“Orbán’s was a regime built on both EU funding and on anti-European rhetoric, all the while attracting non-European allies, whether China or Russia, on the basis that Hungary was the one member state willing to veto EU measures”
Great interview with the insightful Ivan Krastev.
As the war in the Middle East continues, Russia's windfall from soaring oil prices is only growing. “The war-risk premium will be in there for at least a couple years,” industry expert Sergey Vakulenko told me.
Watch the full interview for @ceip-politika.bsky.social now! youtu.be/0LuzAi-cKoQ?...
💥🇭🇺🗳️ BREAKING: Péter Magyar says Viktor Orbán called to concede and congratulate him.
Magyar will be Hungary’s next prime minister and, as it stands, is set to secure a 2/3 supermajority – enough to fully dismantle Orbán’s system.
A 16-year chapter is over.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's camp and the opposition are accusing each other of electoral fraud as both sides gear up for a potential clash over the results of today's crucial election.
Right on schedule. (Putin did this last year too.)
Today in Russia (so far):
▪️Russian human rights group Memorial designated an "extremist" movement;
▪️FSB says former Russian freelancer for RFE/RL detained, accused of treason;
▪️Masked security officers searching Moscow office of Novaya Gazeta newspaper.
“We know everything already, but we’d like to know more." My deep-dive into how the FSB tries to recruit informants to keep tabs on Russian dissidents and foreigners helping them abroad
In Hungary, unfortunately, Orbán’s intelligence services spy on journalists. Also in Hungary—fortunately—it took only about two days to piece together the puzzle and understand who targeted me and why. Of course, it was my reporting that angered them.
Putin held a closed-door meeting with major Russian oligarchs today, where he asked them to pitch in to fund the war against Ukraine, reports The Bell. “We will push to the borders of Donbas,” one source quotes Putin as saying. thebell.io/putin-na-zak...
“Interviews with Ukrainians who fought for Russia reveal how they became Putin’s soldiers — and the agonising duty of those tasked with upholding their rights.”
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/europe...
Is Trump’s unpredictability making Putin nervous? How is Russia reacting to the war in the Middle East? And what does this have to do with the Kremlin’s latest Internet restrictions? For @ceip-politika.bsky.social, I asked Alexander Baunov. youtu.be/EQPaUA4hBUg?...
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, the Free Russia Foundation’s “Poshuk.Polon” (“Search.Captivity”) project has worked to track, document, and advocate for Ukrainians who have been captured, detained, or simply vanished amid the chaos of war.
Friday was my last day at Meduza. I'm still figuring out what's next, but I fully intend to keep my focus on Russia’s war against Ukraine. If you need a writer or editor for a project, don’t hesitate to reach out here or on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/posts/eilish...
Friday was my last day at Meduza. I'm still figuring out what's next, but I fully intend to keep my focus on Russia’s war against Ukraine. If you need a writer or editor for a project, don’t hesitate to reach out here or on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/posts/eilish...
“The Middle East has severely reoriented political attention” away from Ukraine, one of the EU diplomats said. “For us, and for Ukraine, it’s a disaster.” www.ft.com/content/c4fa...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that indefinitely extends the ease of obtaining Russian citizenship in the occupied territories, a move that experts say is a sign that Russia is consolidating its occupation by pursuing mass passportization.
The U.N. Inquiry on Ukraine says Russia’s forced deportation and transfer of children from occupied territories constitutes a crime against humanity and a war crime. www.currenttime.tv/a/komissiya-...
What does the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran mean for Ukraine? Meduza spoke to top Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak for insight.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...
In a political twist unimaginable when Russia began its full-scale invasion four years ago, the U.S. is requesting Ukraine's military expertise to help intercept Iranian drones.
x.com/ZelenskyyUa/...
Russia’s recruitment numbers look steady, but regional funding is reaching a breaking point. How much longer can Putin avoid another mobilization? We asked researcher @jakluge.de. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Russia relies on high bonuses to recruit soldiers to fight in Ukraine, but with costs soaring, is there a looming risk of another mobilization?
“Recruitment is clearly the Achilles’ heel of Russia’s war,” says @jakluge.de. My latest Q&A for @meduza.io. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Russia’s recruitment machine brings in 30,000 new volunteers every month to keep up with staggering losses. On this week's Naked Pravda, researcher @jakluge.de explains why the Kremlin’s "cash-for-combat" system is hitting a wall as regional budgets run dry. meduza.io/en/episodes/...
On this week's Naked Pravda, @eilishhart.bsky.social spoke to @jakluge.de about the regional funding dynamics of Russia's surprisingly successful, possibly teetering military recruitment system. meduza.io/en/episodes/...
What did this year’s Munich Security Conference reveal about the state of transatlantic ties? For Carnegie Politika, I spoke with @alexgabuev.bsky.social about war games, peace talks, and the mood in Munich. Watch now on YouTube! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRLV... @ceip-politika.bsky.social
Made in the EU, Dropped on Kyiv: How European Parts Are Enabling Russia’s Winter Drone War
www.occrp.org/en/investiga...
“It can seem that the world watches Russia’s war on Ukraine as if it were a film. When attention wanes, there is a demand for an ending — if not good, then bad. For Ukrainians, this is not cinema but reality. It will last as long as it lasts” — Nataliya Gumenyuk. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/o...
