Stories under this heading cover Russia, as well as countries in the eastern part of the European continent, such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova.
Just over a week after two anti-Kremlin Russian paramilitary groups fighting on the side of Ukraine launched a cross-border raid into Russia's Belgorod Oblast, the same two groups - the Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR) and the nationalist Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) - have claimed another raid into Russian territory on Thursday (1 June), this time towards the town of Shebekino.
"Azerbaijan’s non-participation in the military parade in Moscow demonstrates a changing political landscape in the region that profoundly challenges conventional perceptions," writes Farid Mirzali in this op-ed for commonspace.eu.
An agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain via its Black Sea ports was extended for a further two months, it was announced on Wednesday (17 May).
Ukraine is one of the world's top providers of grain. However Russia blocked its ports in the opening months of its full-scale of invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to leading to global fears of food shortages especially in poorer countries heavily reliant on Ukrainian grain.
Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar has said on Friday (12 May) that Ukrainian forces have made advances in the embattled town of Bakhmut in the country's east. This follows statements from Russian military bloggers on the evening of Thursday (11 May) claiming that Ukraine had indeed made gains.
Speaking on Friday, Maliar said that Russian troops had "failed to implement their plans" and "suffered heavy losses of manpower" on the front line.