Welcome to this edition of What about Ukraine?, a newsletter that helps you keep updated about what has been said recently about Ukraine in Ukraine, and in the international media.

This week, we bring you a quick and fresh newsletter with the latest Ukrainian updates from across Europe. Next week, we’ll return with our carefully curated translation from Ukraine.

The UK and France have followed the US in granting Ukraine permission to launch long-range missiles against Russia. Kyiv can now use the ATACMS, SCALP and Storm Shadow weaponry to strike deep into its aggressor’s territory. Germany is not yet supplying its Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, but is sending over 4,000 kamikaze drones. Although some have named these "mini-Tauruses", reports ZDF, military experts have shot down such a comparison.

In Bulgaria, Ukrainian refugees and Russian opposition members rallied in support of Kyiv, while agricultural tensions rose, this time over Ukrainian honey imports, which are trading for half the price of the local produce. Meanwhile, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán keeps using the war as a pretext to tighten his authoritarian grip over Hungary, bypassing parliament to approve laws.

In southern Europe, the Vatican is mediating the repatriation of around 20,000 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, while in Spain the judicial system slashed the jail sentence of the pensioner who injured a security guard by sending an explosive letter to the Ukrainian embassy.

The full-scale invasion exceeds 1,000 days this week — nearly 4,000 days since the Russian-Ukrainian war began.

Don't forget it while you read.

Fermín Torrano
Editor of this week's edition

Bulgaria

Ukrainian refugees concerned over new US agenda

Ukrainian refugees took to the streets of the Bulgarian city of Burgas to protest against Russian aggression on the 1,000th day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The protesters have expressed concerns about the new US administration's commitment to secure a just peace. "Trump speaks ambiguously: he claims he wants Minsk 3, but we know what Minsk 2 has led to," said one protester. "This position supports Putin, and gives him time to prepare his next move." Representatives of the Russian opposition have also been demonstrating in Bulgaria in recent days, showing support for a Ukrainian victory and advocating for a political change in Moscow. (Bulgaria On Air)

Bulgaria and Romania have requested the introduction of protective measures from the European Commission against the import of Ukrainian honey into the European Union. According to Sofia, the increase in the supply of Ukrainian honey, which currently costs about half of its Bulgarian counterpart, is putting local producers in trouble. It is not the first time that Bulgaria has requested measures to limit the trade of agricultural products from Ukraine. Last September, Sofia requested the stop of egg imports due to price-dumping concerns. (Club Z)

The film 'Diagnosis: Dissent' by Ukrainian director Denis Tarasov won the Best Film Award at the 2024 edition of the International Ethnographic Film Festival 'Oko', held in Sofia at the beginning of November. The film takes viewers to the 1970s, when dissidents in the Soviet Union were detained in psychiatric hospitals. The protagonist, a young musician interned at a hospital, has to choose whether to submit to the system or reveal the truth, and risk his own life. In addition to the main award, the film received two special awards: for visual solutions and the reconstruction of the original atmosphere. (Fokus)

Germany 

Op-ed: Chancellor "humiliated" by "futile" Putin phonecall

"Without perspective, without leverage and without the will to apply pressure," this is how journalist Marcus Pindur describes German chancellor Olaf Scholz after his call with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Pindur criticises Scholz for "allowing himself to be humiliated in order to present himself as a prince of peace during the election campaign," after the ruling German coalition collapsed last week, triggering early elections for February 2025. The piece labels Scholz’s attempts as futile, stating, "neither phone calls with a brutal aggressor nor verbal appeals offer any remedy." The German government’s focus on social services over defence spending is also criticised by Pindur, who argues Germany could prioritise both Ukraine aid and domestic welfare. (Deutschandfunk)

Europe will need to defend itself and Ukraine against Russia, after the return of Donald Trump, who wants to "force a ceasefire that neither side wants", states a FAZ commentary. The author emphasises that a large part of this responsibility will fall on Berlin. The German people will have to choose in the upcoming 23 February elections between "parties that are pro-Russian" and "those that want to help Ukraine". As the continent’s largest economy, Germany could help unite European economies to outstrip Russia in terms of its resources, states the piece. (FAZ)

German software company Helsing is set to deliver 4,000 AI-powered "kamikaze drones" to Ukraine, reports ZDF. Called AQ100 Bajonet, these drones are designed to be guided by artificial intelligence and explode on impact. While the Ministry of Defence confirmed the deal, many details remain unclear. According to reports, these drones could have a range of up to 150 kilometres and possess the ability to autonomously identify and strike targets with "accuracy up to 50 centimetres." With many calling the new drones 'Mini-Taurus' (in reference to the cruise missile), Frank Sauer from the University of the Bundeswehr dismissed the label as "nonsense," explaining that the drones are "a completely different weapon category" to the Taurus cruise missile. (zdf)

