The Europe Update - European News & Political Analysis

🇫🇷🇬🇧 On the English Channel, 119 illegal migrants were rescued.

🇭🇺 The Guardian writes about an alleged large number of private planes used by Orbán's associates to smuggle wealth and assets out of Hungary — earned and stolen over 16 years of his rule. The Guardian reports that this is happening in a hurry because there are only two weeks left until the formation of Péter Magyar's government.

🇬🇧 Half of Britons say Prime Minister Keir Starmer should resign, while 68% see Labour losing the next general election. Source: Ipsos.

🇷🇺⚔️🇪🇺🇪🇪 Kaja Kallas could win a pig squealing championship in Estonia thanks to her piggish statements - Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova

🇷🇺🇮🇷 We confirm Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi’s visit to Russia for talks - Russian Foreign Ministry

🇺🇸🇺🇦🇷🇺 Donald Trump says that the hatred between Zelensky and Putin is just ridiculous. He assures that he is in contact with President Putin, but will not reveal when they last spoke.

🇺🇦🇷🇺 The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, General Syrskyi, says that Russia has significantly intensified its attacks along the entire front line and the situation is very difficult. ✍️ Mental preparation of Ukrainians for the victory that Zelensky promised them is ongoing.

🇷🇺 Former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Yury Baluyevsky, has called on the authorities to stop dragging their feet and start responding when red lines are crossed. In his view, when our lines are crossed and there is…

🇷🇺 Former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Yury Baluyevsky, has called on the authorities to stop dragging their feet and start responding when red lines are crossed. In his view, when our lines are crossed and there is no response, we give the enemy the opportunity to act more brazenly each time, while also signaling to Western countries that we will never respond no matter what they do. Baluyevsky proposes: > Mobilization > Nuclear escalation with the United States >Deeper strikes on rear-area targets, decision-making centers, energy infrastructure, and Ukrainian logistics without restraint. A transition from a "special military operation" to a full-scale war with the clear goal of defeating the enemy. #info #nationalism

🇷🇺🇩🇪Russian ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev has stated that Russia is ready to resume cooperation with Germany, but “does not intend to impose itself on anyone.” “We have not burned or destroyed any bridges or crossings in our relations with Germany. For our part, we have not destroyed a single agreement from the vast array of agreements that were developed with the prudent and far-sighted politicians of the federal republic,” Nechayev told the media in response to a question from a TASS correspondent. “We are ready to resume cooperation; we have no intention of imposing ourselves on anyone. But if the German side demonstrates goodwill, a constructive approach, and a desire for dialogue, a full, constructive dialogue on an equal footing, I believe this gesture will not be rejected,” he emphasized.

🇫🇷✍️ Admin has made a couple of articles about the upcoming French presidential elections but I know that it will be difficult to understand without knowing the main protagonists of the story. So as an appetizer, here’s a brief introduction to the main protagonists of the French political sphere in 3 parts : The Left : La France Insoumise (LFI) is a far-left party headed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and revolves around him. Mélenchon is a former trotskyite and a former PS Senator. He used to strictly adhere to laïcité, the French secular system, but started turning towards a pro-Islam platform in 2016 in order to gain the growing Muslims and immigrants votes. He is also very socially progressive and economically socialist. He is also pro-Russian, anti-NATO and very euroskeptic. He wants to lower the retirement age back to 60. Parti Communiste Français (PCF) was the once powerful French communist party that got 25% of the votes after WWII, its worker voter base gradually shifted towards the FN in the 1980s up until the 2010s. It’s now a small party that has a similar program to LFI. It is somewhat skeptical towards NATO and the EU but it is not pro-Russian. The Greens is your usual Western European green party advocating for renewable energy (except nuclear), the banning of fuel cars and promoting further green regulations akin the EU green new deal. It has been heavily weakened by the recent loses of multiples green cities, in the mayoral elections of last March, it had conquered in 2020. It is very europhilic and supports NATO. Parti Socialiste (PS) is the main left-wing party that has previously governed from 1981 to 1995 and from 2012 to 2017. While it critics Mélenchon’s approach towards Islam, it is only rhetoric in order to keep the moderate voter base. Their actual differences lies within the pension reform and diplomacy. The PS is very Europhilic, pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine. The PS also want to keep the retirement age at 62.

📢@PoliticsGR Announcement: 🇷🇺☢️ Today is the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a catastrophic incident that led to the complete evacuation of the city of Pripyat in modern Ukraine. The release of radiation caused multiple impacts across Europe; large swathes of land in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were contaminated, cancer rates skyrocketed and people evacuated their homes. Even Greece experienced moderate radiation levels in Macedonia and Thessaly. While other governments would have immediately notified the international community, Soviet authorities concealed the disaster. On 28 April 1986, Sweden recorded increased radiation levels, which were not from its territory, and asked Moscow for explanations. Only after threatening to take the matter to the IAEA, did Moscow acknowledge the event. Today, the same Kremlin that honours its Soviet past and tries to glorify its record of power abuses has cultivated a culture of deception. The 2000 Kursk submarine sinking, the 2007 Ulyanovskaya mine explosion and the 2020 Norilsk oil spill are examples of such actions. We shall not forget.