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Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, according to data collected by The Associated Press.

They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.

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The alleged disruption has a double purpose, James Appathurai, the NATO official responsible for the alliance’s response to such threats, told the AP.

One is to create “political disquiet” and undermine citizens’ support for their governments and the other is to “undercut support for Ukraine,” said Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary-general for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber.

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The cases are varied, and the largest concentrations are in countries that are major supporters of Ukraine.

Some incidents had the potential for catastrophic consequences, including mass casualties, as when packages exploded at shipping facilities in Germany and the U.K. Western officials said they suspected the packages were part of a broader plot by Russian intelligence to put bombs on cargo planes headed to the U.S. and Canada.

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European authorities are investigating several cases of damage to infrastructure under the Baltic Sea, including to a power cable linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish authorities detained a ship, suspected of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” used to avoid sanctions, after that cable and others were damaged.

When a fake French Defense Ministry website claimed citizens were being called up to fight in Ukraine, a French minister denounced it as Russian disinformation. German authorities suspect Russia was behind a campaign to block up scores of car tailpipes ahead of national elections, according to a European intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

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Countries have always spied on their enemies and long waged propaganda campaigns to further their interests abroad. But since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has become “bolder,” hitting the West with sabotage, vandalism and arson in addition to the tactics it previously used, including killings and cyberattacks, said Elisabeth Braw, an expert on the attacks at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

“The way you can weaken a country today is not by invading it,” she said.

China has also been accused of espionage and cyber operations in Europe, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian authorities were responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in 2022. Kyiv has denied this.

“Multiple countries engage in hybrid operations,” said David Salvo, managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. “Russia is the overwhelming culprit in Europe.”

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Archived

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28 European countries have raised concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet in their joint statement at the ongoing 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 20 March 2025. The joint statement was read by honourable Miroslaw Broilo, Permanent Representative of Poland to the UN Office in Geneva.

The joint statement was issued by 28 European Countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Honourable Miroslaw Broilo, in his oral statement noted, “We are concerned about the situation in China, in particular in Tibet and Xinjiang (East Turkistan) and the treatment of Human Rights defenders, lawyers and Journalists. China must refrain from Transnational Repression.”

In their written submission, the 28 European countries have reiterated their concerns about “the very serious human rights situation in China” and have urged China to “abide by its obligations under national law, including its own Constitution, and international law, to respect, protect and fulfil the rule of law and human rights for all.”

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There have been a staggering 1,614 recorded attacks on Ukrainian schools up to the end of last year says the report from the UN human rights office OHCHR – part of a legacy of death, injury, disability and family separation.

Children’s educational attainment level has plummeted during the unrelenting hostilities, “diminishing their future educational path and ability to realize their full potential in employment and beyond.”

Furthermore, children living in the four regions annexed by Russia in breach of international law, are “especially vulnerable” following the imposition of a Russian school curriculum.

Propaganda exercise [in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia]

“Military-patriotic training is prioritised, and children are exposed to war propaganda,” Liz Throssell of the Office for Human Rights told journalists in Geneva on Friday.

“Children are also completely restricted from accessing education in the Ukrainian language and have been imposed with Russian citizenship,” she continued.

The horrifying impact on Ukraine’s youngest extends way beyond the classroom. As the report unveils, a verified 669 children were killed and 1,833 injured since February 2022, with the actual numbers likely much higher.

With hundreds of thousands of internally displaced and close to two million children living outside the country as refugees, many of them separated from a parent, High Commissioner Volker Türk said “their rights have been undermined in every aspect of life, leaving deep scars, both physical and psychosocial.”

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Wood is a precious raw material. In Sweden, the packaging industry is destroying more and more old-growth forests to make toilet paper or cardboard. Biologists warn these ancient woodlands will no longer be able to help protect ecosystems and the climate.

Archived

TLDR: Mainly good news as power generation from natural gas has dropped significantly, largely replaced by renewables, despite rise in electricity prices during the energy crisis has partly discouraged both industrial and residential consumers from switching to electric alternatives. Energy-intensive industries reduced gas consumption either despite economic challenges, but are still struggling.

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Electricity generation from natural gas has fallen by 26% since 2021 [...] While some initial switching in 2022 involved coal or oil, renewables have been the main replacement, with their share of total power generation increasing from 39% in 2021 to nearly 50% in 2024. The decrease in total electricity generation has also contributed to lower gas demand, as the EU’s overall electricity consumption has declined since 2021.

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While the overall manufacturing industry has remained stable (-1% since 2021), energy-intensive sectors such as metallurgy (-11%), non-metallic minerals (-15%), and chemicals (-10%) have seen sharp declines, largely due to high energy costs affecting competitiveness.

