Europa / Europe and the EU + EEA

crosspostato da: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39764949

Op-ed by Kate Turska, Co-chair of the Ukrainian Association of New Zealand (North) and the head of Mahi for Ukraine, a volunteer group based in New Zealand, supporting Ukraine and its People through advocacy.

Archived

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Germany in the 1930s descended into darkness after a failed democracy, humiliation in WWI, and a modernising but fractured society. Hitler built his regime on the wreckage of a democratic experiment. It was brutal, it was rapid, and the world was still learning what modern war and fascism looked like.

But Russia never needed to fall — it never rose. There was no functioning democracy to collapse. No civil society to co-opt. No free press to destroy — only moments of it, never sustained. From Tsarism to Bolshevism to Putinism, repression has been continuous. Genocide as a method of control (Chechens, Ukrainians, deportations of entire peoples) is well-documented. From the Holodomor famine in Ukraine, to mass deportations of Chechens and Crimean Tatars, to Human Rights Watch’s classification of Second Chechen War atrocities as crimes against humanity. Colonial expansionism, and totalitarianism are not deviations — they are the foundation of the Russian state.

Since the fall of the USSR, Russia hasn’t reformed, it has metastasised. It has tested, incrementally, the limits of the rules-based world: Moldova. Chechnya. Georgia. Syria. Ukraine. The poisoning of opponents abroad. The buying of politicians. The undermining of democratic elections. Each time, the world responded with handwringing and half-measures. So, it learned: there are no consequences.

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What makes it more dangerous than Hitler’s Germany isn’t the scale, but the context: The world today is connected, interdependent, distracted. The West has lived in an illusion of stability for 80 years. We struggle to grasp that a country can wage imperial war in the 21st century and get away with it — and that it’s happening right now.

This illusion is our biggest vulnerability.

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Part of the danger is that many in the West still don’t recognise Russia for what it is. Decades of propaganda have built powerful myths about “Russian cultural depth,” “natural spheres of influence,” and “security concerns” that supposedly justify its actions. Western narratives too often frame russia as a reactive power — a victim of geopolitics rather than a consistent imperial aggressor. This myth of russian imperial innocence, rooted in Soviet-era disinformation and reinforced by Western intellectuals who romanticised the USSR, still shapes public perception. That makes it easier for russia to present its colonial wars as defensive, and far harder for democracies to mobilise against it. The result is a warped debate, where the aggressor’s narrative is given equal weight to documented reality — and that distortion makes russia more dangerous than ever.

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We must stop operating under the logic that the world will eventually “go back to normal”, because it won’t. Not unless Russia is stopped completely. Russian war on Ukraine (which did not begin in 2022, but in 2014) is not just about Ukraine. It is about the rules of the world we live in, and Russia is rewriting them.

Whataboutism will try to distract you. “What about this country? What about that war?” But not all conflicts shape the global order. Russia’s war does.

This is why Russia must be defeated, not negotiated with, not accommodated. There’s no “solution” that preserves this regime and protects the future at the same time. The system it represents is incompatible with any stable or free international order.

This is the fight that defines whether democracy, sovereignty, human rights, the entire post-WWII system, survives, or becomes a footnote in history books no one will be allowed to read.

crosspostato da: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39759210

Archived

German prosecutors and customs investigators have raided the premises of a machine tool manufacturer near Munich. The company is suspected of supplying more than 20 high-precision machines worth approximately €5.5 million to Russia in violation of European Union sanctions. Three company employees have been formally charged. Raids were also carried out in Baden-Württemberg and Bulgaria.

According to an investigation by Süddeutsche Zeitung, the company in question is Spinner, based in Sauerlach, a town just outside Munich. Spinner manufactures machine tools at various sites, including near Stuttgart, as well as in Bulgaria and Turkey.

In connection with the investigation, a Spinner machine subject to export restrictions was confiscated in mid-February 2025. Export documents indicated that the machine was supposed to leave Germany in August 2023, traveling through Poland and Belarus on its way to Uzbekistan. Investigators suspect the machine was in fact delivered to a Russian company affiliated with the manufacturer. There is also evidence of additional deliveries through Turkey and China.

