Welcome to the latest 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.

Two years ago, on 24 February, Europe was thrown into shock: Russia began its full-scale invasion against Ukraine. Peaceful citizens watched in horror the massacre in Bucha and the brutal sieges of Mariupol and Bakhmut. The conflict between Israel and Gaza, as well as economic difficulties in the European Union may have distracted many in the west, but for Ukrainians nothing has changed. The guns were as loud in Avdiivka this month, as in Bakhmut or Mariupol in the last years. Civilians are still dying every day, millions were forced to leave their homes and soldiers' spouses and lovers are still waiting for their partners to return home. The story of such a family is revealed in this week's Ukrainian article.

Also European journalists have not stopped covering Ukraine. Not just the political issues, but also the human stories and personal dilemmas: people from Mariupol tell German public media about their traumatic experiences during the siege, and Italian newspaper Il Foglio explains how the war has changed the vocation of a journalist in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the European press has been giving Ukrainian perspectives on major international news issues of the week. An example of this is the alleged murder of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. French newspapers Le Figaro and Le Monde explain why many Ukranians did not consider the anti-Putin opposition leader as a credible ally, especially due to his position on Russia’s claim to Crimea.

Of course, there are still journalists who are willing to risk a lot to report from the frontline - even if they come from a country like Hungary, where the financial situation of independent media makes such ventures difficult.

The European press is not faultless, and sometimes deserves criticism for its coverage of Ukraine. Nevertheless, this newsletter presents a diverse media landscape that remains open and sympathetic towards Ukraine.

Have a good read.

Kornélia Kiss
Editor of this week's edition

This week brings tragic and dreadful anniversaries for Ukraine.

20 February is a day when Ukrainians commemorate the memory of the Heavenly Hundred, the 107 participants of the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv, who were killed by the security officers and their mercenaries in 2014, right before then-president of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych fled the country.

The same date is considered to be the start of the Kremlin's operation on the annexation of the Crimean peninsula. This date is mentioned on a medal ‘For the return of Crimea’, issued by the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Finally 24 February marked the date of the beginning of the full-scale war back in 2022.

Having withstood ten years of war on different scales, Ukrainian society now finds itself in an emotional state that couldn’t be considered cheerful. Tension is rising based on many different tragic experiences, from living under occupation to losing lovers on the battlefield or during missile and drone attacks. 

In the article, translated by n-ost this week, the journalist Natalia Mizina tells a story of one family which illustrates fractures in society, but also suggests ways to fix these.

One woman, whose husband is fighting at the front, makes this pertinent point on the trauma of war and the responsibilities of those left at home:

“Our friend came from the frontline, and he said a profound thing: more than a half of normal people should not have to see the horrors of war. Then they’ll be able to take the hand of those who’ve seen those horrors and pull them out.”

The piece was originally published by Reporters, an online and print media that focuses on long-form reportage.

Translated by Natalia Volynets.

Germany

What can be learned from Ukraine's past sacrifices?

“What can be learned from the development of the last ten years?” asks a new ARD documentary about one of Ukraine’s bloodiest days which occurred on Maidan, Independence Square in Kyiv ten years ago. In the film 10 Years of War - How Ukraine Fights for Its Freedom, correspondents Vassili Golod and Birgit Virnich meet people who have been fighting for the self-determination and independence of Ukraine for the last ten years. They accompany Ukrainians in their everyday lives and look back on their past using archive material. (ARD Mediathek)

Nearly two years ago, the Russian siege of Mariupol began. Through personal encounters and investigative findings, ARD Kyiv correspondent Susanne Petersohn delves into the harrowing experiences of witnesses, such as eight-year-old Jehor, whose diary entries portray the emotional toll of the siege on his family, including his deceased grandfather and injured sister. The correspondent underscores the urgent need for international attention and accountability for the devastation in Mariupol. (tagesschau)

Solidarity and support for Ukraine were expressed at Cafe Kyiv, an all-day event in Berlin featuring panels, workshops and exhibitions, commemorating the second year of the Russian full-scale invasion. Norbert Lammert, President of the hosting Konrad Adenauer Foundation, emphasised the event's goal is "not only to raise awareness about Ukraine but also to explore the country's future prospects." The event hosted representatives from art, culture, science, civil society and politics - such as Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian ambassador to Germany Oleksij Makejew. (RBB)

Italy

Ukrainian journalists’ dilemma: which truth do we tell first?

