The chairman-CEO of one of Hungary’s oldest and best known companies, historic light bulb maker Tungsram, appealed to the government for assistance on Tuesday. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the pandemic and difficulties with the global supply chain are endangering the future of the Tungsram group, Jörg Bauer
Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewin said on Monday that a significant recession in Germany would be “almost inevitable” if imports of Russian oil and natural gas were stopped. German banks are expecting the country’s GDP growth to slow to 2% in 2022 from 2.7% in 2021, in the
Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will this week commence a process of complete isolation from Russia and Belarus, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Mustafa Nayem announced on Monday. In a letter sent to the ministries that oversee infrastructure in each of the four countries, the Ukraine government suggested the
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić declared victory in the country’s general elections on Sunday night, as pollsters estimated that he would secure almost 60% of the national presidential vote. Vucic admitted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had affected the campaign. However he added that Serbia has no plans
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán secured his fourth consecutive term with a landslide victory in Hungary’s national elections on Sunday. Orbán’s Fidesz party secured 53% while the United for Hungary six-party opposition alliance received only 35%. The margin of victory was beyond predictions, as the opposition alliance
NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that intelligence showed Russian forces in Ukraine were not withdrawing, but appeared to be regrouping, according to Al Jazeera. His assertion contradicted the Kremlin’s announcement on Tuesday that it planned to reduce military operations in Kyiv and Chernihiv, following bilateral
Poland adopted draft legislation on Wednesday to prohibit coal imports from Russia. In its efforts to move away from all Russian energy sources, Warsaw says coal will be cut off within two months, while oil imports should cease by the end of 2022, according to Notes From Poland. Poland’s
Wednesday saw a flurry of statements from Moscow and Kyiv on the prospects for peace in Ukraine, following talks between the two sides’ delegations on Tuesday in Istanbul, Turkey, but actual progress towards a peace deal remained unclear. Al Jazeera reported that on Wednesday the Kremlin’s lead negotiator Vladimir
Hungary cancelled a scheduled summit of defence ministers from the Visegrad 4 (“V4”) group of EU member states – Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – on Tuesday. The defence ministers of both Czechia and Poland signalled they would not attend the gathering, scheduled for 30-31 March, due to Hungary’s stance
Russia said on Tuesday it would reduce its military operations around Kyiv, and in Chernihiv in the north of Ukraine to build trust towards the prospect of Moscow and Kyiv eventually reaching a peace settlement. The BBC reports that Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin made the announcement to
In a speech closing his visit to Poland, US President Joe Biden reassured NATO allies in Central and Eastern Europe that America does have their back in case of an attack by Russia, honouring its “sacred obligation” under Article 5, writes Notes from Poland. Biden warned Moscow: “Don’t even
The United States agreed a deal on Friday with the European Union to provide the bloc with an additional 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas this year to reduce the proceeds received by the Kremlin from energy exports to Europe. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipped from America
At an emergency NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, US President Joe Biden said that the defence alliance had “never been more united” even though Russia’s Vladimir Putin was counting on dissension among its members over his invasion of Ukraine, according to Euronews. Biden commented, “Putin is getting exactly
NATO representatives meeting on Thursday will consider boosting the strength of the defence alliance’s eastern flank even further given Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. While NATO has already bumped up troop numbers, which now number 40,000 on its eastern border, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia could see
Russian forces using chemical weapons in Ukraine would not only be a violation of international law, but have “far-reaching consequences”, warned NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the defence alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, writes Al Jazeera. He also said Moscow could not “win a nuclear war”
Ukrainians are going through a “living hell”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday, in what he termed an unwinnable war in Ukraine, the Guardian reported. “Sooner or later it will have to move from the battlefields to the peace table”, Guterres said of the war. “That is inevitable.
Efforts to reduce dependency upon Russian sources of energy within countries in Central and Eastern Europe have taken on a new urgency following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over three weeks ago. Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev says Bulgaria will not renew its contract with Gazprom when the
The US Defence Department says there is “clear evidence” that Russian forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine, according to reporting by the Guardian. In a news conference on Monday, the Pentagon alleged Russia’s military is attacking indiscriminately and that the Defence Department would contribute to an investigative process
NATO troops have begun arriving at the Sliac military base in Slovakia to deploy US-made “Patriot” anti-missile defence systems in various places to maximise Bratislava’s airspace defences, according to a report by Slovak Spectator. The Patriots are primarily for beefing up Slovakia’s airspace protection, and will
A failure to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia could lead to World War 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fareed Zakaria on Sunday morning in their interview on CNN. The President said he was ready to have direct negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. While offering that Ukraine
Chinese president Xi Jinping spoke to US President Joe Biden today for an hour and 50 minutes on Friday about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In their video call, Xi said “conflicts and confrontations” were in no one’s interest and that China and the US should work for world
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Slovakia providing air defence systems to Ukraine is a no-go, according to an article on Euractiv. This week Bratislava said it was considering sending Soviet-era S-300 missile systems if it received Western replacements from its NATO allies.
Members of Germany’s Bundestag gave a standing ovation to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky following his 10-minute speech on Thursday, writes the BBC. In his address Zelensky reminded MPs that Kyiv had asked Berlin to limit its economic ties with Moscow before the war, but Germany instead helped
Czechia’s Ministry of Defence says 100,000 Czechs have coughed up over EUR 27 million through a crowdfunding campaign which began last month to send weapons to Ukraine, writes Prague Morning. Funds from the campaign, intended for weapons and military supplies, are being sent directly to Ukraine’s embassy
A theatre sheltering 1,200 civilians in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was bombed on Wednesday night. An estimated 400,000 residents in the southern port city are still without running water, electricity and gas, and unable to leave. Hundreds of patients and staff are still being held captive in