Analysis

Should NATO exist?: Elsewhere in emerging Europe

Our weekly digest of articles about emerging Europe published elsewhere over the past few days, all of which caught our eye and all of which are well worth your time.

This week, we have again selected some of the best writing about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, particularly how it impacts the rest of the region. As always, inclusion of an article here does not mean that agree with each and every word, nor that it reflects our editorial stance.


Should NATO exist?

David Klion argues that NATO’s function now is to contain a war, while Chase Madar writes that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows that the US’s European allies are capable of defending themselves.

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In a Kyiv suburb, wanton destruction amid the stench of death

Sexual violence will continue in war zones until commanders actually end up in the dock for overseeing such atrocities.

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Rape is being used as a weapon in Ukraine. It should be treated as a war crime

Estonia’s prime minister argues that although the Soviet Union collapsed, its imperialist ideology never did.

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We assumed small states were pushovers. Ukraine proved us wrong

In the weeks leading up to the invasion, the dominant assumption among Western officials and security analysts was that the Ukrainian military would be swiftly overwhelmed by the Russian military and that Kyiv would fall within days.

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Russia is leaking data like a sieve

Ukraine claims to have doxed Russian troops and spies, while hacktivists are regularly leaking private information from Russian organisations.

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How Georgia could gain from the Russo-Ukrainian war

Paradoxically, the horrible events in Ukraine have the potential to fortify security for small states like Georgia on Russia’s borders.

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The backdoor that keeps Russian oil flowing into Europe

When is a cargo of Russian diesel not a cargo of Russian diesel? The answer is when Shell Plc, the largest European oil company, turns it into what traders refer to as a Latvian blend.

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War in Ukraine puts spotlight on Russian language in Azerbaijan

The president has reaffirmed the special place that the Russian language has in Azerbaijan even as a backlash against Russian culture has swept the rest of the world.

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‘I cry every day’: In the stands with Ukrainians as Dynamo Kyiv play again

In Warsaw, Ukraine’s most successful football club kick-off a series of matches that will raise money for the response to Russia’s invasion and see them face several European teams.

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The PsyOps war comes to Ukraine

Far from the war, in Ukraine’s sleepy, western city of Uzhhorod, whose crumbling pastel-coloured Habsburg-era buildings straddle the river Uzh, government officials are concerned about the growing tension with Hungary.

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