The Munich prosecutor’s office cited a detailed report that aired in late April on the TV channel Arte, which traced the export of a Spinner machine to Russia via third countries — allegedly with the use of falsified documents. In the Arte report, one of the company’s three managing directors, Nikolaus Spinner, denied the allegations, claiming the machine had been sold to an Uzbek agricultural equipment manufacturer. However, a manager at the Uzbek company told reporters by phone that no such purchase had taken place.

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crosspostato da: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39763392

Archived

When the Government signed a deal on net-zero co-operation with Canada, the text of the memorandum was published. So too were the texts of deals with Ireland, Norway, South Korea and Chile.

Five months after the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband signed a similar memorandum with the Chinese government, however, we are still in the dark as to precisely what was agreed.

Chinese media have asserted that the Energy Secretary agreed to co-operation on power grids, battery storage, offshore wind power and carbon capture, among other areas; it is understood that Chinese investment in the UK was not discussed by Mr Miliband. The role of the Chinese state in Britain’s net-zero ambitions may well be an uncomfortable issue for the Labour Government to discuss.

While the Defence Secretary is insisting that Britain is “ready to fight” over the future of Taiwan and the Foreign Secretary is explicitly referring to China as a “sophisticated and persistent threat” that requires hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding for the intelligence services, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been courting Chinese investment, and Mr Miliband’s drive to meet his net-zero targets is heavily dependent on Chinese industry.

Both the switch to electric vehicles and the decarbonisation of the energy grid will make heavy use of Chinese products. One study commissioned by the German defence ministry recently warned that this position at the heart of Western energy systems could result in Beijing enjoying the power to trigger remote shut-downs as “an instrument of economic warfare”.

Such concerns are less hypothetical than we might wish. Earlier this year, undocumented communication devices were located in Chinese-made power inverters exported to the United States, triggering fears that Beijing could use compromised equipment to “physically destroy the grid”. This would be fully in line with the current approach of the People’s Liberation Army to warfare as a clash between systems, and the extensive Volt Typhoon operation carried out by Chinese state-sponsored actors.

Even given the understandable desire to avoid a sudden break with China, the delicacy of the balance between trade and reliance is such that the British public deserves to know what Mr Miliband has discussed with Beijing.

crosspostato da: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39705151

Archived

Serbia: Arrests of former ministers, officials over alleged corruption and inflating invoices for Chinese consortium about Novi Sad’s deadly November accident

Six people, including a former minister, were arrested on Friday over their involvement in reconstruction of a railway station, whose roof collapsed last November killing 16 and triggering Serbia's biggest anti-government protests in decades.

The office of the prosecutor for organised crime said Tomislav Momirovic, former infrastructure minister, was among those arrested.

The six are suspected of inflating invoices from a consortium of the two Chinese companies - China Railway International Co and China Communications Construction Co - who were given the task of reconstructing both the railway station at Novi Sad and tracks, the statement said.

They are suspected of damaging the state budget by $115.6 million, the statement said, and also said that by inflating invoices the Chinese consortium benefited by $18.8 million, but gave no further details.

In December 11 people, including Momirovic's successor Goran Vesic, were detained on suspicion of committing a criminal act against public safety.

Months of protests across Serbia following the roof collapse, including university shutdowns, have rattled the rule of President Aleksandar Vucic, a former ultranationalist who converted to the cause of European Union membership in 2008.

The protesters, who blame corruption for the disaster, demand early elections that they hope would remove Vucic and his party from power after 13 years.

They accuse Vucic and his allies of ties to organised crime, violence against rivals and curbing media freedoms. Vucic denies the accusations.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39654554

Archived

In a significant development that reinforces claims of genocide against Russia, Ukrainian intelligence officials have reportedly obtained a massive trove of files detailing the forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children.

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The documents, allegedly hacked from servers in Russian-occupied Crimea, are being hailed by legal experts as a potential “smoking gun” that could prove a systematic, state-sponsored campaign to erase Ukrainian national identity.

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The files reportedly include personal records, details on forced changes of guardianship to Russian citizens, and new addresses for the abducted children across Russian-controlled territory.

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Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), said these files have been turned over to law enforcement, calling the abductions “one of Russia’s largest war crimes.”

This new evidence provides powerful support for a crime that has already drawn international condemnation. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, specifically over these deportations.

