Publications

The issue of energy security and the transit of Russian fossil fuels through Ukraine represents one of the most complex geopolitical conundrums in March 2026, in which the strategic interests of Kyiv, the acute energy needs of Central Europe, and the political ambitions of Brussels intersect. The whole issue revolves around the southern branch of… Read more: The Dilemma of Druzhba Pipeline

In March 2026, the Ukrainian Armed Forces initiated a middle-scale counter-offensive. In consequence, causing effecting shift in the current static architecture of the front. This operation should not be regarded as an isolated attempt at a breakthrough, but rather as the direct culmination of strategic preparation. In December 2025, the Ukrainian army exhibited a high… Read more: The Ukrainian Counter-Offensive 2026

Author: Oleksandra Diakonova is a Master’s student in International Relations at CEU, specialising in Conflict and Security Studies. She holds Bachelor’s degrees from NaUKMA (Psychology, focusing on student-centred educational approaches) and the University of Amsterdam (Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics, with research on the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russian authorities). Her current research examines… Read more: Reflection Paper: Non-Interventionist Global Order: Neo-Imperial Wars from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Crimea.

In order to grasp the savagery of the war in eastern Ukraine, one has to set aside the clean and colored maps of the conflict being aired on TV and take a look at the rough, industrial metal truth of Soviet tanks and arms. It’s no ideological struggle nor even a skirmish for territory. Rather,… Read more: The Hinge of the East: Why Kupiansk Dictates the War’s Pace

By the start of 2025, the war in Ukraine had completely abandoned old-fashioned battle strategies in favor of a high-tech “war of exhaustion” that baffled Western experts. While the early years were defined by failed lightning strikes and slow trench warfare, 2025 became a stalemate where neither side could gain the upper hand. Because cheap… Read more: War in Ukraine in 2025 and What to Expect in 2026

Opinion article By Tomáš Iliev The war in Ukraine is about to come to its fourth year. It has placed European security at risk and forced Ukraine to fight for its survival and territorial sovereignty. The end of the conflict seems improbable for now. However, the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, where Russia’s president suggested a… Read more: Putin’s Terms of Peace – Between Hopes of Conclusion and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival