Hundreds of Russian and Belarusian rail cars stranded near the European Union’s border with Ukraine in countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. These wagons, which used to carry all kinds of goods from Russia and Belarus to the EU, were stranded on NATO soil after Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
If the war were to stop today, it would take Russia between three to five years to restore its military might and capabilities to the level they would need to strike the next neighboring country, says colonel Margo Grosberg, outgoing chief of Estonia’s military intelligence in a rare interview, published in English on VSquare.
Russia’s weaponization of its energy supplies in the lead-up to its invasion of Ukraine have resulted in inflated gas prices, increased heating costs, and a general cost of living spike for many Europeans. These effects have been felt tremendously across the border from Ukraine, in Eastern Slovakia – especially hard by the region’s Roma population.
The EU has imposed sanctions on Russian propaganda outlets, such as Russia Today and Sputnik News. But the Kremlin-directed official channels are just the tip of the iceberg.
There is a large ecosystem of pro-Kremlin and alt-right disinformation websites operating in Central and Eastern Europe.
In the next years to come, Europe will be tormented by overlapping conflicts of varying nature, that will put additional pressure on the democratic setup of the Union and its immediate neighbourhood – writes Wojciech Przybylski, Editor-in-Chief of Visegrad Insight, in the Executive Summary of new report: War and the Future of Europe.
The Slovak-language version of NewsFront is currently disseminating pro-Russian claims about the invasion of Ukraine. Who is the creative force behind the Slovak NewsFront site? The findings of the Investigative Centre of Ján Kuciak (ICJK) suggest it could be lawyer and member of the Slovak Union of Antifascist Fighters, Vladimír Zemko.
Russian propaganda tries to frighten Poles with “Ukrainization” of their country. That catchphrase is being used and promoted by MP Grzegorz Braun and far-right influencers. Similar narrative emerged simultaneously in other Eastern European countries.
Julia Dauksza
Anna Gielewska
Notes from Ukraine written by Paweł Reszka, journalist of “Polityka” magazine, originally posted in Polish on his Facebook account.
Since the war started, the anti-vaxxer section has been playing in the Kremlin orchestra, lead by covid denialists and Confederation party members, with Grzegorz Braun at the forefront. Who is behind the anti-vaxxers’ network in Polish social media?
