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.

As much as war impacts everything in Ukraine, some aspects of life keep going on, and people keep buying places to live. This is what you’ll read in the article The Europe-Ukraine Desk translated from Ukrainian this week.

In the international news, you’ll discover that a new tax installed by Bulgaria might affect gas delivery by Gazprom to the whole European region. Also, football is in the air, with Hungarian supporters fined in Lithuania for damaging a Ukrainian flag, and a Spanish sports newspaper has taken advantage of a match between Ukrainian football club-in-exile Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Barcelona to tackle geopolitics. Democracy, books and refugees are also part of this newsletter, as international journalists have produced impactful pieces about these issues. 

This edition is the last call to apply to our next fellowship program, that allows 18 journalists from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Spain to travel to Kyiv next February, and meet Ukrainian journalists, officials and volunteers. It is a unique opportunity, and everything you need to know is to be found on our website.

Sarah-Lou Lepers
Editor of this week's edition

Bulgaria

Bulgaria imposes new tax on Russian gas

"After long years in which Russia used gas as an instrument of pressure on Bulgaria, gas is now being used as a weapon against Moscow," comments the weekly Kapital on the historic decision by the Bulgarian government to impose a new tax on the import and transit of Russian gas. This tax could significantly increase public budget revenues, and limit Russian gas distributor Lukoil's dominant role in Bulgaria. The risk though is to antagonise not only Moscow, but also Serbia and Hungary, who receive Russian gas through Bulgaria, and will see energy costs increase significantly. (Kapital)

Do Bulgarians love Russians and hate Ukraine? In a commentary in the Bulgarian edition of Deutsche Welle, the political scientist Daniel Smilov analyses the roots of this deep-rooted cliché. According to Smilov, Bulgarian citizens know very well who is the aggressor and who is being attacked, but various factors and interests try to damage their "moral compass": conformism, a confused idea of national interest and the presence of political and economic interests. "Thanks to social media, artificial intelligence and big data, the possibilities for manipulation are endless [...] It takes everyone's efforts to ensure they are not successful,” says Smilov. (Deutsche Welle)

What are the risks and prospects for the war in Ukraine? OffNews sees three pessimistic scenarios: the West abandons Ukraine with the latter's devastating defeat, Ukraine is forced to cede part of its territory in exchange for peace (and President Zelensky falls) or we enter into a "dead end road", an endless conflict with no clear winners. (OffNews)

In an interview with the Bulgarian edition of Deutsche Welle, journalist and Balkans expert Misha Glenny reflects at length on the consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine in south-eastern Europe. Millions of refugees, and political divisions over support for Ukraine are an open challenge. What worries Glenny is the rekindling of tensions such as between Serbia and Kosovo, and Bulgaria's veto on North Macedonia's accession to the EU, which increase regional instability. (Deutsche Welle)

Hungary

Orbán-Putin meeting has provoked criticism

Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orbán has attracted international criticism for his meeting with the Russian president in Beijing last week. According to one analysis, this meeting with Orbán is good for Putin, because it could send a signal that the EU is not united. Putin actually underlined this, saying that the meeting would not only allow them to discuss bilateral relations, but also European and global contexts. (Telex)

NATO ambassadors and the Swedish ambassador to Budapest had a meeting to discuss the Orbán-Putin meeting (szabadeuropa.hu). "It is worrying that Hungary has chosen to engage with Putin in this way," the US ambassador to Hungary, David Pressmann, told Radio Free Europe's Hungarian newsroom. László Kövér, a governing party MEP and President of the Parliament, responded to this in a pro-government news channel claiming that Hungary’s allies want to limit the country’s sovereignty. (HírTv). 

Also in the news this week, Hungary is buying more Russian gas from Gazprom, but a new tax imposed by Bulgaria could impact gas supply coming through the Turkish Stream pipeline (see above in “Bulgaria” section). The deal could run into obstacles, and could lead to a dispute with Gazprom that could stop gas supplies on this route. Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov expects the new tax will reduce Gazprom's profits and thus the resources that Russia can spend on the war. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó condemned Bulgaria's decision, describing it as a violation of European solidarity. (Portfolio)

The Lithuanian prosecutor's office is demanding fines for Hungarian football fans who violated the Ukrainian flag. Two drunk men were unable to explain their actions, which they committed on their way to the Hungarian national team's European Championship qualifying match in Vilnius. They removed the Ukrainian national flag from the façade of a house in the Lithuanian capital, put it in the rubbish bin and spat on it. (Népszava)

France

Is democracy still possible in wartime ?

Le Monde dedicated a few articles highlighting democratic processes in Ukraine. One article tells of a scene in Odesa, for example, where people gathered outside the city council criticising the city’s reconstruction policy. According to a representative of Odesa’s opposition, criticism is part of a democratic debate, and also the result of war fatigue: “But,” he added, “we’re talking about a need for inclusion, not defeatism. Only a small part of the population no longer wants war,” affirming that a majority of Ukrainians support the government in the war effort and decision to not negotiate with Russia. (Le Monde) 

Another article in the same newspaper tackles a different level of democratic proof, which involves the efforts made by Ukraine to answer EU requirements to start membership negotiations. Views of civil organisations are presented in the article, which consider one recent law about fiscal inspections of political figures in Ukraine as the last step to fulfil the EU’s criteria before negotiations. (Le Monde)

