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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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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.

Archived

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Such competition [arising from China's steel overcapacity] brings the threat of deindustrialisation in that sector – mirroring an existing trend for aluminium, which would hamper the continent’s efforts to ramp up its military industrial base “with the flexibility and speed required in a fast-changing geopolitical context”.

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The EU has long railed against China’s steel output, which represents more than half of the world’s total, but has been stirred into action by two factors emanating from the United States.

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“The industry remains threatened by global excess capacities and by global distortions from China and other countries that artificially support their domestic industries or circumvent EU trade defence measures and sanctions,” the plan said.

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In a “Steel and Metals Action Plan” unveiled on Wednesday, the plan proposed tightening steel import quotas by April 1, to reduce imports by a further 15 per cent. This would be an extension of a safeguard measure in place since 2018, which is set to expire in just over a year, a measure it also wants to expand in light of recent events.

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“Our competitors must not be able to take advantage of gaps in our regulatory framework, and this is why we are planning to make some changes,” said Stephane Sejourne, the European Commission’s executive vice-president.

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European Steel Association data show China produces 55 per cent of global crude steel output. The new plan estimated that in 2024, global steel overcapacity was “more than four and a half times the EU’s yearly consumption”.

According to the OECD, “China’s steel trade surplus has surged to nearly 100 million metric tonnes in 2024, on an annualised basis, a massive leap that is affecting competition across global steel markets”.

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Chinese steel products are the most common targeted by EU regulators, which has seven ongoing trade investigations into Chinese steel products, as well as existing import restrictions and tariffs in place.

The commission now wants to start opening probes preemptively, looking for the threat of injury, rather than substantial economic harm.

“To address the fast developments in global markets and to protect the industry, the Commission will strengthen the monitoring of trade flows and will proactively open investigations based on a ‘threat of injury’, without waiting for material injury to occur,” the plan said.