Michal Kranz
@michalkranz.bsky.social
Journalist | Eastern Europe + Middle East | Work in foreignpolicy.com, unherd.com, aljazeera.com, newlinesmag.com, thedailybeast.com, and more
Newsletter: https://theeasternflank.substack.com/
Website: michalkranz.com
Newsletter: https://theeasternflank.substack.com/
Website: michalkranz.com
Pinned
Michal Kranz
@michalkranz.bsky.social
· Nov 20
Now that I've made the move over here, it might be a good time to introduce myself:
I'm a journalist based in Warsaw who covers Poland, the war in Ukraine, and Eastern Europe more broadly, along with forays into Lebanon. In this 🧵, I'll be sharing some of my work that has defined my recent career:
I'm a journalist based in Warsaw who covers Poland, the war in Ukraine, and Eastern Europe more broadly, along with forays into Lebanon. In this 🧵, I'll be sharing some of my work that has defined my recent career:
“While some of Ukraine’s opponents have pointed to the scandal as proof that Ukraine is an unreliable and corrupt ally, the fact that the scheme was unearthed proves once again that Ukrainian democracy and its institutions are indeed healthy.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-blo...
Russia blows up a rail line in Poland, Ukraine faces the loss of Pokrovsk, and a corruption scandal closes in on Zelensky's circle
November 11-18, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:30 PM
“While some of Ukraine’s opponents have pointed to the scandal as proof that Ukraine is an unreliable and corrupt ally, the fact that the scheme was unearthed proves once again that Ukrainian democracy and its institutions are indeed healthy.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-blo...
“This railway explosion offers a glimpse into a near-future status quo that is far more immediate and nearly as dangerous [as a full-scale war]: an anxious state between war and peace in which violence is pervasive without becoming existential.” My latest for @unherd.com: unherd.com/newsroom/pol...
Poland rail bombing signals Russian escalation against Nato
Thanks to the norms of inter-state combat which have governed much of history, we’ve long been conditioned to think of war and peace in binary terms. But what’s happening on Nato’s east shows us that ...
unherd.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:39 PM
“This railway explosion offers a glimpse into a near-future status quo that is far more immediate and nearly as dangerous [as a full-scale war]: an anxious state between war and peace in which violence is pervasive without becoming existential.” My latest for @unherd.com: unherd.com/newsroom/pol...
Reposted by Michal Kranz
“While it’s possible that Russia’s nationalistic war fervor may well collapse under the weight of its economic consequences, only by following through on his claim that Ukraine could still win the war would Trump put real pressure on Russia.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-gai...
Russia gains in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Trump grants Hungary a sanctions waiver, and Poland and Romania deploy a new anti-drone system
November 4-10, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:38 PM
“While it’s possible that Russia’s nationalistic war fervor may well collapse under the weight of its economic consequences, only by following through on his claim that Ukraine could still win the war would Trump put real pressure on Russia.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-gai...
“While it’s possible that Russia’s nationalistic war fervor may well collapse under the weight of its economic consequences, only by following through on his claim that Ukraine could still win the war would Trump put real pressure on Russia.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-gai...
Russia gains in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Trump grants Hungary a sanctions waiver, and Poland and Romania deploy a new anti-drone system
November 4-10, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:38 PM
“While it’s possible that Russia’s nationalistic war fervor may well collapse under the weight of its economic consequences, only by following through on his claim that Ukraine could still win the war would Trump put real pressure on Russia.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-gai...
Reposted by Michal Kranz
My latest news roundup from yesterday analyzing the most important events from last week, along with under-covered stories like Latvia’s vote to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on protecting women and Serbia’s promise to hold early elections: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-mov...
Russia moves against Ukraine's Pokrovsk, Orbán asks Trump for a sanctions waiver, and the US reduces its troop presence in Romania
October 27-November 3, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:34 PM
My latest news roundup from yesterday analyzing the most important events from last week, along with under-covered stories like Latvia’s vote to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on protecting women and Serbia’s promise to hold early elections: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-mov...