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Kristina Hook, a genocide scholar and lead author of a New Lines Institute report on Russian genocide, argues that the new documents add to an already “overwhelming body of proof.”

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Hook further asserted, “Millions of Russians are involved in this machinery of terror, including the mass kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Every day, we see a level of radicalization and cruelty that only makes sense if the goal is national extermination. It’s time for our leaders to publicly name this crime, as Ukraine’s children are being abducted by extremists who also openly threaten America and our allies.”

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Dr. Michael Cecire, a researcher at the RAND Corporation, described Russian doctrine as fusing “kinetic destruction with population control,” with a goal of “demographic erasure.”

He argues that the forcible transfer and “Russification” of Ukrainian children are not incidental but a key part of a “coherent, state-directed, and multi-domain approach to eliminate the viability of the Ukrainian nation in contested regions.”

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39645196

Archived

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) has published personally identifiable information of a Russian war criminal and commander of one of the brigades of the Russian forces that regularly launches Shahed attacks on Ukraine.

Details: Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian Armed Forces Ruslan Negrub is the commander of a separate UAV brigade HROM Cascade (military unit No. 35666-B, based in the town of Korenovsk, Krasnodar Krai).

This brigade launches Shahed UAV attacks on the territory of Ukraine. The Russians use them to attack civilian and humanitarian infrastructure and terrorise the civilian population.

DIU reported that war criminal Ruslan Negrub was born on 4 January 1983. His ID information is series 9002 No. 447425, issued on 17 April 2003 by the Mozdok District Department of Internal Affairs, Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. He graduated from the Stavropol Higher Military Aviation Engineering School.

Ruslan Negrub is married to Nadia Negrub, born on 8 March 1981.

The couple are parents to a 20-year-old son. Their registration/residence address is Stavropol Krai, Budyonnovsk, Microraion Severnyi Street 1, apt. 76.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39626483

A former Hong Kong politician and prominent democracy campaigner has accused British police of asking her to “self-censor” and “retreat from public life” after officers asked her to agree to avoid public gatherings.

The request, outlined in a signed “memorandum of understanding” seen by the Guardian, has alarmed exiled dissidents who fear it may embolden attempts to silence criticism of Chinese and Hong Kong officials worldwide.

Carmen Lau, who moved to the UK in 2021, was asked to sign the formal agreement in March by Thames Valley police after her neighbours were posted letters offering a £100,000 bounty for information on her movements or for her being taken to authorities.

Thames Valley police requested Lau “cease any activity that is likely to put you at risk” and “avoid attending public gatherings” such as protests.

Lau is wanted by Hong Kong authorities for allegedly contravening the territory’s national security law, which grants sweeping extraterritorial powers to prosecute acts or comments made anywhere in the world that it deems criminal. She also works with the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a Washington-based organisation dedicated to “raising international support for the advancement of its democracy and human rights”.

Tony Chung, a democracy activist who was jailed under Hong Kong’s national security law but now lives in the UK, was also the subject of near-identical letters requesting British citizens inform on him.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39652995

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Open-source intelligence analyst Kyle Glen:

“The total number of ‘Shahed’ and ‘Gerbera’ decoys launched into Ukraine in July stood at 6,297, an increase of 1,378% compared to July 2024 (426 launched). With 6,297, July has seen approximately the same number of drones as the entirety of Jan-Oct '24."

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In June 2025, Russia exceeded the 5,000-drone mark for the first time. July now sets a new record—the first time over 6,000 drones have been launched in a single month.

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On July 31, at least 28 people were killed, including 3 children, aged three, six, and 17, while some 159 others were wounded in the a Russian attack on Kyiv.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39627323

Germany's armed forces reported a 28% surge in soldier recruits from January to late July, compared with the same period last year, bolstering plans to boost NATO defences in response to what it sees as an increased threat from Russia.

The Defence Ministry said on Thursday more than 13,700 people had joined the Bundeswehr - the army, air force, navy and other forces - in that period, in what it said was the steepest rise for years.

Germany wants to have 260,000 active soldiers by the 2030s, from 183,000 now, to meet new NATO force targets and strengthen its defences - part of a planned surge in military spending underpinned by this year's decision to loosen budget constraints.

