Eastern Europe / Features
Ukrainian startup FortuneGuard dominates war risk insurance market
A Kyiv-based start-up has emerged as Ukraine’s leading provider of war risk insurance, launching a facility backed by Lloyd’s of London and now preparing to expand to become an international player.
Polish farmers call for sanctions to stop a flood of Russian cucumber imports
The cucumber rules supreme in the cuisine of Eastern Europe. No salad is complete without a humble cucumber, which is a staple on any kitchen table across the region. But now a cucumber war has broken out between Poland and Russia.
Russia escalates drone and missile strikes on Ukraine as EU and US weigh stronger response
Russia launched more than 900 drones and dozens of missiles at Ukrainian cities over a three-day period starting on May 23 in a devastating barrage, killing at least six people and injuring 24 others, Ukrainian authorities report.
Ukraine risks €2bn EU funding cut over unmet reform benchmarks, EU trade relations in limbo
Ukraine risks losing up to €2bn in European Union financial support after missing four EU chapter reform targets required under the Ukraine Facility programme in the first quarter of the year. Trade relations with the EU are also in limbo.
Ukraine’s two biggest EU export-earners of corn and metals falling in 2025 as tariff-free deal set to expire
The exports of two of Ukraine’s biggest export earners, corn and metal, are falling, which will squeeze the already cash strapped government and make a €20bn trade deficit with the EU worse in 2025.
LONG READ: Wanderlust wins: Russia’s travel boom defies the times
Russia’s $50bn+ tourism industry has been one unexpected beneficiary of the war in Ukraine.
COMMENT: Vying for influence in Southeast Asia – Russia VS America
Although both nations have engaged with the region historically and continue to do so in the present day, their roles, influence, and staying power differ markedly.
Russia pushes to grow its influence in Africa’s nuclear future
Russia, under sanctions from the West over the war in Ukraine, is using nuclear partnerships to grow its influence in Africa.
COMMENT: Europe must choose either to accept 15% of Russian gas supplies or zero
The European Commission on May 6 unveiled a brief roadmap outlining how it plans to achieve the EU objective of eliminating all remaining Russian energy imports by 2027.
United States has image problem in Central Asia
Public perceptions toward Washington rapidly swing from positive to negative.
Slow Kazakhification of Russianised lands falls flat in Kazakhstan’s north
“We're moving poor people who are unemployed, to regions where they'll be poor,” says sociologist.
EBRD2025: Ukraine prepares for peace by getting ready for war
“We keep struggling, but we are strong and now we are stronger than we were in 2022, but of course we have suffered a lot,” said Ukraine’s Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko at a high-level panel on Ukraine.
"We've been lost in a game of cards": the IDPs starting new lives in Ukraine's interior
Fighting at the front in Ukraine kills thousands each week, but behind the frontline, the war continues to shatter lives in less visible ways.
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History suggests US and Russia can shape peace between India and Pakistan
India’s military action under Operation Sindoor, targeting sites inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Pakistan’s own territory, has triggered a familiar cycle of tension between the two nuclear neighbours.
Trump dollar drama sparks global power shift as BRICS countries circle
Trump dollar drama sparks global power shift as BRICS countries consider alternative currency amid US economic uncertainty
COMMENT: Is Russia’s economy headed for hard or soft landing?
Russia’s economy slowed much more sharply in the first quarter than anticipated – and it was expected to slow. Is the economy headed for a hard or a soft landing, asks Capital Economics.
Tensions flare in Azerbaijan–Russia ties despite Patriarch’s visit
Mixed messages as an Azerbaijani ruling party MP is refused entry to Russia while President Ilham Aliyev hosts Patriarch Kirill in Baku.
Artificial Intelligence and electricity: a new energy challenge
The rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence is transforming how industries operate, particularly the electricity sector.
After Samarkand summit, Europe’s quest for Central Asian resources meets reality
Playing long game for rare earths.
Battle of Russia’s supermarket titans continues as Magnit closes the gap with rival X5 after acquisition of high-end retailer Azbuka Vkusa
The battle for market share between Russia’s two leading supermarket chains Magnit and the X5 Group saw a strategic shift after Magnit acquired control of high-end supermarket chain Azbuka Vkusa (The ABC of Taste).