Hungary

Government faces criticism for continuing to govern by decree due to war 

The Hungarian government has extended the "state of danger" until 18 May 2025, due to the war in Ukraine. This measure allows the government to govern by decree in the case of an armed conflict in a neighbouring country, or as a consequence of a humanitarian crisis. (Telex English) Last year, a study by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and other NGOs concluded that the government was "abusing the situation" by legislating by decree, and bypassing parliament, on matters unrelated to the Russian-Ukrainian war. The government responded that it "represents the interests of the Hungarian people." (RTL)

Many internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ukraine have fled to Transcarpathia at the Hungarian border, while part of the local population in this region has relocated abroad. The population of the city of Uzhhorod, once 120,000, is estimated to have almost doubled. A major wave of construction has begun, and infrastructure is struggling to cope with this growth, according to György Dunda, director of a Hungarian-language minority newspaper. "Transcarpathia will never be the same as it was before 2022," he said to the pro-government weekly Mandiner. According to him, newcomers "want to shape the region in their own image," and, although he did not name specific problems, he noted that  "local Ukrainians are just as unhappy about this as the Hungarian minority." (Mandiner)

Political analyst and managing director of the think-tank Political Capital, Péter Krekó, told 444 that the European public opinion is "starting to converge with [prime minister Viktor] Orbán's position on Ukraine." Although this "doesn't make Orbán right from the start," he is no longer in the pariah role he used to be. If Orbán’s prophecy (a quick ceasefire and peace) would come true, the analyst believes it would be due to the uncertainty and cautious policies of some Western states, not because "Orbán foresaw it". Nevertheless, he could find himself in a position to become "a visionary" in the eyes of the Hungarian and international public. (444.hu)

Italy

Ukraine has the "right to react to Russian escalation" 

"I do not condemn the US and Ukraine" for allowing the use of Western weapons on Russian territory, states Italian Foreign minister Antonio Tajani after his participation in a meeting of European foreign ministers in Warsaw. In an interview, Tajani reaffirmed Italy’s defensive military support to Ukraine, without "engaging in direct conflict with Russia". The minister recognised Vladimir Putin’s responsibility for the recent escalation, and highlighted the North Korean troops’ involvement as a justification for the US’s decision to lift the ban. He expressed optimism about Ukraine’s future NATO and EU membership and dismissed fears of reduced Washington support under Trump’s administration. (La Stampa)

The Holy See, alongside Qatar and South Africa, is part of a group of states mediating negotiations with Russia to repatriate 20,000 Ukrainian children who have been deported since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Lithuania and Qatar will serve as transit countries for returning the minors, as confirmed earlier this month at the Montreal summit on the human dimensions of the war. In Canada, Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister Andrii Sybiha shared the first official figure on the number of repatriated children so far: only 860 from among 42,000 who have gone missing since February 2022. The cases entrusted to the Holy See are challenging and results are still unsatisfying, said Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states. (Domani)

Another connection to the Arabian peninsula is the United Arab Emirates, which is playing a key role in facilitating prisoner exchange negotiations, Petro Yatsenko, a member of the coordination centre for the treatment of prisoners of war in Kyiv tells Il Post. Yatsenko goes on to explain all the steps behind the prisoner swaps (60 so far, involving around 100 prisoners each). This is held discreetly, in desolate border areas, under temporary ceasefires. While Ukraine treats Russian soldiers under international standards, Moscow does not allow international oversight, and torture is reportedly widespread. Russia’s disinterest in retrieving its prisoners and fragmented negotiating parties make it more complex. (Il Post)

Spain

Six years shaved off sentence for old-age bomber who targeted Ukrainian embassy 

A 74-year-old Spanish pensioner convicted of sending six letter bombs to politicians and the Ukrainian Embassy, where he injured a security guard, has had his sentence reduced by six years. The court described Pompeyo González as "an isolated terrorist" with no ability to escalate his criminal actions. As a result, his prison term has been reduced to 11 years and nine months, down from the original 18-year sentence. (El Español)

Spanish defence companies saw a record 15 percent increase in turnover in 2023, boosted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the dispatch of western military aid. The industry employs 215,000 people and generated a total turnover of 14 billion euros. This news coincides with the Spanish government’s announcement to continue supporting Kyiv and the commitment to raise the defence budget to two percent of GDP, a NATO target Madrid has historically failed to meet. (La Vanguardia)

Russia is reportedly working to establish networks of journalists, political analysts and YouTubers to amplify its narratives, and the Spanish speaking audience is one of its targets. According to a confidential document from the Ukrainian government obtained by El Periódico de España, one strategy includes organising trips to occupied territories such as Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Eighteen individuals from various countries are listed, including Spanish political scientist Enrique Javier Refoyo Acedo. The document does not accuse the individuals of any crimes, but identifies them as participating in "propaganda activities." (El Periódico)

The Europe-Ukraine Desk curated this newsletter. This week's edition has been composed by our team from all over Europe: Marika Ikonomu, Kornelia Kiss, Katarina Kukla, Francesco Martino, and Fermin Torrano.
Michael Bird was our proofreader. 

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