Interest in joining the armed forces also rose, with initial consultations rising by 11% and applications by 8%, while civilian sector applications jumped by 31%, the ministry said.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39639612

The statement was delivered on Thursday by John Kelley, Acting U.S. Alternate Representative to the United Nations, according to Ukrinform's correspondent in New York.

"China, as its representatives has pointed out, does not directly provide weapons to Russia. Nevertheless, China has become the decisive enabler of Russia's war effort by being the most important supplier of Russia's war industrial machine," Kelley said.

He noted that specifically, China has provided Russia with significant quantities of machine tools, microelectronics, optics, UAV and cruise missile technology, and nitrocellulose, which Russia uses to make propellant for weapons.

"If China were serious about helping to end the war, it would stop providing these critical components to Russia," Kelley said.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39626256

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People from countries around the world come to the UK as a place of safety from repression. "However, transnational repression (TNR) risks undermining the UK’s ability to protect the human rights of its citizens and those who have sought safety within its borders", a new report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) of the Parliament of the United Kingdom says.

It is deeply concerning to hear increasing reports of foreign governments moving beyond their own national borders to persecute people in the UK. The Committee received credible evidence that a number of states have engaged in acts of transnational repression on UK soil, the reports reads.

A substantial number of submissions we received were personal accounts of TNR perpetrated by Eritrea.

China, Russia and Iran were highlighted by witnesses as the three most flagrant TNR perpetrators in the UK, the report says, while these three countries have also imposed sanctions on UK Parliamentarians "iin what appears to be a deliberate attempt to deter scrutiny and suppress criticism."

Multiple evidence submissions accused Bahrain, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates of perpetrating TNR in the UK, the report finds.

"These actions have a serious impact on those targeted, instilling fear, limiting their freedom of expression and movement, and undermining their sense of safety."

Despite the seriousness of the threat, the UK currently lacks a clear strategy to address TNR. There is no formal definition of transnational repression in the UK and the Government does not routinely collect data on TNR events. Understanding the scale and nature of the threat is essential to formulating effective and proportionate responses. We therefore recommend that the Government adopt a formal definition of TNR and establish data collection and monitoring mechanisms.

Police officers often lack the training necessary to respond effectively to TNR, resulting in inconsistent and ineffective support for TNR victims. We call for specialised training for police officers on the early warning signs of TNR and for the creation of a dedicated reporting line for TNR victims.

"The UK’s response to TNR would benefit significantly from more structured and consistent coordination across government departments. Currently, responsibilities related to TNR are dispersed across the Home Office, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the National Crime Agency (NCA), and the intelligence and security services. While each plays a vital role, the absence of a formalised mechanism for collaboration can lead to consistent responses and support for individuals at risk. We welcome the recent announcement of the State Threats Joint Unit, which is intended to enhance the UK’s capacity to respond to hostile state activity."

UK lawmakers are deeply concerned by the misuse of INTERPOL Red Notices by certain member states. [A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.]

Refusal by the INTERPOL secretariat to acknowledge that there is a problem and to take remedial action poses a significant threat to the rights and freedoms of individuals targeted by authoritarian regimes and sends a message that this behaviour is acceptable.

We call on the Government to put pressure on INTERPOL to reform procedures and call out serial abusers. We also propose that the Government consider introducing a formal mechanism by which the Home Office or the National Crime Agency could alert individuals to the existence of a Red Notice, where there is a strong basis to believe it has been politically motivated.

Transnational repression is a serious and under-recognised threat that requires urgent and coordinated international action. Its impacts extend far beyond those directly targeted, creating a broader ‘chilling effect’2 on entire communities and undermining fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, assembly, and association. We urge the Government to work with likeminded states to support efforts to elevate TNR as a priority issue on the UN agenda and to promote coordinated international action against its use by authoritarian regimes.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39574589

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Russian state-run media outlet RIA Novosti on July 30 published a column titled "There is no other option: no one should be left alive in Ukraine."

In the piece, columnist Kirill Strelnikov describes Ukrainians as "happy with their fate" and claims they are "ready to die" for what he derisively calls "the best army in the world."

The article refers to Ukrainian soldiers as "laboratory rats," denies their humanity, and includes a grotesque comment about "no need for lacy underwear for the dead."

