war

More than four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian businesses continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience. Yet, the results of the latest New Monthly Enterprises Survey (NRES), conducted by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) in May 2026, suggest that signs of a slower economic recovery are becoming increasingly visible.

An institution is never only a norm. It is also the extent to which people are willing to treat that norm as binding — and the methods they reach for when they are not.

Even in the fourth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian businesses continue to view the customs system more positively than negatively. Yet, the latest survey of exporters and importers suggests that the focus of reform is changing.

Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said that Estonia\'s air defenses will become multilayered over the next few years, with over EUR 200 million invested in drone defense.

How does the war in Iran affect Europeans? What is the impact of the Greenland issue on the Danish view of NATO and the transatlantic alliance? Should the Nordic countries acquire nuclear weapons? And what does Europe\'s path to competitiveness look like? Leszek Jazdzewski talks with Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a Senior Fellow at Bruegel in Brussels.

In the 5th year of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, how is the civil society in Ukraine currently faring? Is the Ukrainian identity under pressure? What is the impact of the war on the mental health of people, particularly children? And what should we know about paganism?

2025 became another year of war, resilience, and adaptation for Ukraine. Russia\'s full-scale war against Ukraine continued and resulted in territorial losses, destruction of energy facilities, and other critical infrastructure, including railways and seaports. Therefore, according to IER estimates, real GDP grew by approximately 2%.

“War,” Hillman writes, “contains within it, in the broader sense, the word peace: peace as victory. This fusion of peace with military triumph reveals itself fully in prayers for peace, where—quietly and between the lines—one is really praying for victory in war.” Every war eventually comes to an end; more or less fortunately, more or less satisfactorily for the warring sides and their allies.

The modern world is not only a home for modern people, but also a source of suffering. It is increasingly difficult to find anything permanent or stable in it. Security, in all its dimensions, has become a hope and expectation rather than an everyday reality. In a world of uncertainty, humans feel more lost than ever.

In late August 2025, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) released the results of its 40th monthly Business Tendency Survey, covering 474 industrial enterprises across Ukraine. The findings paint a picture of cautious optimism in the short term, but deep uncertainty over the longer horizon.