After Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) repeatedly promised to wind down its business in Russia and sell or spin off its Russian subsidiary. AO Raiffeisenbank still operates in the Russian Federation, however, and remains the largest Western bank on the Russian...
Shadows of the Third Reich in AfD politics
After Germany’s defeat in the Second World War in 1945, the country built its subsequent political system on the principle that a repeat of the political catastrophe of the Third Reich must be impossible. The new political order of the Federal Republic of Germany rested on recognition of and acceptance...
Pro-Russian media in Slovakia and the Czech Republic disguise Kremlin narratives as internal EU criticism
Against the backdrop of a renewed EU debate on extending anti-Russian sanctions, some Slovak and Czech pro-Russian media outlets have begun promoting more aggressively the idea that further support for Ukraine is pointless and should be reduced. Zem&Vek and Pravý Prostor stood out in particular. The Slovak outlet framed the...
What France’s ultimatum over Usmanov means for EU policy
In mid-September 2026, the European Union came close to a serious breakdown in one of its main instruments of pressure on Russia. Personal sanctions against roughly 2,500–3,000 Russian individuals and companies, imposed after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, were due to be renewed on 15 September. Instead,...
The EU’s private combat-training market has become a channel for Russia
Despite having a developed combat school of its own, Russia and affiliated structures have already used foreign training sites in Europe to prepare people for coercive and combat tasks. One documented case came in 2024, when Moldovan law-enforcement agencies uncovered the recruitment and training of citizens at facilities in Serbia...
Hungary and Slovakia became a convenient platform for Russian intelligence inside NATO
Hungary and Slovakia are of significant interest to the Kremlin because of their EU and NATO membership. The long tenure of political forces that built close ties with Moscow created favorable conditions for expanding Russian influence. Through loyal political elites, economic links, information platforms and agent networks, the Kremlin gained...
How Russia’s education system abroad builds loyalty to the Kremlin and hostility toward the West
Education in Russia has never been limited to instruction. It has always performed an ideological and upbringing function as well. School curricula, textbook content, “patriotic education,” and military training are shaped by state priorities set by the Kremlin. Their purpose is to form a generation loyal to Russian government policy...
The Kremlin’s Disposable Agents in Europe
Russia’s hybrid aggression against Europe has intensified markedly in 2026, and one of its most dangerous strands is the expansion of sabotage. In recent months, European intelligence services have increasingly warned of Russian sabotage, the recruitment of operatives, and preparations for attacks on sites linked to support for Ukraine. The...
A tourist paradise for circumventing European sanctions
Tighter Western restrictions have not cut Russia off from dual-use technologies and sanctioned goods of European and American origin used in Russia’s defense industry. Having adapted to the sanctions, Moscow has widened the geography of supply through third countries — from traditional transit routes in Central Asia to tourist and...
Russia expands its cyber war against Europe
From 24 to 26 August, Norway’s government digitalisation agency Digdir fended off a cyberattack that Norwegian officials described as the largest in recent months. The attack disrupted logins through ID-porten to dozens of government services, including MinID, Altinn and E-innsyn. According to Norwegian media, Digdir documents were also among the...