In this week’s episode of Talk Eastern Europe, hosts Alexandra and Adam unpack another intense week of regional developments, from Donald Trump’s surprising outreach to Vladimir Putin and the potential Budapest summit, to leaks of Polish military documents and rising Russian sabotage activity. They also touch on coalition talks in Czechia and the Georgian government’s deepening crackdown on opposition voices.

Later, Adam sits down with Carlo Masala, a leading German political scientist and author of If Russia Wins, to discuss his new book imagining what might follow a Russian victory in Ukraine. Masala outlines why Europe must take the Russian threat seriously, how NATO could be tested in unexpected ways, and why helping Ukraine win is crucial for Europe’s own security.

Check out the book here: https://atlanticbooks.co.uk/book/if-russia-wins/

Further reading:

Kremlin’s drone surge in 2025 and its hybrid threat toUkraine and Europe: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/10/16/kremlins-drone-surge-in-2025-and-its-hybrid-threat-to-ukraine-and-europe/

Bonus episode:

Watch Alexandra’s full interview with Full interview with Ivona Šimunović, a youth worker from Croatia: https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-episode-141718094

/////Additional financing for this podcast is provided by the Polish MFA: Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the grant competition “Public Diplomacy 2024 – 2025 - the European dimension and countering disinformation The opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the official positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Nina, Adam andAlexandra start by discussing the latest news in the region, including the Hungarian spy scandal, train accident in Slovakia, Latvian minority policy, and some updates from the Western Balkans.

Later, Adam is joined by Mihail Nesteriuc, a Moldovan analyst and journalist, and discuss the country’s recent parliamentaryelections, which took place on September 28th 2025. The result of the vote delivered a relatively strong victory for the pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS). Mihail describes what the results mean for Moldova’s European path, Russian interference and disinformation efforts, the complex role of Transnistria, and how these developments might reshape the region’s geopolitics.

Further reading:

Read a report directly from the ground in Moldova during theelections, recently published on New Eastern Europe https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/10/10/operation-matryoshka-russias-direct-intrusion-into-moldovas-parliamentary-elections/

Watch Alexandra’s full interview with Oriana IvkovićNovokmet on Croatia’s elections and lessons for digital resilience. https://www.patreon.com/posts/oriana-ivkovic-141186086

Additional financing for this podcast is provided by the Polish MFA: Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the grant competition “Public Diplomacy 2024 – 2025 - the European dimension and countering disinformation The opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the official positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

This episode of Talk Eastern Europe is the final one in our mini-series on digital election interference our region. Alexandra reports in-person from Croatia to cover the country's "super election year" with an emphasis on the youth vote and young peoples' participation in politics and online. She speaks with Gong Executive Director Oriana Ivković Novokmet and youth workers Ivona Šimunović and Anja Kolimbatović on these topics and more.

Commentary by:

• Oriana Ivković Novokmet, executive director of Gong
• Ivona Šimunović, youthworker
• Anja Kolimbatović, legal & policy strategist

To watch the full-length interviews and other behind-the-scene clips, you can check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope
Research for this podcast episode was made possible with the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington, DC’s Transatlantic Media Fellowship. Find out more about the Fellowship, and the Foundation’s work, here: https://us.boell.org/en/2025/05/22/2025-cohort-transatlantic-media-fellows
Finally, thank you to Ana Puljić and the European Democracy Youth Network Croatia for support in selecting the participants for this episode.