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.

Media such as El Pais and Die Zeit have been looking at the Polish carriers and farmers’ blockade of Ukrainian truck drivers at the border for almost a month. Is this protest the "symptom of a European crisis" asks France Inter? It is certain that the war Russia has launched against Ukraine strongly impacts the economic, societal and political dynamics in the European Union, and this is clear in this week’s press review of the Europe-Ukraine Desk, which you can read below.

Hungarian President Victor Orban continues to criticise Ukraine’s political and military strategies, and is trying to block discussions on Ukraine’s accession to the EU at next week's EU summit in Brussels. Also, Bulgaria has been criticised for opening its airspace to allow Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to fly to the OSCE Foreign Ministers meeting in North Macedonia.

One hopeful piece of information is that the Ukrainian media landscape has become more diverse and transparent, ten years after Euromaidan, according to Reporters Without Borders. You can also learn about what it is like for a woman to be a commander fighting in the army, in the article we translated this week from Ukrainian.

If you’re a Ukrainian journalist, this is our last call to apply to our 2024 fellowship program. You have until 11 December! 

Have a good read.

Sarah-Lou Lepers
Editor of this week's edition

On 6 December, Ukraine celebrates Armed Forces Day. Currently there are around 700,000 people serving in the army. Among them, 43,000 are female military personnel and about 5,000 perform tasks in the areas of hostilities.

As more and more women join the army, new challenges appear and become widely discussed. For instance, it was only this summer when the Defence Ministry approved female military uniforms. Until now women in the army had to either wear the male uniform, or rely on supplies from specialised volunteer organisations. Also, only next year will personnel receive bulletproof vests, designed to suit the female anatomy. 

This week n-ost translated a piece by Olga Dudenko, who tells stories of two women who hold commander positions in the army. This piece was originally published by Wonderzine, a Ukrainian online-media which focuses on topics of women’s rights, challenges and victories. 

Translated by Natalia Volynets.

Bulgaria

Military aid to Ukraine sees head of state clash with Government 

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, known for his pro-Russian positions, on 4 December vetoed the parliament's decision to send 100 decommissioned armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine as military aid. Radev - who claims the military vehicles are still necessary for the security of his own country - will most likely only succeed in slowing down the donation. "At first glance, Radev's motivations may seem plausible, but in reality the president's rhetoric is incredibly manipulative," writes the weekly Kapital. (Kapital)

Bulgaria hosts at least 12,000 Ukrainian refugees, many of whom need psychological support. Radio Svobodna Evropa tells the experience of Ukrainian psychologist Olga Mahovskaya, who is committed to helping women and children who now live in the Balkan country. "Many refugees live under the illusion that their situation will be resolved quickly and that they return home soon,” she says. "This attitude often prevents them from facing the challenges of the present in the best possible way." For Mahovskaya, the most difficult test for refugees to face is the loss of security, and of loved ones. (Radio Svobodna Evropa)

Despite sanctions against Russia, on 30 November Bulgaria opened its airspace to allow a Kremlin delegation - headed by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov - to participate in the annual meeting of the OSCE Foreign Ministers in Skopje, North Macedonia. According to the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Maria Gabriel, the decision was agreed with the EU "and was of a provisional nature." As Mediapool writes, Ukraine and the Baltic states protested against Sofia's decision, and boycotted the meeting in Skopje. For Kyiv, the decision to invite Lavrov "gives signs of possible forms of cooperation with those who provoked the most serious aggression in Europe since the Second World War." (Mediapool)

France

"Russians see themselves as an expanding empire"

‘Have we forgotten Ukrainians?’ asked French national radio France Inter on 5 December. War reporter Marion Van Renterghem identified the false confidence of western public opinion "blind to the disproportion of strengths [between Russia and Ukraine]," and added: "we have to defend Ukraine for ourselves, for our strategic security." French diplomat Gérard Araud said "Putin's importance is overestimated," and claimed the Russian president’s geopolitics is aligned with Russian history: "Russians see themselves as an expanding empire, not as a nation state." (France Inter) 

The interviewees on France Inter also mentioned an opinion published in Le Monde a few days earlier: "The Russian people are perhaps living the best moment of their lives" (translation from the Russian site Sibir.Realii). In this article, the Russian historian Sergueï Tchernychev, based in Siberia, develops the idea that the Russian war on Ukraine has not affected most Russians. Tchernychev describes his parent’s neighbourhood, where soldiers and mercenaries come back with money, which they spend on expensive cars or alcohol: "Support is sincere: the regime, they believe, is preparing to build a great country, and get rid of its enemies." (Le Monde)

While publishing their 2023 world rating for freedom of journalists, the France based NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shared that, ten years after Euromaidan, the Ukrainian media landscape has become more diverse and transparent (RSF). Since the full-scale invasion started, the NGO has focused on Ukraine and on Russian propaganda with field support and reports. At the end of 2023, RSF also announced the creation of a satellite bouquet of independent Russian-language news channels to combat Russian propaganda and a communication campaign which distributes disinformation about Ukraine (BETC and RSF).

