PULASKI POLICY PAPERS – T. Otłowski: Libya at a crossroads
Pułaski Policy Paper No 4, 2019. 12 June, 2019 In early 2019, that is eight years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime and five years since the outbreak of the second Libyan civil war, the political situation in Libya aggravated once again. On April 4th, 2019 Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, Head of the Libyan National Army (LNA) that supports the government in Tobruk, announced an offensive against Tripoli, the capital city of Libya. The ultimate goal of the operation is to wipe out Islamist military formations and militias and to unite the country. In fact, the operation was launched against the second centre of power in Libya, the Government of […]
PULASKI POLICY PAPER – S.Koziej: New Cold War on NATO’s Eastern Flank – Security Scenarios for Central and Eastern Europe
Pułaski Policy Paper No 3, 2019. 02 April 2019 The clash between Russia and the West has increased the importance of Central and Eastern Europe. The role of this region in a new hybrid cold war will depend on further developments and successful implementation of certain conflict scenarios.[i] Currently, Central and Eastern Europe is in the center of the ongoing conflict between the Russian Federation and NATO[ii] despite that neither of them want to admit it.[iii] To understand the position and the role of CEE in the conflict with Moscow, it is necessary to analyze and consider various scenarios regarding the future relations between Russia and the West. In the […]
PULASKI POLICY PAPER – T.J. Omedi: Suspension of the INF Treaty – What’s next?
Pułaski Policy Paper No 2, 2019. 21 February 2019 The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that on February 2nd, 2019 the U.S. Department of State sent an official notice declaring a U.S. suspension of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). This decision is a follow-up of Donald Trump’s threats to withdraw from the bilateral agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States which banned land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges of 500–5,500 km. The final U.S. withdrawal should take place in six months. According to Donald Trump’s administration, Russia has violated the treaty by producing and deploying the 9M729 (SSC-8) missiles. The U.S. decision has been supported by […]
PULASKI POLICY PAPER – M. Szopa: Poland’s Air Force to Procure New Fighter Aircraft: the ‘Harpia’ Programme
Pulaski Policy Paper No 1, 2019 January 7, 2019 In the aftermath of the political reforms of the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Poland’s policy makers recognised a growing need to procure a new fighter jet aircraft. At the time, the Polish Armed Forces operated only Soviet-built fighter jets of several types such as MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-20 and Su-22 fighter-bombers and a newly introduced MiG-29 fighter. Given the prospect of joining the North Atlantic Alliance, it seemed obvious that the Soviet-era jets would have to be gradually replaced with either brand new or second-hand aircraft fighters built in the West. As far as the latter one is concerned, Poland […]
PULASKI POLICY PAPER: R. Lipka – Ukrainian stalemate: all quiet on the Eastern Front?
Pulaski Policy Paper No 16, 2018. 14 December 2018 On November 25, 2018, naval vessels and patrol boats of the Federal Border Guard Service of the Russian Federation captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels that attempted to pass through the Kerch Strait. The Ukrainian flotilla consisting of two artillery boats (proj. 58155 Gyurza-M) and the A947 tugboat was on its way to the port of Mariupol, on the coast of the Sea of Azov, in order to join other vessels deployed in the region. Russian patrol boats strove to halt the Ukrainian vessels approaching the Kerch Strait. As the Ukrainian flotilla was still in the South of the Crimean Peninsula, the […]
PULASKI POLICY PAPER: T.Smura – Political and military significance of the Central Transportation Hub project in Poland
Pulaski Policy Paper No 15, 2018 November 13, 2018 In October 2018 based on the Bill dated May 10 2018 on The Central Transport Hub the Special Purpose Vehicle responsible for preparing and implementing the Central Transportation Hub program was established. Located between Warsaw and Łódź the CTH is expected to be one of the biggest transportation intermodal hubs in Central Eastern Europe region combining a hub airport, directly connected to railway and motorway networks. Following the analytical stage, government plenipotentiary for the CTH selected Stanisławów – a settlement in the Baranów administrative district, as a future location of the Hub. Stanisławów is a small rural settlement in the Masovian […]
PULASKI POLICY PAPER – T. Otłowski: What’s next for Syria?
Pułaski Policy Paper No. 13, 2018. November 9th, 2018 After seven years of a bloody civil war, Syrian conflict is coming to an end and a new order emerging. Ba’ath party regime has managed – with the help from regional and global allies – to survive the revolutionary upheaval of Sunni minority, which was also supported by foreign states. President Bashar al-Assad maintained control over the country and leadership of his political base, which suggests that the government in Damascus will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future. However, the internal – social and political – situation in Syria may undergo fundamental changes. Moreover, the complicated network of alliances and interdependencies […]
PULASKI POLICY PAPER – R.Lipka: The Demise of the Arms Control Era: Washington and Moscow-Beijing axis on a Collision Course
Pułaski Policy Paper No 7, 2019. 30 September 2019 On 8th August, 2019 a mysterious blast rocked Nyonoksa, a small village located on the White Sea coast in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, Northern Russia. State Atomiс Energy Corporation ROSATOM acknowledged that an accident at the military firing range in Severodvinsk claimed the lives of five workers whereas three others were seriously injured.[i] The incident happened during alleged tests of a liquid reactive propulsion system. The public has been galvanized by news reports published shortly after the explosion that initially claimed a spike in radiation levels. Shortly afterwards, on 13th August Russian news agency Tass confirmed that the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology […]