The Baltic region is becoming a testing ground for a new kind of hybrid warfare—one of the most dangerous zones of electronic confrontation between Russia and NATO, where strikes are delivered not with missiles but with radio signals. What just a few years ago was considered isolated technical failures has...
How sanctions did not prevent the Kremlin from making money from oil
Despite the sanctions imposed and the fight against the “shadow” fleet, Russian oil processed in third countries will now enter European markets officially and completely legally. The decision of the UK on May 19, 2026, which allowed the import of Russian fuel following similar exceptions from the US, effectively legalized...
The FSB’s shadow over European science
While European policymakers introduce new sanctions against Russia and talk about protecting critical technologies, one of Europe's leading academic publishers, De Gruyter Brill, continues to collaborate with Russian scientific institutions that have ties to the FSB and the military-industrial complex. Immediately after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February...
Why young people in Germany and Europe are becoming radicalised
In the spring of 2026, Germany once again found itself at the centre of events linked to the rise of right-wing extremism among young people, a phenomenon that has ceased to be a marginal issue and is increasingly perceived as a systemic threat. The trigger for this new wave of...
The end of Russia’s era of dominance in the South Caucasus
By spring 2026, a process that just a few years ago seemed nearly impossible had fully taken shape in the South Caucasus. Armenia, one of Russia's closest allies in the post-Soviet space, began a systematic dismantling of its long-standing military and political dependence on Moscow. The first Armenia–EU summit in...
How the AfD is undermining Germany’s security from within
In spring 2026, AfD took a step no mainstream party in postwar Germany had ever taken. Having lost a court case, it didn't appeal to a higher instance — it advised its supporters to simply stop paying taxes. This sends an important signal about what this party has become and...
Austria takes on Russian espionage within its borders
May 4, 2026, Austria declared three Russian diplomats’ persona non grata. But behind this decision lies not a single incident, but a long history of Vienna becoming one of the key centers of Russian signals intelligence in Europe. According to Austrian intelligence services, sophisticated antenna infrastructure has grown on the...
How annulled elections led Romania to a government crisis
The victory of pro-European candidate Nicușor Dan in Romania's repeat presidential election on 18 May 2025 was seen as a signal of restored democratic order, and it appeared the country had avoided the worst-case scenario of radical forces coming to power amid suspicions of foreign interference. Yet within a year...
The History of the collapse of European golden visas
In the spring of 2026, Latvian authorities uncovered a scheme that became a textbook example of the golden visa industry. An investigation conducted by Latvia's Financial Intelligence Unit established that more than 20 companies, around 200 foreign investors, and over €10 million in investments existed only on paper. In reality,...
How Italy’s visa liberalism undermines the security of all of Europe
Italy has become the leader among Schengen zone countries in the number of visas issued to Russian citizens. According to data from VFS Global — the world's largest visa operator, serving embassies of more than 20 countries — the Italian visa operator VMS, which operates in many Russian cities, issued...