Talk Eastern Europe

A major verdict has been handed down in The Hague: formerKosovo president Hashim Thaçi has been found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Adam and Alexandra discuss what the ruling could mean for Kosovo, its politics and the wider debate over transitional justice in the Western Balkans.

We also look at a new wave of repression against independent voices in Azerbaijan, devastating wildfires in Croatia, and the l...

Kosovo is facing a critical moment. As the verdict approaches in the war crimes trial of former president Hashim Thaçi and other senior Kosovo Liberation Army figures, questions over justice, accountability and the legacy of the Kosovo war have returned to the centre of public debate.

In this Deep Dive, Alexandra Karppi speaks with Arber Ahmeti, doctoral candidate at the University of Vienna specialising in transitional justice and ...

Donald Trump’s latest attempt to revive negotiations over Russia’s war against Ukraine has produced plenty of meetings but little sign of a breakthrough. Adam and Alexandra discuss Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff’s latest diplomacy with Moscow and Kyiv, Vladimir Putin’s demands, and why the fundamental obstacles to any peace deal remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, Russia’s intensifying drone campaign is incre...

Award-winning journalist and author Luke Harding joins Talk Eastern Europe to discuss his new book, Betrayal: Trump, Putin, and the New Age of Conquest and what it tells us about Russia’s war against Ukraine, Donald Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin, and the erosion of the post-war international order.

Speaking with Adam Reichardt, Harding reflects on the manyforms of “betrayal” at the heart of the boo...

Russia’s war against Ukraine intensified over the summer, with increasingly sustained drone and missile attacks raising new questions about what comes next and whether Moscow’s confrontation with the West could extend beyond Ukraine.

In this week’s Talk Eastern Europe News Roundup, Alexandra Karppi and Adam Reichardt discuss the latest wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s reporte...

We are back after our August break! In this episode of the Talk Eastern Europe Deep Dive, Alexandra Karppi speaks with James Ker-Lindsay, professor and specialist on conflict, security and diplomacy, with particular expertise on the Western Balkans. They discuss the increasingly complicated geopolitical landscape across the Balkans and wider Eastern Europe.

The conversation covers the stalled political processes in Kosovo and Bosnia...

Russia’s war against Ukraine is being fought not only on thebattlefield, but also in the information space.

In this Talk Eastern Europe deep dive, Adam Reichardt speaks with Ukrainian media professional, researcher and YouTube creator Anna Danylchuk, better known as Anna from Ukraine. Since March 2022, Anna has provided daily English-language updates explaining how the Russian invasion affects ordinary Ukrainians—and cha...

In this week’s news roundup, Talk Eastern Europe co-hosts Adam Reichardt and Aleksandra Karppi provide the latest developments in the region.

Firstly, Ukraine has replaced its commander-in-chief in oneof the biggest wartime leadership changes since Russia's full scale invasion, sparking debate about military reform, democracy during wartime, and the future of Ukraine's defence strategy.

Meanwhile, reports of secret meetings bet...

With Andrej Babiš back in power, Czechia’s civil society is warning the country may follow Hungary and Slovakia down an authoritarian path.

In this Talk Eastern Europe Deep Dive, Nina Pániková speaks with Mikuláš Minář, founder and chairman of Million Moments for Democracy, at the UNLOCK Summit in Prague.

Minář recounts how a single moment before the 2017 Czech election transformed him from a philosophy student into one of the ...

Hungary’s new government is rapidly dismantling Viktor Orbán’s political legacy, Ukraine is preparing another major government reshuffle, and the latest NATO summit has delivered potentially significant news for Kyiv.

In this episode of the Talk Eastern Europe Weekly News Roundup, Nina Panikova, Alexandra Karppi and Adam Reichardt discuss the political transformation underway in Hungary under Péter Magyar, including the ...

Is Europe losing its competitive edge? Can the EuropeanUnion remain economically strong while protecting its social model, environmental ambitions and democratic values?

In this special episode of Talk Eastern Europe, recorded at the Connecting EU Seminar in Sofia, Bulgaria and organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Adam Reichardt moderates a wide-ranging discussion on Europe's biggest economic and political...

Reports suggesting Russia may be planning a limited attack against Poland have sparked intense debate ahead of the NATO Summit. This week, Adam and Alexandra are in Sofia, Bulgaria, where they unpack the intelligence reports, discuss what they could mean for NATO deterrence, and examine thewider implications for European security.

They also look at the sudden collapse of Moldova's government, what it means for the country's EU ambit...

In this second part of our special two-part series on Serbia's protest movement, we speak with Mila Pajić, activist with STAV (Students Against Authoritarian Rule) and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, about the movement that emerged after the deadly Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse.

Mila explains how a tragedy became a nationwide movement, why students became the driving force behind the protests, and how government pr...

Serbia is heading towards snap elections after President Aleksandar Vučić announced he will resign within weeks, but will this lead to real political change or simply reinforce the ruling party's grip on power?

In this week's Talk Eastern Europe News Roundup, AlexandraKarppi and Nina Pániková unpack the latest developments in Serbia, including growing pressure on civil society, the renewed investigation into the alleged use of a son...

The Serbian protest movement has captured internationalattention—but how did it really begin?

In this first episode of a special two-part Talk Eastern Europe series, we speak with Serbian civil rights and environmental activist Nikola Ristić, who was among the first activists to organize after the deadly collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy in November 2024.

Nikola shares his extraordinary personal story, from being ...

Romania could be heading back to the polls after itsproposed government failed to win parliamentary approval, raising fears of another political crisis. Meanwhile, the European Union has officially opened the first cluster of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova – but are new obstacles already emerging?

In this week's Talk Eastern Europe Weekly News Roundup, Adam Reichardt and Alexandra Karppi discuss:

• Romania's go...

In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam Reichardt speaks with David Marples and Veronica Laputska, authors of the new Oxford University Press book Belarus: What Everyone Needs to Know, about the country that sits at the heart ofEurope's security.

They discuss why Belarus is far more than "Russia's puppet state," how the 2020 protests permanently transformed the Belarusian society, why hundreds of thousands have fled into exile,...

Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine, damaging Kyiv's UNESCO-listed Pechersk Lavra monastery while Ukraine continues striking military infrastructure inside Russia.

In this week's Talk Eastern Europe News Roundup, Adam Reichardt and Nina Panikova discuss:

- Russia's latest missile attacks on Ukraine and the damage to one of the country's most important cultural landmarks.
- Ukraine's growing campaign against Russian oil i...

Former Swedish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt joins Talk Eastern Europe for a wide-ranging conversation on Ukraine, Russia, Europe's future, and the unfinished project of European enlargement.

Drawing on decades of diplomatic experience – from helping launch the EU's Eastern Partnership to serving as the first High epresentative in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Bildt reflects on the biggest geopolitical shifts...