Analytics by IESS

Adam Sybera and Vojtěch Boháč unpack Andrej Babiš’s comeback, fossil tycoon proxies, and the anti-climate backlash.

The EU's largest sanctions package in four years lands on top of Ukraine's strikes on Russia's war economy, and leaves Moscow only two ways out.

Mykhailo Drapatyi's promotion to commander-in-chief is less a verdict on Oleksandr Syrskyi than proof Ukraine has grown its own officer for the war it is actually fighting.

Ukrainian drones just hit the soft underbelly of Putin’s war economy.

Sulyok’s exit marks the irreversible end of Orbán’s authoritarian regime. Or?..

Aftermath of Fedorov's resignation.

Ukraine finalizes the lockdown of Russian forces around Crimea.

Krzysztof Tołwiński’s support for the Russian military threatens Polish security and Euro-Atlantic unity.

Russia will escalate the war in Autumn 2026.

Russia loses 19 oil tankers in 72 hours in a failed attempt to supply Crimea.

The more Russia struggles from its own decision to “denazificate” and “demilitarizate” Ukraine, the more “wounded bear in corner” kill civilians in agony.

The Kyiv-Warsaw axis has de facto become the gravitational center of European security today.

NATO's unity on the eve of the July summit in Ankara faces another test of strength, and this time the fault line once again runs through Bratislava.

In psychological and sociological literature, there is a well-documented phenomenon: aggression is most often directed not against the real source of a threat, but against the closest available "other."

Fico really hates Zelenskyy, however has never criticized Russia

What the Russian Hacker Attack on Plzeňský Prazdroj Means

How the Kremlin's lies turned Russian air defense into a threat to itsown population

How Tulsi Gabbard's “Report” on Biolabs in Ukraine Became an Unexpected Gift for Ostankino

The killing of Semyon Skrepetsky in a parking lot in Biała Podlaska on June 15 means much more than just “an isolated act of political violence on NATO soil”

There is a recurring pattern in Russia’s information warfare. The Kremlin rarely conceals its true objectives. Instead, it encourages audiences to look away from where those objectives are actually being pursued.

Just a few months ago, one of the Kremlin’s key victory narratives was the image of Crimea as an impregnable fortress. Today, the situation has changed.

The strategic reality of the Crimean Peninsula is undergoing an irreversible transformation. Once heavily promoted by Moscow as an impregnable fortress, a symbol of imperial resurgence, and a safe rear base, occupied Crimea is rapidly turning into an isolated logistical trap.

The weaponization of civilian infrastructure has become a defining characteristic of Russian military strategy.

On the night of May 29, 2026, the war in Ukraine breached NATO territory once again, this time with devastating clarity.

During the Kyiv Stratcom Forum 2026, Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, articulated a stark warning regarding the scale and sophistication of Russian Cognitive Battlespace, filled with PSYOPs. Backed by colossal historical experience in the distortion of meaning and reality, the Kremlin's current cognitive warfare in Ukraine is not a localized issue. Rather, it serves as a live testing ground for psychological tactics designed to subvert democratic institutions, fracture societal unity, and threaten the broader security architecture of Europe.

It can only be countered through tighter sanctions enforcement, unwavering support for Ukraine, and the robust fortification of NATO’s eastern flank.

Migration in Central Europe is no longer only a humanitarian or border-management issue, but a growing instrument of hybrid warfare used by Russia to exploit public fatigue, fuel anti-Ukrainian sentiment, and weaken regional resilience. This article examines how migration-related fears are being politicized and amplified in Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia — turning the consequences of Russian aggression into a tool of destabilization against Ukraine and its European partners.

May 9, 2026, fixed the institutional paralysis and cognitive defeat of the Kremlin

Why Slovakia’s PM is flying to Moscow and why this is once again dividing the EU

How technological fires in Russia’s rear are destroying the myth of an unbreakable empire.

The appointment of Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defense was not merely a personnel rotation, but a signal of a change in the very logic of managing the war.

What the story of Ukrainian grain from occupied territories actually means.

The fall of Viktor Orbán is not a story about how “external forces” broke yet another sovereign leader.

Any contacts with the Russian ambassador under the current circumstances cannot be regarded as a neutral diplomatic gesture.

Yes, this is indeed a catastrophe. But not the one Lukáš Machala is talking about.

In our explainer, we trace how Russia’s war against Ukraine unfolded long before the full-scale invasion of 24 February 2022. It follows the trajectory from the Revolution of Dignity and the occupation of Crimea through the hybrid war in Donbas, the evolution of Kremlin propaganda, and the escalation into Europe’s largest war since World War II. Along the way, it shows how narratives about “coups,” “Nazis,” elections, the church, and demonization of Ukrainian leaders were weaponized to justify aggression and later evolved into modern influence operations powered by digital networks, FIMI techniques, and AI-driven manipulation. This is not simply a campaign against Ukrainian statehood and agency, but an act of war against Europe. As Russia finalized its wartime mobilization model and prepares the capacity for further escalation, the war is unlikely to end quickly and will likely expand beyond its current form.