My latest news roundup from yesterday analyzing the most important events from last week, along with under-covered stories like Latvia’s vote to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on protecting women and Serbia’s promise to hold early elections: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-mov...
Russia moves against Ukraine's Pokrovsk, Orbán asks Trump for a sanctions waiver, and the US reduces its troop presence in Romania
October 27-November 3, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:34 PM
My latest news roundup from yesterday analyzing the most important events from last week, along with under-covered stories like Latvia’s vote to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on protecting women and Serbia’s promise to hold early elections: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-mov...
Reposted by Michal Kranz
Despite his new sanctions, Trump is sure to flip back to Putin’s side on Ukraine once he sees that strong-arming Kyiv will be his quickest path to getting what he truly wants — a new Russo-American partnership on trade, resources, and more. My latest in @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/10/trum...
Trump still can’t resist Putin
unherd.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Despite his new sanctions, Trump is sure to flip back to Putin’s side on Ukraine once he sees that strong-arming Kyiv will be his quickest path to getting what he truly wants — a new Russo-American partnership on trade, resources, and more. My latest in @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/10/trum...
Despite his new sanctions, Trump is sure to flip back to Putin’s side on Ukraine once he sees that strong-arming Kyiv will be his quickest path to getting what he truly wants — a new Russo-American partnership on trade, resources, and more. My latest in @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/10/trum...
Trump still can’t resist Putin
unherd.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Despite his new sanctions, Trump is sure to flip back to Putin’s side on Ukraine once he sees that strong-arming Kyiv will be his quickest path to getting what he truly wants — a new Russo-American partnership on trade, resources, and more. My latest in @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/10/trum...
Reposted by Michal Kranz
“With the US and the EU stepping up their pressure not only in Europe, but globally, the oil and gas front has become the most important and likely most impactful theater in the entire war.”
My latest on Trump’s sanctions and Ukraine’s drone war: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/ukraine-ha...
My latest on Trump’s sanctions and Ukraine’s drone war: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/ukraine-ha...
Ukraine has become an energy war
The global oil and gas trade is now the front on which the War in Ukraine may be won
theeasternflank.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:24 PM
“With the US and the EU stepping up their pressure not only in Europe, but globally, the oil and gas front has become the most important and likely most impactful theater in the entire war.”
My latest on Trump’s sanctions and Ukraine’s drone war: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/ukraine-ha...
My latest on Trump’s sanctions and Ukraine’s drone war: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/ukraine-ha...
“With the US and the EU stepping up their pressure not only in Europe, but globally, the oil and gas front has become the most important and likely most impactful theater in the entire war.”
My latest on Trump’s sanctions and Ukraine’s drone war: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/ukraine-ha...
My latest on Trump’s sanctions and Ukraine’s drone war: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/ukraine-ha...
Ukraine has become an energy war
The global oil and gas trade is now the front on which the War in Ukraine may be won
theeasternflank.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:24 PM
“With the US and the EU stepping up their pressure not only in Europe, but globally, the oil and gas front has become the most important and likely most impactful theater in the entire war.”
My latest on Trump’s sanctions and Ukraine’s drone war: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/ukraine-ha...
My latest on Trump’s sanctions and Ukraine’s drone war: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/ukraine-ha...
Reposted by Michal Kranz
“Trump will almost certainly halt this intelligence sharing to make room for the negotiations as he has in the past meaning that all the gains Ukraine has made on the energy front will go to waste — which of course is exactly what Putin wants.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trump-turn...
Trump turns on Ukraine, Poland frees Nord Stream 2 sabotage suspect, and the EU announces a new defense plan
October 14-20, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:17 AM
“Trump will almost certainly halt this intelligence sharing to make room for the negotiations as he has in the past meaning that all the gains Ukraine has made on the energy front will go to waste — which of course is exactly what Putin wants.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trump-turn...
“Trump will almost certainly halt this intelligence sharing to make room for the negotiations as he has in the past meaning that all the gains Ukraine has made on the energy front will go to waste — which of course is exactly what Putin wants.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trump-turn...
