Measuring Central and Eastern European Countries’ Responses to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022, led to various (often confrontational) reactions of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to Russia. The article measures the variety of responsive foreign and defence policies of CEE countries in the first twelve months of the invasion. Three main domains of activities are examined: first, direct relations with Russia; second, relations with and support for Ukraine; and third, national defence policies and position in NATO. By considering these domains, the paper offers a comprehensive analysis of CEE countries’ positions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, indicates differences among these countries and categorises their attitudes from near-to-neutral to highly confrontational towards Russia. Along with primary intuition, Hungary adopted an attitude closer to neutrality, whereas Lithuania and Poland turned out to be the most confrontational. The analysis reveals minor differences among the Baltic states’ approaches towards Russia. Contrary to expectations, the positions of Bulgaria and Romania differed widely, with the former following a more confrontational stance than the latter.