The Russian Federation continues its espionage activities in Europe.

News of an apparent Russian military buildup around Ukraine has been attracting increasingly alarming international headlines since October. These developments prompted regular statements from the leaders of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) regarding potential threats of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Recent publications in the Western media about the Russian military buildup along the border with Ukraine (Kyiv Post, October 31) provoked a new round of discussions about whether Moscow intends to resolve the Ukrainian issue by force.

The Russian military buildup along the Ukrainian border in March - May 2021 was another reminder of Ukraine’s urgent need to reform its defense and security sector.

NATO’s expansion and the Russian Federation’s intention to protect its European ‘near abroad’ are geopolitical factors of a zero sum-game.
The Russian Federation does not want the coastal states situated by the Baltic and Black Seas, that were once part of the communist bloc, to be transformed by NATO into ‘buffer states’.

The trilateral military cooperation, begun in November 2017, has all the necessary components to become decisive for the three countries in the eastern Mediterranean in the long-term. In addition, the US is fully behind the three countries, sending a clear signal to Ankara not to provoke conflict in the region.

Although all along the European Union’s existence there have been numerous attempts to debate the subject of an autonomous European defence, which would make the Union less dependent on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in security and defence, so far we cannot talk about a real common European defence. The European defence keeps on being ensured by the Alliance, and the transatlantic link becomes more important than ever after 1990 given the threats from South and East which the Euro-Atlantic community, including the European Union, must face.