The Winter 2018 issue of Connections provides a comprehensive view on Russia's attitude towards, and relations with Bulgaria, Montenegro, Georgia, and Ukraine, with focus on increasing tensions as a result of the consistent use of its hybrid toolbox. Another article looks into cross-border conflicts in the Ferghana Valley. The final article reviews Ambassador Pardew's book "Peacemakers: American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans" that accounts for his rich personal diplomatic experience in the 1990s and the beginning  of the 21st Century.