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.

It’s always essential to choose the right words when covering a war, and the correct figures. On 25 February, President Zelensky acknowledged for the first time in the war a concrete number for Ukraine’s casualties: 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This figure could “not be independently verified” stated The New York Times, which pointed out that the number was less than half of what US officials had estimated. 

Data is also in focus in France, where the Armed forces Ministry shared a previously secret list of the military support it has sent to Ukraine, showing it was higher than a recent estimate by Germany’s Kiel Institute. Numbers that were not updated are the wounded soldiers on the Ukrainian side, as well as the missing, including a Venezuelan-Spanish volunteer, whose family is now seeking to organise a proper burial, as reported by El Mundo. The German DW reports that a German volunteer, Diana Savita Wagner, was killed in action on 30 January 2024.

In this newsletter, I also recommend reading many articles from the Europe-Ukraine Desk fellows, from Ukraine and everywhere in Europe: about Kyiv Zoo, Chernihiv’s reconstruction and the numerous ways people find to illegally cross the Ukrainian border to flee the war. 

Finally, I suggest you take a look at the Ukrainian article we have translated into English this week. It’s about Crimea, a Ukrainian region that has been occupied by Russia since 2014, and its indigenous inhabitants, the Crimean Tatars. 

Have a good read.

Sarah-Lou Lepers
Editor of this week's edition

The beginning of March was marked by a series of military-related news from the Crimean peninsula, which is temporarily occupied by Russia. The region was attacked by drones, as occupying authorities have claimed. The Crimean bridge (also called the Kerch bridge), a crucial supply route for the Russian army from its mainland to the peninsula, was shut down for several hours twice in a row. Also, Russia’s patrol vessel Sergey Kotov was destroyed by Ukrainian units.

Other news that’s less catchy, but no less important, comes from the region. On 5 March Russian occupying security forces conducted illegal searches of the houses of ten Crimean Tatar activists. Four of them were immediately sentenced for two months in jail for participating in ‘terroristic activities’. As of now, more than 200 Ukrainians are illegally imprisoned in Crimea due to politically motivated or religious criminal prosecution by Russia’s authorities, and more than half of them are Crimean Tatars.

Ten years ago Russia’s aggression against Ukraine started with the annexation of Crimea. Commemorating this date, Ukrainian media has given their audiences more context on the peninsula’s history, its strategic role, as well as the everyday life and perception of the historically rich area by its indigenous people, the Crimean Tatars. In a piece, translated by n-ost this week, journalist Olha Dukhnich speaks about these issues with Mustafa Dzhemilev, an 80-year old Ukrainian MP, Soviet dissident, and one of the leaders of the Crimean Tatars. He claims:

"History shows that Crimea is easy to seize, but hard to keep, so the liberation has to be gradual and steady. We have people on the other side of the frontline who are waiting for the liberation effort to begin.”

The piece was originally published by NV, one of the most influential independent online and print media outlets in Ukraine, which provides news and analytics on both Ukrainian and international affairs.

Translated by Tetiana Evloeva.

Italy

Misquotes: the scourge of Italian journalism

After an interview with president Zelensky in Il Corriere, Italian media and politicians spread the news that the Ukrainian leader wanted to “hand over a list of pro-Putin Italians to the Meloni government”. A long thread by writer Paolo Mossetti (X) and an article (Pagella Politica) explain how the Ukrainian president’s statements were misinterpreted, creating controversy and the risk of weakening public support for the Kyiv resistance, Mossetti highlights. Zelensky was not referring to Italian citizens, but to Russians living in Europe, and companies with a strong bond with Moscow, who help circumvent sanctions. Zelensky's words were "dishonestly reported by the Italian media," and "too many validated and justified them", writes Mossetti.

Ukraine needs funding and weapons, and especially volunteer soldiers, because of war fatigue and a lack of reserves, according to a piece by the Europe-Ukraine desk fellow Vincenzo Leone. He explains that a recruiting agency, Lobby X, has been finding new soldiers on behalf of the Ukrainian army since July 2022. The agency used to work as a recruiter for NGOs and positions in the state’s authorities, but since the beginning of the full-scale invasion the company has started to receive requests for military positions. In November 2023, the company signed a cooperation agreement directly with the Ministry of Defence. On their website, everyone can scroll through Ukrainian army vacancies. (Domani) 

"Telling the war in words is not an easy task, yet, it is necessary," a piece in Meridiano 13 points out. The feature focuses on poets and writers who, since February 2022, either have joined the army, are working in the supply of humanitarian aid, or have continued fighting on the cultural front. But "this literary flowering is suffering a terrible price", writer Viktorija Amelina, poet and writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, and poet Maksym Kryvtsov have been killed by Russian missiles. Every piece written during the war somehow refers to the conflict, and "has to show respect for the memory of the fallen." (Meridiano13)

Spain

US taps Spanish spies for Russian intelligence, angers Madrid

El Mundo dedicates an article to Maximiliano Camino, a Venezuelan-Spanish volunteer reportedly killed by a Russian drone in Avdiivka, but officially classified as a "missing person." He arrived in Ukraine last October with no military experience. Informed by the Spanish consulate, his family now seeks the repatriation of their son's remains for proper burial. According to the Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister last October more than 26,000 people were missing in the country, including 15,000 military personnel like Camino, whose remains have yet to be recovered. (El Mundo)

Madrid and Washington have engaged in a diplomatic row after two Spanish intelligence officers were recruited by Washington to share classified information about Russia to the United States. In response, several CIA agents have been expelled from the US embassy in Madrid and the top Spanish officer involved is being held in detention by Spanish authorities. He was a prominent analyst over 50 years of age, with a long career in the CNI, the Spanish Secret Service. He was also head of CNI’s Russia information team, a particular topic since the start of Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (El País)

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence unveiled the dispatch of anti-tank missiles by Spain, in a social media video thanking different nations’ support in the war against Russia. This information was previously undisclosed, and this article explains the mechanism and attributes of this old, but potent, weaponry on the battlefield. For example, the BGM-71 TOW is an anti-tank missile from the late 1960s with wire guidance that makes it immune to electronic warfare. Its penetration capability makes it a deadly weapon against any type of Russian armoured vehicle. (El Confidencial).