Trump turns on Ukraine, Poland frees Nord Stream 2 sabotage suspect, and the EU announces a new defense plan
October 14-20, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:17 AM
“Trump will almost certainly halt this intelligence sharing to make room for the negotiations as he has in the past meaning that all the gains Ukraine has made on the energy front will go to waste — which of course is exactly what Putin wants.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trump-turn...
“While these [Russian] troops luckily didn’t come into contact with any passenger traffic, if they had, Estonia might now be talking about the first case of one of its citizens being kidnapped by Russian forces — or worse.” My latest news analysis: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/moscow-thr...
Moscow threatens Trump, Russia's 'little green men' appear near Estonia, and Poland gets exemption from EU migration pact
October 7-13, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 11:14 PM
“While these [Russian] troops luckily didn’t come into contact with any passenger traffic, if they had, Estonia might now be talking about the first case of one of its citizens being kidnapped by Russian forces — or worse.” My latest news analysis: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/moscow-thr...
I’m late to the party, but I’ve just finished Jacob Mikanowski’s Goodbye Eastern Europe, a book about the multicultural patchwork of experiences and identities that once defined Eastern Europe. A few sections that spoke my own vision of what this region was, is, and could be again 🧵:
October 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
I’m late to the party, but I’ve just finished Jacob Mikanowski’s Goodbye Eastern Europe, a book about the multicultural patchwork of experiences and identities that once defined Eastern Europe. A few sections that spoke my own vision of what this region was, is, and could be again 🧵:
Reposted by Michal Kranz
A new Ukrainian missile was demonstrated. It appears to be a modified Neptune missile. mod.gov.ua/news/mi-zakl...
October 7, 2025 at 12:10 PM
A new Ukrainian missile was demonstrated. It appears to be a modified Neptune missile. mod.gov.ua/news/mi-zakl...
“Trump admin’s move to share intelligence with Kyiv on long-range strikes clearly signals that it is still willing to play a role in its military activities — and more importantly, that Ukraine’s strikes are working and are worth bolstering.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trump-shar...
Trump shares critical intel with Ukraine, populist Babiš wins in Czechia, and Georgian protestors stage their last stand
September 30-October 6, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:08 AM
“Trump admin’s move to share intelligence with Kyiv on long-range strikes clearly signals that it is still willing to play a role in its military activities — and more importantly, that Ukraine’s strikes are working and are worth bolstering.” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trump-shar...
“For the first time since he took office, Trump is handing the reigns of the West’s role in Ukraine back across the Atlantic and tying his own horse to Ukraine’s prospects in hopes of securing a much-needed win in the war.”My analysis of last week’s news: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trump-mull...
Trump mulls giving Tomahawks to Ukraine, a pro-EU party wins in Moldova, and Poland alters law on downing objects over Ukraine
September 23-29, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 12:49 AM
“For the first time since he took office, Trump is handing the reigns of the West’s role in Ukraine back across the Atlantic and tying his own horse to Ukraine’s prospects in hopes of securing a much-needed win in the war.”My analysis of last week’s news: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trump-mull...
My latest on what Trump’s U-turn on Ukraine really means in practice for the country and its European allies, and why it offers unexpected opportunities for them on long-range weapons permissions, American help with Russian incursions into NATO, and more: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trumps-pro...
Trump's pro-Ukraine shift isn't what it looks like — but there's good news for Europe and Zelensky
Trump's change in attitude opens plenty of doors for Ukraine and European NATO
theeasternflank.substack.com
September 24, 2025 at 8:26 PM
My latest on what Trump’s U-turn on Ukraine really means in practice for the country and its European allies, and why it offers unexpected opportunities for them on long-range weapons permissions, American help with Russian incursions into NATO, and more: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/trumps-pro...
“Russia is establishing new rules of the game in NATO’s east, setting the stage for a new phase in its undeclared conflict with the alliance. Poland’s promise to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate its airspace is a logical next step” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-vio...
Russia violates Estonian airspace, Trump promises cuts to Baltic security aid, and the EU bargains with Orbán over Russian oil
September 15-22, 2025 in Eastern Europe
theeasternflank.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 12:15 AM
“Russia is establishing new rules of the game in NATO’s east, setting the stage for a new phase in its undeclared conflict with the alliance. Poland’s promise to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate its airspace is a logical next step” My latest: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/russia-vio...
