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.

On the Ukrainian front, the situation is difficult and the Ukrainian army is under great pressure, shows a recent analysis in the German weekly Die Zeit. But Ukraine also has a big task in maintaining social solidarity in its own country, while defending itself against Russia. Families of those who haven’t yet joined the army, sometimes cannot understand the experience of other families with relatives who have been at the front, or are waiting for their loved ones to return home. This week's Ukrainian article is about how to build  understanding between these two groups. 

There are also tensions over the situation of Ukrainian men of conscript age who are currently abroad, and to what extent foreign countries can work with Kyiv to bring back these men. There is now a debate in Germany, over how to respond to Ukraine's push for their return.

In Spain, the police are investigating a fire that broke out at the warehouse in Madrid managed by international Ukrainian postal services group Meest. In the United Kingdom, terrorism charges have been brought against individuals in connection with similar fires at Meest's local sites. These suspects were allegedly linked to the disbanded Wagner group. 

Meanwhile, the Russian branch of the Italian appliance producer Ariston was “temporarily seized” by a Russian company directly controlled by the Kremlin. 

Russia’s war against Ukraine is present in our lives. European countries face dilemmas related to war within their own borders, but the press also continues to report on events within the borders of Ukraine, as shown in this week's newsletter.

Have a good read!

Kornélia Kiss
Editor of this week's edition

Today, there are more than 880,000 serving in Ukraine’s armed forces. A significant number of them joined in February 2022. Demobilisation is not possible during the current state of martial law. So tension is brewing in society. Servicepeople want to know when they can return home. Their loved ones dream of spending time together. But families of those who haven’t yet joined the army sometimes show a lack of empathy towards those who have either been at the frontline, or are waiting for someone to come home. At the same time, absolutely everyone feels exhausted, which leads to a lack of energy needed for patience and understanding.

In the article, translated by n-ost this week, journalist Olena Panchenko talks to partners of soldiers and psychologists in order to figure out exactly what civilian families misunderstand about military families' experience and how the atmosphere of trust and support can be built between the two kinds of people. As Vika, a wife of a soldier interviewed for the article says:

"Civilians’ wives don’t understand that our lives are on pause (while time flows on), we can’t plan anything, and every day is like a groundhog day: getting up, receiving an sms [from our loved ones that] ‘everything’s ok’ or an ‘+’ [a symbol indicating that a serviceperson is alive], doing the household chores, going to bed, and so on in a circle. What we want is rather trivial: to live as an ordinary family, where after work, the father eats dinner with his family and, on the weekends, we together visit our grandmas."

The piece was originally published by The Village, a Ukrainian online-media specialising on topics of urban life, society, culture and fashion. 

Translated by Olesia Storozhuk.

Germany

What is to be done with Ukrainian men abroad? 

The status of Ukrainian refugee men of military age is causing discussions in Germany. Recently, Ukrainian consulates have stopped issuing travel passports abroad for men between 18 and 60, in order to force them to return to Ukraine. On the one hand, Anton Hofreiter, chairman of the Bundestag Committee on EU Affairs (Alliance 90/The Greens) wants to allow Ukrainians in Germany to refuse military service, saying that this right "is enshrined in the Constitution of Germany". On the other hand, Hessian interior minister Roman Poseck told ARD he proposed "helping Ukraine to recruit men for compulsory military service". Poseck, a politician with the Christian Democratic Union, expressed doubts about Germany issuing replacement documents to conscripted Ukrainian men who need a new passport, arguing that Ukraine is not an "unconstitutional state". Yet both politicians agree that "no one should be deported”. (Tagesschau) 

Russian forces are advancing and capturing key positions, while Ukrainian defenders face relentless pressures on multiple fronts, shows an analysis by Zeit. According to a Ukrainian soldier from the Aidar Battalion: "In Avdiivka, the enemy presses every day and unfortunately is successful." The authors shed a grim light onto the Ukrainian forces, highlighting that ammunition and staff shortages stay persistent. "In addition to inadequate defence facilities, as well as a lack of ammunition and weapons, a shortage of personnel is the most important reason for the current crisis," shares military expert Markus Reisner. (Zeit)

The story of the ‘Steppe Wolves’, a volunteer unit made of personnel of retirement age who play a vital role in supporting Ukraine’s military efforts against Russia is featured in Tagesspiegel. This mobile artillery unit comprises dozens of dedicated unofficial Ukrainian soldiers, mostly over 60, deemed too old to be drafted under current mobilisation regulations. Despite their age, they remain actively involved, repairing and redeploying damaged munitions and seized Russian weapons back to the frontline. (Tagesspiegel)

Spain

Fires at Ukrainian postal group's European sites

Spanish police are probing a fire incident at a warehouse situated on the outskirts of Madrid, managed by Meest, a Ukrainian postal and logistics group. The enterprise has also suffered similar incidents in the UK and the Czech Republic. Investigators suspect that the aim was to obliterate drones and other civilian equipment potentially useful for military purposes. It's believed that the attackers possessed privileged information, as it was not the main facility of the company in Madrid, but a secondary one, discreetly rented, without external signage. Meanwhile, in London, authorities contemplate the prosecution of four individuals on terrorism charges due to similar fire incidents against Meest. These suspects were allegedly linked to the disbanded Wagner group, now under the control of Russia’s key military intelligence agency, the GRU. (El Periódico)

Spanish intelligence helped to dismantle a Russian disinformation network that generated fake digital newspapers and spread fake news in different European countries through the Internet to "undermine Western support for Ukraine". The case, known as ‘False façade’, joins similar prosecutions in recent years, as the Kremlin continues its hybrid war using disinformation. Spain and Latin America are one of the main targets for fake news and propaganda. (El Español) 

