Belarus

The nightmare of COVID-19 might not have vanished from our lives, but four years after the pandemic’s onset that changed almost everything, things are significantly better (and different).

Poland's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Gen. Veslav Kukula, emphasized the need for the country to prepare its military for a potential large-scale conflict rather than just asymmetric warfare. Speaking to Reuters, he stressed the importance of balancing border defense missions against Russia and Belarus with maintaining rigorous training within the army.

Poland hopes to bring in border guards and police from Finland, Germany and Greece to help patrol its frontier with Belarus, a senior official said on Thursday, amid mounting concerns over migration pressures from the east into Europe.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 3 met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, where he traveled for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed his efforts towards formulating a new "diplomatic plan" aimed at resolving the ongoing war. He expressed confidence that the proposed plan will garner significant backing from the international community. Zelensky also announced the successful return of at least ten Ukrainian civilians who were held captive in Russia and Belarus.

Poland and the Baltic states urged the European Union this week to strengthen its eastern border, warning in a joint letter to Brussels of a "looming threat" from Russia and Belarus.

The four EU members are staunch allies of Ukraine, which has been fighting a fully-fledged Russian invasion for more than two years.

Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of Armenia's Security Council, made a stark assessment days after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan raised doubts about Armenia's role in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), dominated by Russia.

Poland and the Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—have jointly called upon the European Union to establish a defensive barrier along its borders with Russia and Belarus, as reported by Reuters. The request, outlined in a letter addressed to the President of the European Council, will be a focal point at the EU member states' meetings commencing today in Brussels, Belgium.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to engage in a series of high-stakes diplomatic meetings, starting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and followed by U.S. President Joe Biden during a busy early July itinerary.

Following the conclusion of Eid al-Adha, Erdoğan will embark on official visits to three countries.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has highlighted growing concerns over nuclear threats from both Russia and China, ahead of a two-day meeting in Brussels with defense ministers from member countries. Stoltenberg pointed out that Russia has escalated nuclear rhetoric in recent months and has reportedly deployed nuclear weapons in Belarus, while also increasing nuclear exercises.