Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico publicly expressed his reluctance to fulfill obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense. He made the remarks on September 17, 2026, during a speech to students and hospital staff in Prešov. “Can you imagine, ladies and gentlemen, that Article 5...
Raiffeisen shares plunge more than 8% after sanctions-evasion allegations
Shares of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) fell more than 8% in Thursday trading in Vienna on September 17. At one point the drop reached nearly 9%. By midday the stock was trading around €59.6–€59.8. The sell-off followed a report published by U.S. investment fund Grizzly Research. The fund said...
France’s Foreign Ministry refuses to name partners seeking to lift sanctions on Usmanov
The French Foreign Ministry has declined to name the international partners pressing for Alisher Usmanov’s removal from the EU sanctions list and has not explained the “national security considerations” it cited earlier. Paris has confirmed that it supports taking the Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov off the European Union’s sanctions list,...
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...
US House passes Graham sanctions against Russia
The U.S. House of Representatives on September 16 gave final approval to a bill tightening sanctions on Russia, named after the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. The measure passed 262–159. The Senate approved it in August, so the bill will now be sent to President Donald Trump for his signature....
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...
Large-scale sabotage paralyzes railways across the Netherlands
A large-scale act of sabotage hit the Dutch railway network on the morning of 15 September. Unknown individuals attached metal and plastic pipes to the tracks at more than 30 locations. The safety system mistakenly registered those sections as occupied, signals switched to red, and train traffic in the central...
UK, US and Netherlands warn of Iran-linked spyware
On Tuesday, 15 September, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Netherlands issued a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing spyware they say is used by Iran-linked actors in attacks. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) announced the warning. According to the joint advisory from the NCSC, the FBI and the Dutch...
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...
Putin-linked oligarch secretly paid for Trump Jr.’s Bahamas wedding
A Russian businessman close to Vladimir Putin and president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), Umar Kremlev, secretly covered hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for the wedding of U.S. President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. That was reported on September 14, 2026, by the investigative outlet...