Strelnikov repeats Kremlin propaganda lines, including the claim that Ukraine is a "military training ground" for the West and that Ukrainians are mere pawns of the U.S. and Europe.

The article dismisses Western military analyses recognizing Ukraine's battlefield gains, naming institutions like the Atlantic Council and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and derides U.S. and U.K. generals for praising Ukraine's military.

The piece marks an escalation in Russia's dehumanizing war propaganda.

Claims that Ukrainians are "ready to die" contradict the lived reality of a population resisting an unprovoked invasion, which Moscow started back in 2014, to defend their homes and sovereignty.

This rhetoric reflects a long-standing Kremlin narrative designed to strip Ukraine of agency and portray its people as expendable.

Russia's war effort has increasingly relied on genocidal framing, echoing prior statements by state officials and propagandists that deny Ukraine's right to exist as a nation.

RIA Novosti is one of Russia's central state media arms and has consistently served as a platform for war propaganda, disinformation, and anti-Western messaging.

Strelnikov, the article's author, is a co-founder of the nationalist media project Politrussia and a frequent contributor to other Kremlin-aligned outlets. His previous articles have spread falsehoods about the war, many of which have been debunked by independent media.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39561277

Archived

Russian occupation authorities force parents in occupied Kherson Oblast to obtain Russian passports or risk losing parental rights, the Center of National Resistance reported on July 30.

"These are not documents. They are instruments of terror," Kherson Oblast Governor Ivan Dudary told the center.

Russia conducts forced passportization in the occupied territories as it aims to establish its control and erase the identity of Ukrainians living under occupation.

In the village of Askaniya-Nova in occupied Kherson Oblast, parents have been threatened with the removal of their children or loss of parental rights if they do not obtain Russian passports.

Askaniya-Nova is located deep within occupied territory and about 52 kilometers (32 miles) from Ukrainian-held territory in Kherson Oblast.

Without obtaining a Russian passport, Ukrainian civilians living under occupation cannot receive medical assistance, pass military checkpoints, and risk mobilization, the Center of National Resistance reported.

"Parents are manipulated because of their children, and children are manipulated because of their education. As of today, it is just impossible to survive in occupied territories without Russian documents," Kateryna Rashevska, legal advisor at the Regional Center for Human Rights in Kyiv, previously told the Kyiv Independent.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39501469

The European Union is drawing up a $19.66 billion plan to overhaul its road, rail, and bridge networks to cut the time it would take to move tanks, troops, and military equipment across the continent in the event of war with Russia, said EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas in comments to the Financial Times on July 29.

The effort aims to reduce transit time from “weeks or months” to just “a matter of hours, maximum a matter of days,” Tzitzikostas said.

“We have old bridges that need to be upgraded. We have narrow bridges that need to be widened. And we have nonexistent bridges to be built,” Tzitzikostas warned, highlighting the current infrastructure’s inability to support heavy military machinery like tanks, which can weigh up to 70 tonnes—nearly double the load European roads and bridges are typically built for.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39560038

Archived

The 27-year-old suspect is believed to be behind two arson attacks targeting construction houses in 2024: one on 23 May in Warsaw and another a week later in Radom. Both fires were swiftly extinguished by emergency services.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) said the Colombian man was acting on Russian orders.

"It has been confirmed that Russian intelligence services, using the Telegram messenger, systematically and on a large scale recruited individuals of Latin American origin with military experience," the agency said in a statement.

The man is currently in Czechia, where he was arrested for setting fire to a bus depot and plotting a similar attack in a shopping mall. It later emerged that he was also involved in such operations in Poland.

According to Poland’s foreign ministry, the suspect “faces a life sentence in prison, while over 30 other individuals suspected of cooperating with Russian intelligence have been detained.”

The ABW said the individuals were tasked with “conducting reconnaissance of designated locations, setting fire to selected targets, and documenting the resulting damage.” The collected footage was then “used by Russian-language media for disinformation and propaganda purposes”, the Polish agency added.

Authorities said the attacks match the modus operandi observed in other recent incidents across Central and Eastern Europe.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39585900

Archived

• Local processors are exploring options on some inputs, according to traders and refinery executives, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
• Indian refiners are now reaching out more widely for crudes, with supplies being bought from places including Azerbaijan and Nigeria, as well as the United Arab Emirates, according to the traders.