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sharp rise in electricity prices during the energy crisis, which has partly discouraged both industrial and residential consumers from switching to electric alternatives. Additionally, low economic and demographic growth and the decline of energy-intensive industries have contributed to an overall reduction in energy demand, slowing down the need for electrification. This suggests that, in the short term, electrification is not yet driving the decarbonisation of final energy consumption at the scale needed to replace natural gas entirely.

Preparations are under way for a rocket test flight in Norway that could make history and give Europe greater independence from the market leader in orbital launches, the United States.

Isar Aerospace says it is planning to launch on 24 March between 12.30pm and 3.30pm CET, weather permitting.

COPENHAGEN (AP) — The Danish foreign ministry has changed its U.S. travel advisory for transgender people, following other European countries such as Germany and Finland who suggest they may face difficulties when trying to enter the United States.

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.22-110438/https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/what-is-the-endgame-for-ukraine-1747564f?st=oG3eXf&reflink=share_mobilewebshare

By Yaroslav Trofimov

President Trump is pushing to end the war that has been raging in Ukraine for more than three years. While Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted the U.S. proposal for an unconditional 30-day cease-fire to pave the way for peace negotiations, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin hasn’t agreed so far. Talks between the U.S. and Russia are set to continue in the Middle East. Zelensky’s European allies, who are determined to prevent Kyiv’s capitulation, will also play a major role in shaping the outcome.

It is far from clear what a Russia-Ukraine agreement would look like. But a look at key precedents from the 20th century suggests a range of possible outcomes. A cease-fire deal could lead to another, more successful Russian invasion; the establishment of a Ukrainian puppet government under Russian influence; a hostile but relatively peaceful coexistence; or maybe even a Ukrainian comeback. It all depends on which lessons from history turn out to be the right ones.

ROME, March 22 (Reuters) - Negotiations on a potential contract between Elon Musk's satellite internet operator Starlink and the Italian government have stalled, reflecting broader geopolitical tensions, Italy's defence minister said on Saturday.

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.22-081552/https://www.ft.com/content/9bc7496b-3504-47ac-aae6-7738de6adcf5

Who else has what we might call a Danish — that is, heterodox — cast of mind? The journalist Peter Hitchens is a church-and-king conservative with un-Tory views about trade unions, government housing and even the second world war. (Just as his brother Christopher, at the height of his leftism, backed Margaret Thatcher over the Falklands.) Who among Jeremy Clarkson’s fans or enemies knows that he has favoured a “liberal United States of Europe”, with “one army”, since long before the shocks of the past month or so?   

The tragedy is that, in a tribal era, this kind of thing comes across as scattiness or wilful contrarianism, when it is just the mark of a thinking person.

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.22-053931/https://www.ft.com/content/bbc80e1c-60a7-4f3d-a9a1-a4e68cf36912

In the past, established media organisations largely followed the same news agenda, within national boundaries. But in an increasingly borderless and splintered information environment, the old gatekeepers and norms are increasingly bypassed. 

This has led to the ongoing bifurcation of publishing platforms online, including social media, into overtly right- and left-leaning spaces, where different agendas abound. As a dual citizen of X and Bluesky, there are clear differences in the topics I see on the two platforms.

Here’s another weakness of the misinformation discourse: that this is uniquely a problem on one “side”. Research finds that while America’s conservatives are on average more likely to believe false statements about climate change, liberals are more likely to believe false statements about nuclear power. Other studies of the US find those who went to college are no better judges of news veracity than those with only high school education.

I don’t highlight this to criticise any particular group. Quite the contrary. I do so to emphasise that most people — left, right, more and less educated — simply don’t interrogate every claim they encounter.

Humans are efficiency-maximisers, seeking shortcuts at every opportunity. The truth is the vast majority of us are never going to invest time fact-checking or evaluating all the information we consume. If it seems plausible and comes from a source we don’t actively distrust, that’s good enough.

Pekka Toveri (EPP) delivers a powerful reminder: Europe cannot afford to ignore the Russian threat. Drawing on the painful history of countries like Finland, Estonia, and Poland, he rejects the notion that diplomacy alone can stop aggression. Toveri stresses the need for continued defence investments to ensure Europe's security and protect future generations. Highlighting the real power behind Russia’s defence budget, he urges Europe to stay on course. Watch to understand why he believes defence readiness is not optional—it’s essential.

https://archive.is/3hkO8

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has indicated that his country will no longer comply with the Dublin Regulation, an EU legal act that allows asylum seekers to be returned to the member state in which they first applied for protection.

Such a move would mark a further escalation in the Polish government’s increasingly tough line on migrants and asylum seekers. Tusk’s announcement prompted the European Commission to remind Poland that “all member states are required to fully comply with current asylum rules”.