a choice that is not viewed as mutually exclusive.

Vladimir the historian: Putin’s political revision of Ukrainian history – Joshua Kroeker
 As Ukraine continues to follow its own path, Vladimir Putin assumes an evermore extreme position that Ukraine, its peoples, language and culture simply do not exist. For Putin, Ukraine has always been and will always be a part of Russia.

Issue 4/2021: Ukraine’s unfinished story. On the country’s difficult path to the West and the obstacles that still remain
From the social, economic and political points of view, a lot of work still remains on Ukraine’s European path. And this is why Ukraine’s story is incomplete and requires further scrutiny. In this issue our authors take us through recent events and developments in the country

Issue 3/2020 takes an in-depth look at the war in Donbas, in eastern Ukraine. From 2020 but still relevant background articles and analysis.

Our authors point to the high costs of the war that the impoverished Ukrainian state continues to face and manage; discuss what Europe can and should do to help; as well as analyse the policies of the new Ukrainian authorities who came to power and received a huge social mandate for their declared commitment to peace.

Looking for a way to help Ukraine? Here is a list of organizations.

Russian invasion of Ukraine