Reposted by Michal Kranz
For years now, a new opioid class has been replacing fentanyl: nitazenes. Last month, I traveled to the nitazene epidemic’s unlikely epicenter, Estonia, where I dug deep into a marginalized underworld rarely seen by outsiders. My latest for @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/09/the-...
Estonia’s opioid crisis is heading for Britain
unherd.com
September 20, 2025 at 2:11 PM
For years now, a new opioid class has been replacing fentanyl: nitazenes. Last month, I traveled to the nitazene epidemic’s unlikely epicenter, Estonia, where I dug deep into a marginalized underworld rarely seen by outsiders. My latest for @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/09/the-...
For years now, a new opioid class has been replacing fentanyl: nitazenes. Last month, I traveled to the nitazene epidemic’s unlikely epicenter, Estonia, where I dug deep into a marginalized underworld rarely seen by outsiders. My latest for @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/09/the-...
Estonia’s opioid crisis is heading for Britain
unherd.com
September 20, 2025 at 2:11 PM
For years now, a new opioid class has been replacing fentanyl: nitazenes. Last month, I traveled to the nitazene epidemic’s unlikely epicenter, Estonia, where I dug deep into a marginalized underworld rarely seen by outsiders. My latest for @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/09/the-...
“The Russian assault has exposed a strategic blind spot in a piece of Warsaw’s defence architecture that could yet prove its Achilles Heel. For Russia, probing this space may have been exactly the point.” My latest on Putin’s drone attack on Poland in @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/09/how-...
How Putin is conquering Poland
unherd.com
September 12, 2025 at 9:45 AM
“The Russian assault has exposed a strategic blind spot in a piece of Warsaw’s defence architecture that could yet prove its Achilles Heel. For Russia, probing this space may have been exactly the point.” My latest on Putin’s drone attack on Poland in @unherd.com: unherd.com/2025/09/how-...
Reposted by Michal Kranz
Good analysis of Russia’s drone incursion into Poland. “Without an Article V declaration from NATO, Russia now understands that the alliance will tolerate provocations like this… meaning that Moscow’s field of movement has expanded. Expect more such incursions over the coming weeks and months.”
Just posted my latest analysis on Wednesday’s events here: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/the-russia...
The Russian drone attack on Poland is the future of NATO's East — and no one is prepared
Sub-Article V warfare is set to dominate Eastern Europe, in the air and beyond
theeasternflank.substack.com
September 11, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Good analysis of Russia’s drone incursion into Poland. “Without an Article V declaration from NATO, Russia now understands that the alliance will tolerate provocations like this… meaning that Moscow’s field of movement has expanded. Expect more such incursions over the coming weeks and months.”
With Wednesday’s action against Poland, Putin is setting the stage not for a full-on invasion of the country, but an unstable status quo of much lower level violence between Russia and NATO. My piece on the implications of Russia’s dramatic drone attack: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/the-russia...
The Russian drone attack on Poland is the future of NATO's East — and no one is prepared
Sub-Article V warfare is set to dominate Eastern Europe, in the air and beyond
theeasternflank.substack.com
September 11, 2025 at 12:06 AM
With Wednesday’s action against Poland, Putin is setting the stage not for a full-on invasion of the country, but an unstable status quo of much lower level violence between Russia and NATO. My piece on the implications of Russia’s dramatic drone attack: theeasternflank.substack.com/p/the-russia...
Reposted by Michal Kranz
💥Poland’s foreign minister @radek-sikorski.bsky.social reminded Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán that he once again failed to name or condemn Russia — and that his government is still blocking €2 billion in EU funds meant to compensate Poland for the military aid it has provided to Ukraine.
September 10, 2025 at 12:26 PM
💥Poland’s foreign minister @radek-sikorski.bsky.social reminded Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán that he once again failed to name or condemn Russia — and that his government is still blocking €2 billion in EU funds meant to compensate Poland for the military aid it has provided to Ukraine.