Domestic Politics

NATO and the European Union led strong condemnation after Government websites of various Ukrainian ministries were hacked on Thursday evening (13 January). The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported this on Friday. According to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, it is too soon to draw conclusions about who could have been behind the attacks. However it is widely suspected that Russia was behind the attacks.

Flags at European institutions in Brussels flew at half mast on Tuesday in honour of the Italian politician who had led the European Parliament since 2019.

A new government for The Netherlands was installed on Monday (10 January) made up of a coalition of four political parties: VVD, D66, CDA, and ChristenUnie. One important feature of the coalition agreement is its positive and optimistic approach towards the European Union. Is this then the end of Euroscepticism in the Netherlands? Maximiliaan van Lange analyses in this article for commonspace.eu the background to the formation of the fourth Rutte Cabinet (Rutte IV) and examines how the Netherlands will now pursue its objectives within the European Union.

The Qatari Minister of Labour Dr Ali bin Saeed bin Smaikh Al-Marri has said that Qatar adopted many legislative and administrative reforms that stem from and are in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as part of their agreement of partnership in 2017. 

As an uneasy calm returns to Kazakhstan, it seems that once again, the only beneficiary from another crisis in the post-Soviet space has been Russian President Vladimir Putin, writes Maximiliaan van Lange in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. Putin’s decision to quickly deploy airborne troops as part of a "peacekeeping force" to support the Kazakh regime in controlling the turmoil surprised even some Russian commentators who have called it inappropriate. But by its actions, Moscow is sending a message that it will not tolerate turmoil in former Soviet states. With this step, Russia has considerably strengthened its position in Kazakhstan and nips in the bud the risk of a domino effect in Central Asia

Dozens of people were killed in protests in Kazakhstan's largest metropolis, Almaty during the night from Wednesday to Thursday (6 January), according to local police. On Thursday, Russia sent airborne forces to Kazakhstan as part of a "peacekeeping force". According to Moscow, they will be used to guard important buildings and sites, among other things. The Kremlin has not said how many troops have been deployed.

Kazakh President Kasim Jomart Tokayev has dismissed his government after a wave of unprecedented demonstrations in the Central Asian republic, triggered by an increase in energy prices.