Despite sanctions against Russia, European companies are still allowed to buy “critical material”, like titanium or nickel, from Russia. This is the case of Airbus, France’s largest aircraft building company. Disclose, an investigative online media, published this week that: “on 14 March 2023, Airbus purchased $22.8 million worth of Russian titanium (...). This is four times more than in the previous 13 months." Besides the fact that France and Europe depend on Russia’s mines, the article explains that companies who sell these critical metals are linked, if not owned, by oligarchs who are targeted by international sanctions. (Disclose) 

Two Ukrainian wedding photographers who turned into war reporters, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Ukraine, have their works on display at an exhibition in Bayeux until 12 November, on the occasion of Prix Bayeux Normandie-Calvados. They have talked about their work and life in a portrait in the newspaper 20 minutes. (20 Minutes)

Germany 

German business “committed” to invest in Ukraine

At the German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin last Tuesday, Prime Minister Scholz and Economy Minister Habeck promised that “Ukraine can count on Germany”. Representatives from German companies emphasised their commitment to invest in Ukraine, despite the ongoing Russian aggression. (Aachener Zeitung)

Germany has committed an additional 200 million euros for the reconstruction of Ukraine, raising its total contribution to nearly one billion euros. State Secretary for Development Flasbarth stressed: “We have to send the message to Putin: No matter how many times you destroy the bridge - we will rebuild it.” (FAZ)

“Is Germany in a position to help Ukraine not only with weapons but also with doctors?” asks Süddeutsche Zeitung. Since the war's onset, around 2,500 Ukrainian patients have been sent to hospitals through the EU. An estimated 850 to 1,000 of them have received medical care in Germany (Süddeutsche Zeitung). But it does not go without bureaucratic challenges as reports local broadcaster Radio Berlin-Brandenburg. (RBB)

Frankfurter Buchmesse, Europe’s largest book trade fair, dedicated as usual a stand to Ukraine, with an increased presence of Ukrainian publishers and a notable rise in translations of Ukrainian literature into German (SWR). A journalist from Frankfurter Rundschau shares his thoughts about Ukrainian authors: “Everything they tell is exciting and emotional in a way that makes you feel guilty because you fear you might end up being entertained by them and the terrible situation, they and their families find themselves in - the situation from which they write”. (Frankfurter Rundschau)

Italy

Why do many Ukrainian refugees want to leave Italy?  

The Italian northern region Piedmont, with Turin as its county seat, hosts 10,000 Ukrainian refugees. In an interview, Piedmont honorary consul of Ukraine, Dario Arrigotti, explains how people fleeing the war have been mostly housed by compatriots rather than by state-subsidies facilities. Before the beginning of the war 9,000 Ukrainians were already living in the region. (Il Corriere di Torino)

Italy should ask itself why many Ukrainian refugees do not stay in the country. A piece by Iryna Kashchey published in September helps understand why many of the 175,000 refugees who arrived in Italy don’t want to remain: 90 percent have been accommodated by the Ukrainian diaspora, receiving no social assistance, but a sort of one-off reimbursement of expenses. Only 11 percent of them have found a job. Italy is very reluctant to recognise foreign diplomas and degrees and offer qualified jobs. (Huffington Post)

Should the EU continue to support the European integration of Ukraine? 69 percent of Italians say yes. The analyst Nona Mikhelidze points out on X (former Twitter) the results of the Eurobarometer survey about Italian and European consensus related to the sending of weapons to Ukraine. 52 percent of Italians agree that the EU should fund the purchase and supply of military equipment. And 74 percent of them hold Russian authorities responsible for the current situation in Ukraine. 

Only ten percent of Italian companies - and 8.5 percent of western companies - left Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This is proof of the ineffectiveness of the sanctions system. The public broadcaster Rai aired in Presa Diretta another investigation about the economic situation of the country. Italian entrepreneurs who remained in Russia explain that, despite sanctions, there are no problems with the supply of goods, thanks to self-sufficiency, contraband and trade with Asian countries. (The economics of war by Presa Diretta)

Spain

Football, weapons, battles, and fear of a new frozen conflict

The war between Israel and Hamas continues to capture the attention of Spanish society, and major media outlets such as El País are wondering what will happen in the coming winter in Kyiv. In an article, the newspaper suggests that the NATO stockpile may reach its limit (El País), and in another they present Zelensky's rapprochement with Israel as a possible move to impact the aid Ukraine will receive (El País). El País also published this week an editorial on the risks of Ukraine becoming again a frozen conflict. (El País)

However, Spanish journalists continue to write about the war. “While we were all watching Israel, Russia tried to surprise Ukraine. It did not go well” titled the online media El Confidential, referring to one of the war’s most critical operations, launched in Avdiivka last week. Russia used assault groups, helicopters and artillery fire. The Ukrainian Army claimed that 3,000 Moscow troops were killed or wounded in the attack and more than 300 armoured vehicles and artillery systems destroyed. A field correspondent from El Mundo also focused on this attack, highlighting the disastrous defeat it meant for Russia, and suggesting the arrival of long-range ATACMS missiles might have tipped the balance. (El Mundo)

Stereotypically, Spain means sun, fiesta, bullfighting and football. Using this last topic as an excuse, the weekly newspaper ABC wrote about the war and life in Ukraine. Several Spaniards are staff members of the Shakhtar Donetsk football team, which this Wednesday faced FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. (ABC)

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

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