A former Soviet prison in western Ukraine is today the largest prison camp for Russian military men. La Vanguardia entered this compound with a group of journalists to report about the life of the captured soldiers who fought for the occupation and whose fate is still in the hands of Moscow. The soldiers spoke about their expectations and what the authorities told them before they went into battle. "We were promised that we would not be sent on any mission. But they sent us to a forest in Kupiansk [which has been at the frontline]," says one inmate. According to him, the Russian authorities gave him two options: forced mobilisation or jail. (La Vanguardia)

Italy

Ukrainian journalist stands for election to the European Parliament

Ukrainian former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent in Italy, Nataliya Kudryk, is running for European elections, as a candidate for the Italian liberal political party Azione. In an interview in Il Foglio, Kudryk explains that "defending the freedom of Ukrainians means defending the freedom of Italians and Europeans". Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion she has publicly denounced Italy’s "benevolent" behaviour towards Moscow, despite the Donbas invasion and Crimea’s illegal annexation, as well as the political blindness to the consequences that a Russian victory would have not only for Ukrainians, but for all Europeans. (Il Foglio)

Italy is about to approve the ninth package of military aid for Ukraine, which it aims to adopt before hosting the G7 Summit on 13 June in Apulia, according to the Italian minister of defence, Guido Crosetto. The contents are classified, but an Italian-French-made Samp-T anti-aircraft missile battery should be included, Il Sole 24 Ore highlights. (Il Sole 24 Ore) Meanwhile, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg’s recent meeting focused on military spending, as Italy is struggling to reach the NATO threshold of two percent of GDP. Among large countries in the security alliance, the US is well over three percent, the UK wants to exceed its current 2.5 percent, France and Germany are on two percent, while Italy is below 1.5 percent. (Adnkronos)

The Russian branch of the Italian appliance producer Ariston was "temporarily seized" by a Russian company directly controlled by the Kremlin. Italian minister of foreign affairs, Antonio Tajani, called a meeting with institutional and private representatives to safeguard Italian companies in Russia. The aim is to show "Russia that these companies are backed by a government" and to enforce international law, Tajani explained. As Italy holds the G7 presidency, Russia is probably aiming to put pressure on Rome, a piece in La Repubblica underlines. (LaRepubblica)

Bulgaria

Partnerships in construction and food with Ukraine see potential

The construction sector and the food industry represent the sectors with the greatest development potential in the economic relations between Bulgaria and Ukraine. This became clear at the Bulgarian-Ukrainian economic forum, held in Sofia at the end of April, with the participation of around 80 companies from both countries. "Ukraine could help Bulgaria reach large markets in the dairy sector, while Bulgaria could provide Ukraine with food processing machinery at attractive prices," argued Tsvetan Simeonov of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce. Important prospects also concern the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities and infrastructure at the end of the war. (Forbes Bulgaria)

Since Russia's full invasion of Ukraine, the Black Sea area has become of increasing strategic importance, and the Bulgarian fleet is boosting its operations in coordination with those of other NATO allies in the region. According to the fleet commander, rear admiral Kiril Mihaylov, three exercises are planned for the summer of 2024. The key one, scheduled in the port city of Burgas in July, involves the participation of numerous NATO countries, including the USA, Italy, Romania and Poland. Mine safety operations continue in the Black Sea: since 2022 there have been at least 50 reports of mines, and five mines have been defused. (Trud)

Bulgaria wants to strengthen energy cooperation with Ukraine, through direct aid to Kyiv, the possible sale of nuclear technology and gas supplies. For Bulgarian energy minister Vladimir Malinov, cooperating with Ukraine in the energy field is a priority: this is why Bulgaria intends to support the reconstruction of Ukrainian energy infrastructure and finalise the sale of nuclear reactors from its never-built Belene power plant to Kyiv. According to the minister, Sofia is also interested in the planned ‘Vertical Corridor’ project, which should ensure gas for Ukraine after the stoppage of supplies from Russia. (Bg On Air)

Hungary

"You are safe here. There’s no war. Your parents don’t want you": a year in Putin's re-education camp 

Lisa and Denis are Ukrainian teenagers from Kherson who were separated from their families by Russian occupiers, and taken to a reeducation camp, Válasz Online reports. "‘You are safe here, there is no shelling, no war and your parents don’t want you’ – this was the explanation [we heard from the Russians] of why we were there," says Lisa about the pressure she received in the re-education camp. Meanwhile her mother was actually fighting hard to get her back. After nearly a year of supervision by Putin’s regime, the teenagers are now trying to reintegrate into everyday life in Ukraine. (Válasz online)

The Hungarian press reports on the past phenomenon of thousands of Ukrainian-Hungarian dual citizens - who lived in Ukraine - acquiring fictitious addresses in settlements in Hungary near the border with Ukraine before Hungarian elections, in an organised campaign. A court had already ruled that mobilising the voting of dual nationals is unlawful. The voting tourists typically voted for pro-government candidates, but, according to a Népszava report, the war makes voting tourism in the forthcoming municipal elections in June less likely. Many people from the Ukrainian border settlements have fled, and those who stayed may have turned away from Viktor Orbán because of his pro-Russian policies. (Népszava)

The editor-in-chief of Ukrainian media Evropeyska Pravda does not fear a Hungarian veto on Ukraine's European integration. "As much as Orbán would like to present himself as macho, he is in fact very weak compared to [the leaders of the] other member states," Serhiy Sidorenko says in an interview. As an example, he cited the EU summit in December, when Hungary voted in favour of Ukraine's candidacy for EU membership, although it voiced its opposition. "It showed then that the Hungarian Prime Minister alone cannot do anything against such a powerful bloc," he adds. (Magyar Hang)

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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