The increasing frequency and sophistication of Russia’s hybrid attacks across Europe demand a comprehensive and multi-layered response, as their complexity — ranging from cyberattacks and disinformation to sabotage and kinetic attacks — challenges conventional defence and deterrence strategies.
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Deterrence is once more at the centre of discussions on national security. Faced with larger revisionist neighbours driven by aggressive foreign policies, Taiwan and states in the Nordic-Baltic region are drawing lessons from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine to understand how to enhance deterrence in their respective theatres.
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Elements of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) spent much of November 2024 in Latvia, taking part in a series of exercises known as Joint Protector 24.[1] Leaders of the JEF countries—Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK will then meet in Tallinn on 16-17 December to discuss further cooperation in the framework.[2] What is the JEF, and what does it offer the Baltic region?
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The political atmosphere in Russia, as well as the September 2022 mobilisation call for military service, made thousands of Russians leave their home country. Although a vast majority of them have settled in post-Soviet countries, a noticeable portion has also taken up residence in EU countries. A recent couple of years have seen significant expert interest in new Russian immigration, so there is no shortage of publications on the phenomenon. However, many of these analyses suffer from substantial flaws.
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NATO heads of state and government will gather in Washington on 9-11 July to mark the Alliance’s 75th anniversary. While a third year of full-scale war rages in Europe, they will need to guard the tone of their celebrations. But it would be remiss of the Allies not to recognise the importance and success of their organisation. NATO remains the essential transatlantic forum. It has had huge positive impact on security in Europe and elsewhere, built shared understanding and purpose among a growing number of members, and successfully adapted to decades of changing circumstances. There is much to applaud.
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Institutions and organisations researching and monitoring the informational policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are observing a dramatic increase and expansion in the regime’s efforts to shape and influence the global information space. This trend is followed by a careful and expanding effort to understand the tactics used by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which vary from propaganda and misinformation and the suppression of critical voices to the promotion of digital authoritarianism, utilising aggressive means such as intimidation and diplomatic pressure as well as gaining control over media and information technologies.
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We must invest more time; resources; and effort in our security, tells Kestutis Budris, Chief National Security Advisor to the President of Lithuania in an interview to Diplomaatia.
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In 2022, the BCME in cooperation with the International Centre for Defence and Security (Estonia) and individual experts from Latvia and Lithuania carried out a research project titled “Media Literacy Sector Mapping in Estonia.” Similar mapping reports, which applied the same methodology but studied Georgia, Latvia, Moldova, and Ukraine, were produced in 2021.
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Russia’s war in Ukraine has prompted Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to accelerate the building of their armed forces.
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After Russia invaded Ukraine, the diplomatic scene witnessed many collective walkouts at international venues when the representatives from the aggressor country took the floor – a symbolic gesture of protest and disgust with the Russian policy and those who defend it.
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