“Why should we need an investigation into state corruption if the Russians want a Ukrainian state not to exist at all?” This is one dilemma that Ukrainian journalists have to face. Since 24 February 2022, they have changed their way of reporting, Il Foglio explains, and they remain a watchdog of power, but their priorities have transformed. According to the journalists interviewed, it’s not a matter of censorship; it is possible to criticise and investigate, but their priority is survival. One interviewee says the first rule is “Do no harm, no damage, no destruction.” They recount failures in the state apparatus, but if they report on misdemeanours in the wrong way, this could, for example, compromise aid from Western countries. (Il Foglio)

Despite EU directives that prohibit the right “to sell, supply, transfer or export firearms, their parts and essential components and ammunition” to Russia, also for civilian use, the trafficking of arms has continued in an indirect way, IrpiMedia reveals. Through companies or third countries’ mediation, such as Turkey, Italian companies still sell their products to Russia. Since February 2022, a total amount of 6,254 rifles and pistols and 1,107,600 cartridges, manufactured in Italy or owned by Italian brands have been exported to Russia. There is no evidence that these rifles were used in Ukraine, the authors explain, but this supply still “helps strengthen the defensive capacity of the invader”. (IrpiMedia)

Intercepted, a film by Ukrainian director Oksana Karpovych, was born in the first days of full-scale invasion and is based on the intercepted phonecalls of Russian soldiers, mostly with their families, made public by the Ukrainian secret services. The film, which premiered at the Berlinale, combines locations destroyed in Ukraine and the voices of Russian soldiers: “I gradually created two parallel realities where the words of war were opposed by images of a suspended time, in a constant tension,” says the director in an interview. (il manifesto)

Hungary 

Three days of hell - a reporter on the Avdiivka frontline

Hungarian reporter András Földes was working with a team of doctors near Avdiivka just before the town fell. A Ukrainian doctor told him about the bombing of hospitals and he met a Colombian soldier who had come to fight against Russia in Ukraine and told him about his experiences in the trenches. (Hvg) A few days earlier, it also emerged that the Ukrainian military near the frontline were more drastic than the journalists would have thought: 50 kilometres from the front, in a small town in Donetsk, the Hungarian reporter and his Ukrainian colleague had the door of their apartment broken by Ukrainian soldiers, who did not know why they were making videos in the city. Later the situation was clarified and they parted “with no hard feelings”. (Hvg) 

There will no longer be a Hungarian minority of 200,000 living in Transcarpathia in western Ukraine, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has claimed before, says the geographer Katalin Kovály, who took part in a study on the subject. Already in the 2001 census, 151,000 people declared themselves Hungarian. According to the researcher, the actual number was between 125,000 and 135,000 in 2017. After the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022, she estimates 80 to 90,000 may remain. (Válasz Online)

A government decision has allowed Hungary to import Ukrainian honey again (24.hu). The Hungarian government, like other Eastern European countries, had imposed a ban on imports of a number of Ukrainian agricultural products. The local honey lobby has previously argued that the ban makes no difference to Hungarian beekeepers, because they export to the same EU market at the same price as Ukrainians. Furthermore, Hungarian honey packers (companies who bottle the honey) may be harmed by the measure, as Ukrainian honey is the only real honey that is available in large quantities, but Hungarian packing companies cannot access this raw material due to the ban, unlike competing EU packers. This means the packers are losing customers. (24.hu)

France

Macron wants to defend Ukraine, but without European fighter jets

The Ukrainian president signed security agreements with France and Germany on 16 February. Emmanuel Macron announced up to three billion euros in aid by 2024, without specifying how he would finance his promise. Although he says he wants to defend Ukraine for as long as necessary, Macron is still refusing to deliver fighter jets. France considers that the Ukrainians do not have the capacity to operate different models of fighter aircraft and should concentrate on the F-16s alone. (Le Monde)

That same day, the daily Libération published a special edition titled ‘Le Libé des Ukrainiens’, with 20 pages dedicated to Ukraine (with words from our n-ost fellow Kristina Berdynskykh). The Russian full-scale war against Ukraine and personal dramas are told by civilians, military personnel, officials and artists, such as electronic musician and volunteer Timor Dzhavarov, who has been transferred to Kyiv after 18 months on the frontline. He explains how hard it is to compose now. "It's not my choice. It's just because the Russians are killing us. Once they stop, I can try to get back into music." (Libération)

