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.

The European Council’s decision on 15 December to open EU accession negotiations with Kyiv and Chișinău was warmly welcomed in a Ukrainian society grappling with low morale. However, the initial joy was quickly tempered when Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán blocked a €50 billion European fund earmarked for Ukraine – a measure much more relevant to the short-term future of the war.

As the Russian invasion approaches its third year, you can read below a recent report by the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera mapping and delving into the Kremlin's current presence on Ukrainian territory. Presently, Moscow controls 17 percent of Ukraine. Hopes for a significant Ukrainian counteroffensive this year dampened as the frontline stagnated.

In Germany, discussions on moles, spies and treason are gaining momentum as one of the largest espionage trials in history unfolds. Meanwhile, energy decisions and the exploration of historical memory, particularly concerning Russia, take centre stage in Bulgaria.

Ukrainian resilience through theatre and how much Russian aggression affected the cultural sphere in Ukraine, how football is used to avoid sanctions, and the story of how a French photographer recreated a 19th century painting with a famous Ukrainian soldier are also part of this newsletter.

Fermín Torrano
Editor of this week's edition

Russia killed 79 people from the Ukrainian cultural sphere in the first eleven months of 2023, according to unofficial monitoring by PEN Ukraine, an NGO that works with human rights and cultural themes. Together with The Ukrainians Media they launched a project that tells the stories of people of culture taken by the war. Painful losses marked every week of the year. Moscow’s missiles murdered many writers, actors and musicians as civilians, or they fell on battlefields serving in the military.

On the other hand, it seems that Ukrainian culture is blossoming. Despite being underfinanced by the state and dealing with personnel loss as many were forced to flee from their hometowns, new publishing houses are launched, bookshops have opened, and new movies are screened in the cinemas. As Tetiana Filevska, creative director for the Ukrainian Institute, mentions in her recent column for Ukrainska Pravda, culture becomes both a shelter and a purpose for Ukrainians suffering from war. 

In a piece, translated by n-ost this week, journalist Anastasiia Bolshakova looks back at the year in Ukrainian theatre. 2023 turned out to be a renaissance year: theatres had new plays and directors, and visitors were so active that their websites collapsed due to the high demand for tickets. 

Ukrainska Pravda. Zhytia (Ukrainian Truth. Life) is one of the leading Ukrainian websites covering culture and education.

Translated by Tetiana Evloeva.

Germany 

One of the largest ever espionage trials begins

An alleged Russian "mole" in the German BND (Federal Intelligence Service) is now being brought to trial in Berlin. The BND official Carsten L. and businessman Arthur E. are accused of being key figures in a major espionage case involving the sale of sensitive information to Russia. Reportedly, Carsten L. shared secret details with Arthur E., who is suspected to have sold this information to the Russian secret service, the FSB. The information includes details about the air defence system Iris-T, Western missile launchers in Ukraine, and Wagner group communication monitoring. The case has now entered trial proceedings. (SZ)

From billion-dollar fraudster to Russian spy? Jan Marsalek, the ex-manager of online payment company Wirecard, previously under suspicion for a significant financial scandal totaling billions of dollars, is now facing additional accusations. Western security services have confirmed that Marsalek, a fugitive since 2020, had contacts with intelligence services worldwide, with particularly close ties to Russia. He allegedly helped Moscow to pay informants, support Wagner and smuggle money into the Middle East and Africa. (Tagesspiegel)

In light of the recent EU summit, a Zeit commentary highlights the EU's groundbreaking decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, since this demonstrates a commitment to address the external threats collectively. The message from Brussels "you belong with us" signals a strategic shift towards a more geopolitically aware stance. (Zeit) However, from a policy standpoint, the recent decision remains mostly symbolic - mainly to maintain Europe's credibility and a pro-European sentiment in Ukraine. There is no clarity on when accession negotiations will start and how long they might take. (Tagesschau)

Spain

Russian football teams bag millions in transfer fees from Europe, Spain tops big spenders

Eighteen football players from Russian teams transferred to non-Russian Europe this summer at a total cost of 66 million euros. According to a 12-media investigation conducted by Follow the Money, Spanish clubs paid almost 50 percent of the transfers. The European Union's economic sanctions ban businesses with individuals and companies close to Russian President Vladimir Putin or depositing more than 100,000 euros in favour of any Russian entity. Among the beneficiaries of the transfer fees are figures such as the warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, the VTB bank, and Lukoil, one of the largest oil and gas-sanctioned companies in the world. (El País)

Olga Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for Ukraine's EU Integration, spoke to El Mundo on Western partners freezing funds, and EU accession negotiations. "We cannot afford fatigue, doubt (...). It is very important for everyone to understand that there is no choice but victory," she says, on the rumours of low Ukrainian morale. Stefanishyna is optimistic. She believes Kyiv will join the EU before 2030. (El Mundo)

The battlefield calls for more support. Denys Prokopenko, the Azov commander who suffered four months of Russian captivity and ten months of exile before returning this summer to Ukraine, posted a long message calling on Ukrainian society to join the army or support the combatants from a distance (X). Different soldiers, interviewed by Catalina Gomez Angel in Donbas, the most difficult hour, expressed the same idea. The Colombian journalist reports from the outskirts of Avdiivka, a city where Russia has lost more than 13,000 men and 200 armoured vehicles in an attempted assault in the last two months. (La Vanguardia)

Italy

Italy approves Ukraine aid, deputy PM Salvini "expresses concerns"

A new package of military aid for Ukraine has been agreed by the Italian government. The decree, subject to approval by the Parliament, offers support for one more year to the Ukrainian population, "which is defending the freedom and sovereignty of its nation", states the minister of defence, Guido Crosetto, who confirms that there is no problem within the government regarding the approval of military aid. (Ansa) But deputy PM Matteo Salvini "expressed strong concerns" about PM Giorgia Meloni’s position, which he considers too servile to NATO directives. The more concrete problem though is related to stocks running out. Italy has decided not to reveal the content of the decrees. (Il Post)