France

Macron's ‘troops in Ukraine’ quote sparks debate and confusion

A wave of reactions followed president Macron’s quote that sending troops to Ukraine "should not be excluded," on 26 February. Le Figaro wonders what would be the legal grounds for France to launch such an intervention, and suggests it would be very unlikely, sharing an analyst’s view that considers that Macron’s declaration was "more of an announcement than the preparation of a real military strategy". (Le Figaro) Also an opinion poll just showed that 76 percent of French are against sending French troops to Ukraine. (Le Figaro) Another article by investigative online media Mediapart adds that no one really knows what Macron was talking about, as France already has some military personnel on Ukrainian soil. (Mediapart)

The French Army Ministry decided to publicly share, on 4 March, a list of the military support it has sent to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion: from night vision binoculars, to soil-air defence systems, ammunition and drones. The overall value of funds and equipment amounts to 3.8 billion euros, way more than the 1.8 billion published by the recent Kiel Institute which saw France ranked as the 14th largest donor country to Ukraine. This public reaction hopes to silence "criticism, particularly from our German neighbour", details an analysis by the daily Les Echos. (Les Echos)

The documentary Ukraine: the cost of weapons, on French national TV, focuses on the deliveries of weapons used by Ukraine to fight the Russian army since February 2022. This shows the supply chain of the deliveries, from production in Europe to receipt in Ukraine. Behind the scenes, unscrupulous intermediaries are also taking advantage of this historic situation. The spectre of arms trafficking in Ukraine has become the cornerstone of Russian propaganda, which seeks to frighten off countries that support Volodymyr Zelensky's government. (France 5)

Germany

Cybersecurity boost needed for German military following leaked plans

Leaked plans for German attacks on Russian territory spark concerns about Germany’s cybersecurity amid a reality check on hybrid warfare. The Russian platform RT published a 38-minute audio file, which was allegedly recorded in mid-February. It exposes a discussion on the technical, organisational and political aspects of a potential deployment of German Taurus cruise missiles in Ukraine. ZDF underscores the need for Germany to bolster its cybersecurity, quoting Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who considered the publication of the intercepted conversation as part of Russia's "information warfare" against Germany. (ZDF)

Historian Jan Claas Behrends calls the ongoing tensions with Russia a "starting signal for World War". In his essay for Taz, he points out how Germany refuses to accept responsibility and has consistently downplayed or ignored Russian aggression over the past decade. Despite rhetorical support for Ukraine and the defence of international law, Behrends says that successive German governments "have failed to act decisively" and instead "continued to engage in cooperation with authoritarian regimes". Now, the evident outcomes of this stance, as the essay states, have led Germany to confront the reality that "a foreign policy built on illusions was bound to fail." (Taz)

German battalion volunteer in eastern Ukraine, Diana Savita Wagner, was killed in action on 30 January. The 36-year-old was "not a war type”, as she stated in an interview with DW back in autumn 2022, but everything changed after she travelled to Ukraine in March that year. She provided humanitarian aid and later assisted Western journalists driving through mined roads, but she felt this was not enough. She volunteered in the Ukrainian armed forces, and, after two months of basic training, she was transferred to the frontline in northeastern Ukraine as an infantrywoman. (DW)

Hungary

Hungarian tourists face Polish info campaign for leader Orban’s position on war 

Hungarian tourists to the southern Podhale region of Poland will be recipients of an information campaign attacking their leaders’ position on the Russian war against Ukraine. The Polish region is a popular holiday destination for Hungarians, so the local newspaper Tygodnik Podhalanski has produced flyers in Hungarian language directly targeting Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, with a message from the Ukrainian journalist Lyudmila Sorokovska, who has fled from Kherson to Poland. "Mr Prime Minister, I don't know and I don't understand why you are taking the side of Vladimir Putin, who is dropping bombs on my house," says the message. The leaflets will be distributed to Hungarian tourists in restaurants and bars and slipped behind the windscreen wipers of cars with Hungarian number plates. (Népszava) 

Kyiv Zoo has worked tirelessly over the past two years to ensure that not a single of its animals has been injured, and the institution has received hundreds of wounded or homeless animals from the east and south of Ukraine. More than twenty staff live on the zoo's territory, in case a crisis happens. Europe-Ukraine Desk-fellow Anna Bánáti reports about everyday life in Kyiv Zoo during wartime. (Forbes)

Russia’s siege of the city of Chernihiv in 2022 is now a distant memory, but the wounds have not healed. Europe-Ukraine Desk-fellow Flóra Dóra Csatári reports about reconstruction and trauma in the northern Ukrainian city almost two years after the beginning of Russia’s full scale invasion. These days are burned in the minds of Chernihiv citizens, as they tell the journalist. According to local civilians they no longer need donations of food or clothing. The thousand-year-old city, which Putin's armies could not conquer but has bombarded, now needs money and building materials. (Hvg)

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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