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Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1h

I've encountered some bizarre Western ideas about Eastern Europe over the years. platformraam.nl/artikelen/29...

The myth of the 'empty steppe': how Europe misimagines Ukraine

Too often, Ukraine is imagined as a vast empty steppe, devoid of its people. Some in the West therefore suggest that giving up some of this expanse...

platformraam.nl

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1h

When you've burned through about a million of your own people, you need to start looking abroad: platformraam.nl/uit-andere-m...

Who’s recruiting Cubans to fight In Ukraine? A travel agent in provincial Russia for one

In an attempt to mobilise new recruits for its war against Ukraine, Russia mobilizes soldiers all around the world - including in Cuba. There may be...

platformraam.nl

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 10h

The full impact on people will take years, possibly generations to fully surface.

UNITED24 Media @united24media.com · 11h

War leaves its mark on everyone—soldiers and civilians, children and adults.

We have traveled across Ukraine, collecting stories of people whose lives were forever affected by eye injuries sustained following Russian strikes.

“Every Person Should Be Able to See the Sun”: Ukrainians Who Survived Russian Strikes Now Battle Lasting Eye Injuries

The article follows the story of three Ukrainians who suffered eye injuries following Russian strikes on their cities.

united24media.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 10h

I remember when after 1989-1991, most NGOs like this pulled out of the region, figuring there was little need. But now.... www.praguedaily.news/2025/10/15/r...

Reporters Without Borders opens its first office in Central and Eastern Europe in Prague - Prague Daily News

Reporters Without Borders is strengthening its presence in Central and Eastern Europe: the organisation has opened its first office in the region, located in Prague. From there, RSF aims to defend pre...

www.praguedaily.news

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 10h

Babiš and his electoral victory in the Czech Republic: carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...

Babiš’s Victory in Czechia Is Not a Turning Point for European Populists

A populist movement has taken power in Czechia, reinforcing the steady rise of far-right parties across Central Europe. While united by the idea of regaining sovereignty, these forces remain divided o...

carnegieendowment.org

Reposted by Tomek Jankowski

The Moscow Times @themoscowtimes.com · 1d

The ECHR accused Russia of preventing people from freely entering the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

European Rights Court Orders Russia to Pay Georgia Nearly $300M Over Violations After 2008 War - The Moscow Times

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ordered Russia to pay Georgia more than 250 million euros ($289,000) for violations committed after the brief war between the two countries in August 2008...

www.themoscowtimes.com

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Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1d

While reports of its imminent demise are premature, Russia's political culture is devolving into bunker-style cut-throat turf wars, even ensnaring the FSB/KGB. If your name isn't Putin, you're not safe (and possibly, even if your name is Putin). carnegieendowment.org/russia-euras...

Russia’s System Is Beginning to Eat Its Own

There are no longer any political guardrails on the country’s powerful security agencies, and the number of arrests of officials will only grow.

carnegieendowment.org

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1d

Some RealPolitik for today's Europe: neweasterneurope.eu/2025/10/13/f...

For a new European realism

New geopolitical realities have exposed Europe’s effort to build a rules-based world in its own image as hollow and contingent on American hard power. If the ideals of democracy and freedom are to end...

neweasterneurope.eu

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1d

No words, other than ❤️

Dejan Pantic @serbianism.com · 1d

Best community notes ever.

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Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1d

Putin is a greater enemy for the Russian military than NATO ever was. Through his ineptitude and complete lack of concern for the value of anyone's life -- including Russian soldiers' -- he has shredded the Russian military in his quest for a false glory. kamilkazani.substack.com/p/on-the-rus...

On the Russian-Ukrainian War

Behind all the breaking news about the capture of small villages, we are missing the bigger picture which is:

kamilkazani.substack.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1d

A lesson Russia consistently refuses to learn is that it will not succeed in forcibly assimilating non-Russians. Polish, Baltic, and Belarussian nationalism in the 19th century were born of crude Russification efforts. And yet Putin tries again in 2022... braddelong.substack.com/p/kyiv-and-m...

Kyiv & Muscovy 'Rus Today

Putin’s theory of victory must be a bet on attrition, not maneuver. IMHO, the right strategy to go for is appeasement with teeth: Appeasement with teeth: acceptance of Russian conquests, EU for...

braddelong.substack.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1d

Again, this is not a wayward missile gone off target. This is intentional targeting by Putin. Remember that. Ukrainian attacks against Russia have targeted solely military or infrastructure (oil) sites, not Russian civilians. abcnews.go.com/Business/wir...

