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A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***Last week, upon returning from a trip to the Balkans, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced Russia’s “hybrid attack” seeking to undermine Western democracies in the region. Meanwhile, in Moldova, pro–European Union President Maia Sandu only narrowly managed to win re-election against her pro-Russian rival, while in Georgia, protests against a pro-Russian victory in parliamentary elections are ongoing. We asked four experts to tell us more about the “hybrid” war being waged against countries in Russia’s neighborhood and if there is anything the United States and its allies can do to counter it.Read more below.Dimitar Bechev Director of the Dahrendorf Program on Europe in a Changing World, European Studies Centre, University of Oxford Senior Fellow, Carnegie EuropeThe Moldovan presidential election presented ample proof that Russia has not given up on meddling in the domestic affairs of countries falling in what it sees as its sphere of influence. Though Maia Sandu emerged victorious, Moscow pulled no punches — from alleged vote buying, to information ops, to cyber attacks. It is not game over, either, as Moldovans will be heading to the polls again in July to elect the 101-strong parliament.Then, there is Georgia, where the Russia-friendly Georgian Dream party won a fourth straight term in office, with the opposition contesting the outcome of an election marred by irregularities and even alleged fraud. Unlike Moldova, there is less evidence of direct interference by the Russians — the “special electoral operation” was carried out by the Georgian Dream party itself. The party painted its opponents as part of a global