What did Alexei Navalny really think about Ukraine? The daily Le Figaro remembers Putin’s opponent's position on Crimea's annexation by Russia, which he did not favour returning to Ukraine, and his strong nationalism. He is not popular in Ukraine, even though he condemned the Russian full-scale invasion in 2022 (Le Figaro). Analyst Anna Colin Lebedev in an opinion piece in Le Monde adds: “Navalny [is], in the eyes of a certain number of Ukrainians, another head of the same political monster, a second emanation of deep-rooted Russian imperialism. Through his support for the annexation of Crimea, but also through his denigration of anything non-Russian, Navalny appears, in the eyes of some Ukrainians, to be co-responsible for Russia's aggression against Ukraine.” (Le Monde)

Bulgaria

Military aid to Ukraine: stuck in limbo

The saga of the 100 armoured vehicles that Bulgaria donated to Ukraine as military aid continues unresolved. Seven months after the Sofia parliament's decision to deliver the vehicles to Kyiv, and after overcoming the veto placed by the president of the republic Rumen Radev, they are still in Bulgaria waiting to resolve the issue of their delivery, as reported by Euractiv. "The delivery of military equipment is a question of political will," writes the portal. "Parliament has done its duty. The government, however, seems to be acting extremely slowly." (Euractiv)

Numerous Bulgarian media have given ample space to statements made by prime minister Nikolay Denkov to the New York Times, in an interview recorded on the sidelines of the security conference in Munich. "The war in Ukraine does not only concern marginal areas in Europe, but the very ability of the democratic world to win," says Denkov, who also makes statements on the importance of strengthening European defence capabilities. According to the prime minister, "European nations have developed the awareness of having to provide for their own defence" and "in addition to provide for Ukraine's immediate defence needs, we need to equip ourselves militarily in the medium and long term." (Darik Radio)

Bulgarian volunteer Ivan Kalchev, known by the nickname ‘Gigli’, who fights in the Foreign Legion against the Russian invaders in Ukraine, tells Nova TV channel that he learned from the media that he is currently wanted by the Russian authorities. “For me it is an honour to be on the same wanted list with the prime ministers and ministers of the Baltic republics,” says Kalchev, who has been fighting in Ukraine since 2022. “To claim that I am wanted is simply absurd for me, because I am not hiding,” adds the volunteer. (Nova TV)

Spain

Critical Russian defector shot dead in Spain

Russian defector to Ukraine Maxim Kuzmikov was run over and shot dead in a flurry of bullets in a small Spanish coastal town, where he was living under a fake identity. Just six months prior, Kuzmikov escaped from Russia by piloting a helicopter laden with spare military plane parts. What initially seemed like a scene from an action film was, in reality, an orchestrated operation by the Ukrainian secret services (GUR). This showed a route and incentive for other pilots willing to defect: 500,000 USD and a new identity in exchange for betraying the Kremlin. Half a year later, the corpse of Kuzminov turned up in Spain. His death is surrounded in mystery. (El Confidencial)

Spanish Police established that the perpetrators studied Kuzmikov’s routine in detail and monitored the security cameras at the crime scene. According to sources close to the investigation, the crime was carried out by a "group of professionals", operating with "neatness and precision". All signs point to the Russian secret services (FSB). (El Español). If suspicions are confirmed, it would be the second assassination by FSB in Spain since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A Russian oligarch and his family were also found dead under strange circumstances, in March 2022. Fear returns now to the half a dozen people on the Kremlin's blacklists that allegedly live in Spain. "We are scared, completely in shock," one said to the journalist Ferrán Barber. (El Español)

Multimedia feature 10 years of the fuse that ignited the war retraces the main milestones of 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, that saw Ukraine shake off Russian meddling in its affairs, followed by a violent reaction from Moscow. On the eve of the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion and the tenth anniversary of the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, journalist Irene Savio recovers old photographs and revisits the main location of the events that shook Europe a decade ago. She covered the Maidan and the illegal annexation of Crimea. (El Periódico)

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. 

If you like this content, please spread the word about it so that anyone interested in Ukraine can benefit from this weekly curation.

Have you spotted an interesting piece of journalism you think should be mentioned in What about Ukraine? Please let us know at about-ua@n-ost.org ! Same if you have an idea how to improve this newsletter. 

See you next week!