Read more about the article The Baltic States’ Military Support to Ukraine
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The Baltic States’ Military Support to Ukraine

On February 24, 2022, when the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Baltic States - Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia - were among the first to respond to the request for military and humanitarian assistance. According to the Ukraine Support Tracker, between January 24, 2022, and January 15, 2023, they were among the largest providers of military aid to Ukraine relative to their GDP – Estonia - 1.469%, Latvia - 1.128%, and Lithuania - 1.145% (Trebesch et al., 2023). One of the most important motivating factors could be the common historical past connecting the countries: the states were all part of the Soviet Union, and later, they secured their independence (Simpson, 2023). Therefore, the population of these countries, understanding the price of freedom, strives to support Ukraine on the way to its victory comprehensively. The historical experience of the Baltic States, which were under occupation until the collapse of the USSR, and the ongoing war in Ukraine have significantly influenced the perception of their security and the possible threat from Russia today. For instance, understanding the security challenges connected with the war in Ukraine, in 2023, the Latvian government adopted a law on compulsory military service, which had been abolished in 2006. This law restores mandatory military service for men and voluntary military service for women from January 1, 2024 (Fremer, 2023). Moreover, in 2024, the Baltic States and Poland called on the EU to build a defence line on the border with Russia and Belarus to prevent possible military and hybrid threats (Brzozowski, 2024).

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3 August 2024
Read more about the article Dehumanising trends in Humanitarian Law: the breach of the obligation to protect medical units. Violations of IHL during the war in Ukraine
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Dehumanising trends in Humanitarian Law: the breach of the obligation to protect medical units. Violations of IHL during the war in Ukraine

On July 8th 2024, the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv suffered an airstrike that killed at least 42 civilians, five of them children, and injured at least 190 (HRW, 2024). The hospital was hit during a wave of Russian Federation missile attacks on different cities in Ukraine (UNSC, 2024). Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has sustained at least 9,560 civilian casualties, and 21,450 more injuries, including 1,796 children (594 killed and 1202 injured) (HRW, 2024). The Russian Federation claims that it was an accident, going so far as to declare that: “claims about a deliberate Russian strike on civilian targets in Kyiv are not true. The destruction was caused by the fall of a Ukrainian air defence missile [...] If this were a Russian strike, there would have been nothing left of the building and all the children would have been killed and not wounded”, as stated in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting the day after the attack (UNSC, 2024). This is one aggression in a long list of strikes on hospitals and medical facilities, which are places that enjoy a special regime of protection within International Humanitarian Law (IHL). This paper explores the norms that protect these spaces and the people inside them, aiming to shed light on a worrying trend of unlawful warfare. Firstly, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols are examined, with Article 14 of the IV Geneva Conventions as the backbone foundation upon which the legal protection is built. Secondly, an account of the prohibition of attacks on hospitals and safety zones is explored, which proposes different options in which this breach of IHL could be prosecuted. Lastly, this article briefly oversees the international community’s response to the aforementioned attack and compares it to other conflicts in which similar attacks have occurred.

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30 July 2024
Read more about the article European Defence giants Leonardo and Rheinmetall form a 50/50 Joint Venture for the development of the next Land Defence Systems
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European Defence giants Leonardo and Rheinmetall form a 50/50 Joint Venture for the development of the next Land Defence Systems

The Italian manufacturer Leonardo and the German arms maker Rheinmetall signed a strategic partnership on 3 July 2024 to establish a 50/50 joint venture for the industrial development and the subsequent commercialisation of a new battle tank for the Italian Army’s ground system programs. The new-born entity will be based in Italy, where 60 % of the overall production will take place (Leonardo, 2024). Over the next ten years, the two industrial groups aim to win contracts worth an estimated 20 billion euros from the Italian Army (Dragoni, 2024). The terms of the agreement will have a positive impact on the Italian supply chain as a whole and could capitalise more than 50 billion US dollars on the European market, as preannounced by Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger (Reuters, 2024). The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two counterparts is now subject to approval by the European Commission and national competition authorities.

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15 July 2024
Read more about the article What is in the Inbox of the EU’s Next Foreign Policy Representative, Kaja Kallas?
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What is in the Inbox of the EU’s Next Foreign Policy Representative, Kaja Kallas?

At the European Council Summit in Brussels on the 27th of June, EU leaders gathered to approve the bloc’s new leadership following the outcome of the European elections. Among the appointments, Kaja Kallas was tapped as the EU’s next High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, succeeding the Spanish Josep Borrell. Currently the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kallas recognised the “enormous responsibility” she is entrusted with and reiterated her commitment to strengthening the EU’s defence capabilities (Kallas, 2024). Before being talked about for this position, her name had floated to lead NATO, as well as for the proposed role of EU Defense Commissioner, which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised to create if re-elected (McElvoy, 2024). Just like Von der Leyen and future EU Council President Antonio Costa, Kallas will need to get formal approval from EU lawmakers and the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee in the next fall (Nardelli and Tammik, 2024).

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5 July 2024
Read more about the article Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg meet in Rome to Discuss Ukraine, Defence Spending and Mediterranean Security
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg meet in Rome to Discuss Ukraine, Defence Spending and Mediterranean Security

On 8 May 2024, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, Italy. Their discussion mainly focused on what will be at the heart of the upcoming NATO Summit, taking place in July in Washington, with the war in Ukraine leading the conversation (ANSA, 2024a). The Secretary General reiterated that sending boots on the ground to Ukraine is currently not an option for NATO, nor something that the Ukrainians have asked (ANSA 2024b). Instead, what Ukrainians are in desperate need of is additional military aid, especially in light of the recent territorial advance by the Russian army in the northeastern region of Kharkiv (Dettmer, 2024).

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21 May 2024