Germany 

Negotiating with Russia is self-deception

The West is still trying to assist Ukraine without causing existential harm to Vladimir Putin's regime, reads an article in Die Zeit. This logic is leading to an ongoing war of attrition and ignores realities. The contradiction between a compromise with Putin and the declared goal of peace remains unresolved. For Ralf Fücks, the founder of Zentrum Liberale Moderne, if the West accommodated Russian interests, this would mean abandoning the European security system: "Apparently, there is a desire to negotiate with Russia [on Ukraine integrating NATO]." (Zeit)

Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, over 7,000 civilian firearms from Western manufacturers reached Russia, with almost 1,000 coming from Germany, exposed Correctiv, a nonprofit investigative media. This week the German government answered: there is no need for action, as the sanctions on Russia are already "strict enough". Arms expert Roderich Kiesewetter considers it insufficient: "The inadequate implementation of sanctions and intentional maintenance of loopholes, however, support Russia and its internationally unlawful war of annihilation against Ukraine." (Correctiv)

Editor of the weekly newspaper wochentaz Jan Pfaff wrote about the protests of the Ukrainian community in Berlin. Activist group Vitsche’s latest initiatives were protests in the government quarter, criticising the delay of weapons, such as Taurus missiles, as well as a campaign against multinational Mondelez's Milka brand, which is still manufactured in Russia. They emphasise that the current situation in Ukraine is "worse than ever". Krista-Marija Läbe, the spokesperson for Vitsche adds: "We know that there are other wars, other suffering too. But the world must not forget Ukraine." (taz)

Hungary

Ex-Ukrainian president Poroshenko barred from meeting Viktor Orbán

Ukraine's security service has prevented ex-president and opposition politician Petro Poroshenko from leaving the country. A meeting was supposedly planned between Poroshenko and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but such talks could be seen by Ukraine as "a tool in the hands of the Russian special services". It is not yet known why Poroshenko wanted to meet Viktor Orbán. The news portal 444.hu asks whether this is a new chapter in the political fight between Zelensky and Poroshenko, and has any real significance for the future of Ukraine. (444.hu)

The pro-government Magyar Nemzet is highlighting the internal conflicts in Ukraine, and strongly criticises President Zelensky. "Volodymyr Zelensky, of course, does not accept opinions that do not support his inflexible views, chasing dreams of ultimate victory. He does not even listen to signals from the sane Ukrainian military leadership," the newspaper wrote, referring to the war-related disputes within Ukrainian authorities. They refer to an interview in the Economist with the head of Ukraine's Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny, where he warned of the danger of a prolonged static conflict. (Magyar Nemzet)

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán has sent a letter to Charles Michel, President of the European Council, suggesting that the issue of Ukraine's accession to the EU be removed from the agenda of next week's EU-summit in Brussels (Bloomberg). The Hungarian government has opposed the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine, arguing that the negotiations cannot start while the country is at war. An official told Politico, that French President Emmanuel Macron has invited Orbán to meet him in Paris to seek to strike a compromise. (Politico)

Italy

Far right European leaders call on Ukraine to surrender

European far right leaders gathered last weekend in Florence, in a meeting against the EU, environmentalism, migrants and Islam. Italian deputy PM and leader of the Lega party, Matteo Salvini, hosted the Identity and Democracy group, made of 14 constituent parties. Many participants asked for Ukraine to surrender. Romanian MP and leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) George Simion opposed any aid to Ukraine, "it’s not our war", he said (La Repubblica). German leader of Alternative for Germany, Tino Chrupalla, said "Ukraine cannot win this war" (Il Sole 24 Ore). These statements put Italian PM Giorgia Meloni in a difficult position in front of Western leaders and the EU, as she remains supportive of Ukraine. (Il Corriere della Sera) 

Italian politician of the Democratic Party (PD), Luigi Zanda, in an interview published in Domani, warns that Ukraine "no longer has adequate weapons for the war of resistance. [...] Without aviation today, wars are lost". (Domani) Zanda offers a clear message of support to Ukraine as a member of the PD, the centre-left wing party, that has had an ambiguous position on the supply of weapons. (Pagella Politica)

Online newspaper Linkiesta has announced its European woman of the year: Victoria Amelina, the Ukrainian novelist killed by a Russian missile in a Restaurant in Kramatorsk on 1 July 2023. She was 37, "she is a European martyr", journalist Matteo Castellucci writes. The award and her work must not be posthumous, but must be dedicated to the future, the author explains, and "Kyiv should be quickly fully integrated into the EU". (Linkiesta) Linkiesta has shown strong support in favour of Ukraine in the past years, and has also launched a European newspaper in Ukrainian. (Linkiesta)

Spain

Ukraine's counteroffensive ”has not completely failed” 

Ukraine’s goal of reaching the Black Sea coast before winter has not been achieved, but the country is well-positioned for 2024, according to an El Orden Mundial article. The counteroffensive campaign brought Kyiv three main victories, starting with expelling the bulk of the Russian fleet headquarters from Crimea, which allowed Ukraine to export wheat again. It also opened a new front in the eastern bank of the Dnieper, and destroyed the enemy's capabilities for bigger assaults. November 2023 became the month with the highest number of casualties for Russia since the beginning of the invasion. (El Orden Mundial)

The war effort will be useless if Europe and the US let Kyiv fall, states the editorial "More support for Ukraine" (El País). This underlines the huge consequences if the EU weakens its support to Kyiv. New potential political leaders like Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, or Donald Trump in the USA, could change the supportive narrative and geopolitics. Another opinion piece "Will the West lose all its battles?" reflects on the real possibilities of a total Western defeat on Ukraine's battlefield. (El País).

New information has been published on the case of Spanish journalist Pablo González, who has been imprisoned for two years without trial, under the accusation of being a Russian spy. He was detained in Poland, three days into the full-scale invasion (as well as weeks before in Ukraine, where he had been released), accused of espionage for Russia, writing reports, and collaborating with the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU. New information suggests he spied on and stole documents from Zhanna Nemtsova, daughter of assassinated Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, and also González’s lover. (El Mundo)

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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