Russian aerial attack hits a Ukrainian hospital, days before Zelenskyy meets Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces have launched powerful glide bombs and drones against Kharkiv and hit a hospital

abcnews.go.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 1d

A Russian attack sub surfaced menacingly in the Mediterranean off France this week and at first, NATO felt threatened -- but then they realized it was just having mechanical issues. A surfaced sub is very vulnerable, but it has been traveling on the surface. www.businessinsider.com/russian-subm...

A Russian submarine's 'unusual' behavior has NATO's attention. A top official says it's 'limping home.'

NATO's chief said on Monday that there is a "lone and broken Russian submarine limping home from patrol" in the Mediterranean Sea.

www.businessinsider.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 3d

Mindless, pointless, and constant disruption. This is what Putin and his kind offer the world. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

Estonia closes road through Russian territory due to presence of Russian troops

Estonia has temporarily closed a road that passes through Russian territory after reports of Russian soldiers standing there

abcnews.go.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 5d

This is the latest Orbán scandal.

EUwatch 🇪🇺 @euwatch.live · 5d

With allies like this, who needs enemies? How Orbán’s intelligence network infiltrated the EU

In the mid-2010s, Brussels – long known as Europe’s espionage capital – was home to ...

eualive.net

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Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 5d

Someone worth reading.

Dejan Pantic @serbianism.com · 5d

Recommended. Srdja Popović was one of the leaders of the Serbian student and civic movement Otpor that brought down the murderous autocratic rule of Slobodan Milošević.

Stefan E. Jones @stefanejones.bsky.social · 6d

There's a whole book on using mockery to defeat autocrats:

www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

Free download: d119vjm4apzmdm.cloudfront.net/open-access/...

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Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 5d

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has dampened investor enthusiasm for Eastern Europe but the reality is that many economies in the region are transitioning from being developing to developed -- and that requires different kinds of approaches and policies. uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/boom-sl...

From boom to slowdown: Central and Eastern Europe faces strain

Economists at the Warsaw School of Economics examined the fate of the 11 Central and Eastern European countries that joined the European Union after 2004. The analysis shows that each of these countri...

uk.finance.yahoo.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 5d

There are a few dictators (or dictator-wannabees) who cling to Putin because there's nowhere else to go but the reality is that Russia is a 2nd-rate power in 2025, dependent on China and with little sway in the world. While the US and China spar over the future of AI and chips, Putin talks oil.

The Moscow Times @themoscowtimes.com · 5d

Major regional powers like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates did not confirm their participation, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

Moscow Postpones Arab Summit Amid Reports of Low Interest - The Moscow Times

The Kremlin announced Thursday that it had postponed the planned Russia-Arab summit in Moscow after President Vladimir Putin and his Iraqi counterpart agreed that many Arab leaders would be unable to ...

www.themoscowtimes.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 5d

This story is making the rounds. Putin has a habit of lying, then later admitting to deeds, like the Russian army's involvement in seizing Crimea in 2014. In this case he is likely trying to regain lost diplomatic ground in the Caucasus. www.wsj.com/world/russia...

Putin Admits Russia’s Role in Downing Azerbaijani Passenger Jet

The incident last year further eroded Moscow’s influence across the former Soviet states.

www.wsj.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 5d

Ailing Russian expat Vlad Vexler (living/teaching in London) explains Putin's mental state and how the West mis-read him in the early 2000s. This is in line with the portrait many are painting of him but for me, Putin's biggest flaw is his utter lack of compassion. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OZn...

Russia’s Political System Props Up a Fading Putin

YouTube video by Vlad Vexler Chat

www.youtube.com

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 5d

A terrifying analysis. When in late 1941 Japan attacked the U.S., days later Hitler declared war on the U.S., apparently believing it was weak (and racially diluted) and so would be an easy push-over. Is Putin about to make the same mistake with Europe? carnegieendowment.org/russia-euras...

By Sending Drones Into NATO States, Russia Is Repeating the Mistakes of 2022

There’s no guarantee that Russia won’t repeat the mistake it made in 2022. Back then, the Kremlin was counting on Ukraine to prove weak and futile. Now it is counting on NATO to be weak, divided, and ...

carnegieendowment.org

Tomek Jankowski @tomekjankowski.bsky.social · 5d

This, sadly, is a common theme nowadays as nationalist regimes push their central banks to lower rates to artificially prop up economic growth. The problem is (as the 20th century Keynes-Hayek debates revealed) is that artificial credit also creates recessions. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...