Long-reads

September 30 was a difficult day for the world community. Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who had come down to direct nuclear threats in his aggression against Ukraine a week earlier, moved to formally annex four Ukrainian territories in the East and South.

Suppose anyone had any doubts that the Hungarian prime minister was determined to a long diplomatic war with Ukraine (and with almost the entire civilized world). In that case, they should have been dispelled these days after the mass media published the summary of Viktor Orbán's speech to his fellow party members.

On September 13, the Office of the President of Ukraine presented the concept of security guarantees for Ukraine. It was developed by international advisers headed by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

On September 9, the energy ministers of the EU countries called on the European Commission to introduce a price cap on the gas against the backdrop of rapidly growing energy supply costs borne by consumers and enterprises.

On Tuesday, the European Commission published two documents set to change visa rules for Russian travelers.

The textbook promotes a fake narrative among Hungarian pupils as if there is a civil war in Ukraine. However, it is not the most shocking part.

"Saint Francis is probably devastated that the Pope has taken his name," Donald Tusk, the former prime minister of Poland and ex-president of the European Council, responded to the recent statements of the Roman pontiff.

JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Citigroup and Crédit Agricole have provided in total more than 12 billion dollars of loans for Russian oil and gas companies in the run up to Russia’s full scale military invasion and continued providing financial services for them after Putin started the massacre.

Exactly two months ago, on June 23, the European Council granted Ukraine EU candidate status but came up with seven conditions for obtaining it, which Ukraine must fulfill. As they say in the EU, the non-standard procedure (when the conditions are provided simultaneously with the status) has become a signal of trust in Kyiv.

Would you say that Ukrainians have all the reasons for despair? But the war became a magic wand that turned the world upside down and made us optimists!

The visit of Türkiye's President to Ukraine, together with the UN Secretary-General, has stayed without historic agreements, but it got a lot of attention.

Making Ukraine and Moldova candidate states is by far the biggest positive process that has been taking place in the region for the last years.

Estonian Narva, all of a sudden, turned into the main newsmaker on August 16. The government removed the Soviet T-34 tank, which was extremely important for the Russian community.

Ukraine needs help to make the EU accession as smooth and efficient as possible. The geopolitical concept of the Intermarium can help here.

Ukraine, which is waging a heroic war against the aggressor, is also achieving tangible and perceivable results on the diplomatic front. The joint efforts of diplomats, state representatives, and non-governmental players secure international support for Ukraine.

The EU has been actively discussing lately what they should do with Hungary.

One more war in Europe – this time in the Balkans. On the last day of July, it seemed more real than ever.

In late July 2021, a cultural festival, "Global Values," was organized specially for Vladimir Putin's family in occupied Ukrainian Sevastopol. The dictator's daughter, Ekaterina Tikhonova, personally supervised the event.