Source: The Hill
by Mark Toth & Jonathan Sweet
“As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘special military operation’ continues its downward spiral in Ukraine, the future of Russian-occupied or dominated territories is becoming a subject of interest, beginning with Kaliningrad. Slowly but surely, Russian influence is being whittled away in the Baltic region, and this trend has the potential to snowball under the right circumstances. … it could foreshadow the near future for several Russian-occupied territories, should the war in Ukraine end in a resounding defeat. As the weight of Russian oppression diminishes, Crimea, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria may press for reunification with their motherlands, allowing Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova to become whole again. Moldova took what could be the first step on May 15, when Igor Grosu, President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, announced Moldova was formally withdrawing from the Commonwealth of Independent States interparliamentary assembly — the Russian equivalent of the British Commonwealth.” (05/18/23)
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4007441-the-collapse-of-russian-influence-is-widening/