Eastern Europe / Features
Will Venezuela’s Maduro go out with a bang or a whimper?
Venezuela’s crucial election on July 28 pits incumbent Nicolas Maduro against opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez. With long-running economic turmoil and political repression under Chavismo, the nation faces a pivotal decision.
Ukraine’s government mulls raising taxes to plug a $12bn hole in the budget
Ukraine’s budget is short of UAH500bn ($12bn) this year to finance its planned expenditures and it is not clear how the shortfall will be covered, other than by raising taxes and printing money.
New Ukrainian agency seeks to tackle spiralling arms costs amidst global weapon shortages
As Ukraine strives to procure rapidly depleting stocks of weapons on the global market, its well-meaning allies are inadvertently driving up costs fivefold, while profiteers are capitalising on the situation.
International energy firms pressed to support Ukraine energy fund
Head of EU-backed agency seeks to ramp up financial and in-kind support for war-ravaged power sector.
Immigration to slow population decline in Central Europe’s most prosperous nations
Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia are all expected to receive a few thousand new inhabitants each year for the rest of the century, according to the UN's latest population projections.
INTERVIEW: Ukraine reconstruction must include brave Roma minority
Ukraine’s Roma population are fighting side by side with ethnic Ukrainians against Russia, but their families still face discrimination, says the head of Roma Foundation for Europe.
Will Ukraine default on its debt in August?
On August 1 a debt restructuring deal expires and the government will have to pay back all the suspended interest payments for the last three years in one go. A default is possible but not a given.
Increasingly isolated by sanctions, Russia’s metal producers are being pushed into China’s arms
Isolated by Western sanctions, Russian metals producers are increasingly turning to China, which has gone from a primary competitor to a principal client.
World population set to peak decades sooner than previously projected
Latest UN projections indicate global population will peak at 10.3bn by the 2080s then start gradual decline.
Clinton promised Yeltsin Nato expansion "no threat", newly declassified documents show
Russian President Boris Yeltsin warned US President Bill Clinton in 1997 that Nato's eastward expansion was a “mistake,” but was reassured by Clinton that Nato would “not be a threat to Russia” according to newly declassified documents.
INTERVIEW: Ukraine’s biggest private power producer races to recover as winter looms
A top DTEK Group executive says companies desperately need access to finance and capital to cope with widespread infrastructure damage from Russian strikes.
India's Modi meets Putin in first foreign trip following elections
Following the recent re-election of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, he unusually chose Moscow for his first foreign visit.
LONG READ: The war in Ukraine is inching towards a ceasefire as pressures mount
During a visit to Kyiv just after taking over the presidency of the European Council on July 1, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and asked him to call a ceasefire. Zelenskiy flatly refused.
KSE: Ukraine’s budget deficit up to $5.2bn in 1Q24
In the first quarter 2024, Ukraine received minimal military assistance from its partners, which put an additional burden on the budget through additional domestic spending on military needs.
Russia's machine tool industry has exhibited substantial growth despite sanctions, says study
Russia's machine tool industry has exhibited substantial growth despite recent US sanctions targeting importers of foreign CNC machine tools and the banks that finance these imports, Russia’s Higher School of Economics said in a recent report.
IPO boom gathers momentum in Russia
An IPO boom is underway in Russia. If in 2022 there was only one placement of the Whoosh company for RUB2.1bn, last year there were already eight IPOs collectively worth RUB45bn. And this year the number of IPOs will double again.
Russia’s coal sector battered by sanctions
Russia's coal industry, one of the country's largest raw materials sectors, is on the brink of financial collapse as it grapples with the severe impact of international sanctions.
KSE: Stimulating growth in Ukraine and policies for migrants’ return
The government in Ukraine needs to prepare to rebuild the economy and attract home the millions of refugees that have left the country to avoid the war.
US “strangulation” sanctions on banks causing rising panic in Russia’s CBR
The new US “strangulation” sanctions on foreign exchange are proving to be increasingly effective, disrupting Russia’s payments to “friendly countries” and leading to sharp falls in export volumes this year.
Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries have done little damage to Russia’s economy so far
Ukraine continues to attack Russian refineries with drones but as drones only carry a 5-50kg explosive payload, rather than the 500kg carried by bombers, they can’t destroy a refinery, only damage it.