In The price of the Russian invasion, journalists Milena Gabanelli and Francesco Battistini offer data about and visualisation of the war. Two maps show the difference between the extension of the territories occupied by Russia in March 2022 and the current situation. Moscow still occupies 17.48 percent of Ukraine, an area the size of Estonia. Moreover, 20 Russian oligarchs and managers of companies close to the state, or part of the state, such as Lukoil, or mercenary groups such as Wagner, have died in mysterious circumstances. (Il Corriere della Sera)

An investigation by Domani reveals that Dimitri Kunz, partner of the Italian Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanché, is the largest shareholder of a company that has acquired a historic restaurant in Cortina d'Ampezzo, a ski resort in northern Italy, where the Winter Olympic Games will take place in 2026. Shareholders include Italian entrepreneur Flavio Briatore and Kazakh entrepreneur Andrey Toporov, who for years has been in business with Viktor Kharitonin, a sanctioned Russian billionaire close to the Kremlin. (Domani)

France

Turning soldiers of the 131st battalion into models

Who are the Kremlin influencers in France? According to Radiofrance Moscow correspondent, among them are former military personnel and intellectuals, often close to far-right European movements. At least four of the main pro-Russian voices appear regularly on RT Francophone channel (banned in France, but still produced from Moscow) But this is not a new strategy. Russia started using local voices long ago: one French reporter was even condemned to five years in prison for publishing articles funded by the KGB back in 1980. (France TV Infos)

French artist Émeric Lhuisset caught the attention this November with a picture of Ukrainian soldiers from 131st battalion, recreating the famous painting of Ukrainian-born Ilya Repin: Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The 19th century painting shows Ukrainian Cossacks answering the Ottoman sultan with a letter of insults. Lhuisset’s photo reconstruction from 2023 includes Roman Hrybov, the soldier from the Snake Island who answered the Russian invaders with "Go Fuck yourself". The story of how the French photographer found and managed to convince the heroic soldier is told in an article. (Vanity Fair)

French companies are the largest private foreign investors in Ukraine, and French bank Crédit Agricole’s CEO paid a visit to its Ukrainian staff in Kyiv, at the end of November. The bank has kept its activities running in Ukraine, even during the invasion, with 2,200 Ukrainian staff. This article explains the company's strategies to adapt to a war economy and prevent data and any information from getting lost in case of an attack on Ukrainian data centres. The CEO announced upcoming measures aiming at favouring car leasing and funding supply equipment for the farming industry. (Les Echos)

Hungary

Viktor Orbán gives "favour to Kremlin" as he blocks Ukraine aid

At the European Council meeting on 15 December, prime minister Viktor Orbán used the power of Hungary’s veto to block a decision of global political importance, the approval of  €50 billion in EU aid to Ukraine. This is the first time the leader of Hungary’s government has made such a decisive move. However, Orbán did not veto the start of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations, as he had indicated. Analysis suggests that the launch of accession negotiations has less practical significance than the disbursement of €50 billion, and sees the Hungarian prime minister's veto as a favour to the Kremlin. (Válaszonline)

Enlargement of the EU to include Ukrainians would cost the European Union a lot of money, indicate leaked documents. EU research leaked in October, which is quoted in Hungary by governing party circles, estimates the potential burden for the EU member states at 186 billion euros. There is another study, however, which estimates the additional expenditure as 30 percent less, and says that the claim of the first document, that the accession of Ukraine would turn the majority of currently net beneficiary Member States of the EU budget into net contributors is "completely unfounded." (Hvg)

The territory of Ukraine is a priority archaeological site and an exciting area for the research of Hungarian prehistory: the ancestors of today's Hungarians migrated through this region in the second half of the 9th century and settled along the middle course of the Dnieper River for a few decades. According to Ukrainian and Hungarian experts interviewed by 24.hu, Ukraine is often doing relevant work to preserve archeological finds relevant to Hungarian history. In the article, Ukrainian experts talk about the damages caused by Russia’s aggression and how the war hampers the work of researchers. (24.hu)

Bulgaria

Red Army monument removed from Sofia skyline

After decades of heated discussions, Bulgaria has dismantled a monument to the Red Army which has towered over the centre of the capital Sofia since the 1950s. The historic decision - influenced by the Russian full-invasion of Ukraine - did not put an end to divisions in the country. "As with its construction, the fundamental element in dismantling the monument is the propaganda effect," writes Emiliya Mincheva. "The parliament has split in two [...] on one side the Euro-Atlantic parties self-assert themselves by dismantling it, on the other the pro-Russian parties do the same by shouting in its defence". (Euractiv)

On 18 December, the Sofia parliament decided to retroactively abolish the transit tax on Russian gas introduced by Bulgaria last October (with expected revenues of around 1.2 billion euros). The decision came after the Hungarian government threatened to veto Bulgaria's entry into the Schengen area: according to Budapest, the tax would have increased costs for customers. At the same time, Bulgarian deputies decided to stop purchasing Russian oil. Thanks to an EU exemption, Bulgaria had the right to import Russian crude oil until October 2024. From August to October 2023, the purchase of Russian oil by Bulgaria secured €430 million in direct taxes to the Kremlin. (24Chasa)

Is the West engaging in politics, or playing roulette before the Christmas holidays? An editorial by Stefan Popov highlights the growing blindness of Western political elites to the importance of giving full support to Ukraine against the Russian invasion. In the USA, the Republicans have stopped a new financial package for Kyiv in Congress, while demanding new restrictions to secure the US border with Mexico. (Svobodna Evropa) 

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

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