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The global oil market is assessing the fallout from the EU’s latest wave of curbs, which included sanctions against a major Indian refiner [Nayara Energy] that’s part Russian-held, a lower price cap, as well as imports of petroleum products made from Moscow’s crude. At the same time, investors are also contending with moves by OPEC+ to restore shuttered production, and the falllout from the US’s multi-front trade war.

Indian refiners are now reaching out more widely for crudes, with supplies being bought from places including Azerbaijan and Nigeria, as well as the United Arab Emirates, according to the traders. Like all major economies, India typically sources oil from a wide array of countries.

Among recent purchases, India's state-backed Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. sought crude for late August to September delivery to New Mangalore, the traders said. That’s prompter-than-usual, they said, with the refinery eventually taking about 1.3 million barrels of Azeri oil. That’s also a type not typically bought by Indian processors.

Elsewhere, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. purchased West African crudes including Nigeria’s Bonny Light, Egina and Qua Iboe. In addition, private refiner Reliance Industries Ltd. bought Abu Dhabi’s flagship Murban grade — a premium crude that’s typically costlier compared with its staple diet of heavy Russian and Middle Eastern crudes.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39500715

Archived

From the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Western leftists have invoked “peace” as a slogan — as if peace were not already at the heart of every Ukrainian’s daily prayer. They warn the world not to “provoke” the Kremlin, as if Ukraine’s restraint could halt Russian missiles. For Ukraine’s own leftists, though, the prospect of total annihilation has laid bare how hollow abstract pacifism sounds when survival itself is on the line.

When Russian forces tried to take Kyiv in 2022, Ukrainian writer Artem Chapeye — a well-known leftist and outspoken male feminist — made sure his family reached safety before he enlisted to defend his country. In his latest book "Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns," translated into English by Zenia Tompkins and published by Seven Stories Press, Chapeye reflects on his path to military service, the ways in which the war has upended parts of Ukrainian society, and what it means to hold onto your humanity when forced to pick up a weapon.

“It’s easy to hide behind the abstract idea that ‘the more weapons there are, the more war there’ll be’ when you yourself are safe,” Chapeye writes.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39489587

Archived

Social media giant X has lost a High Court challenge brought against Ireland’s broadcasting and online media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, over its online safety code.

X International Unlimited Company, which operates X, formerly known as Twitter, had alleged that the media regulator engaged in “regulatory overreach” in its approach to restrictions on certain video content.

Coimisiún na Meán’s online safety code, which was adopted last October and came into effect earlier this month, sets out legally binding rules for video-sharing platforms. It is aimed at protecting the public, and especially children, from harmful online content.

X, owned by Elon Musk, had sought a High Court order compelling the commission to quash its decision to adopt certain sections of the code. It also sought the court to overturn the commission’s decision to apply the code to its platform.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39520800

Archived

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Mark [a 4-year old Ukrainian boy] survived the attack, [...] thanks to his mother’s quick thinking and protection, but he has endured injuries and a trauma that will take many years to heal. He suffered from fractures to his skull, a crushed nose and injuries that have left him blind in one eye.

There has been a significant rise in child casualties in Ukraine in recent months as Russia indiscriminately targets heavily populated civilian areas, with 222 children killed or injured between March and May this year and 2,889 in total since the start of the invasion. Given the delay in verifying deaths, the UN says the true number is likely to be much higher.

Ukrainian rights group say Russia’s attacks are not accidental and should be more strongly condemned by international leaders. “Under international humanitarian law, deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure – especially schools, hospitals, and places where children gather – is considered a war crime,” says Daria Kasyanova, chair of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network.

Amnesty says it has documented “numerous instances of Russian forces conducting indiscriminate attacks in Ukraine, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties” and that “indiscriminate strikes that kill or injure civilians constitute war crimes”.

Even if the conflict ends, Ukraine now has one of the highest prevalence of explosive remnants of war and landmines globally, says the UN, which are likely to cause continuing casualties among children in particular far into the future.

For children such as Mark who have survived, the injuries – physical and emotional – that have been inflicted are life-changing. A Unicef survey earlier this year, estimated at least one in five children in Ukraine have experienced a personal loss to the war, whether a sibling, parent or friend.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39521142

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) uncovered a mole within the Defense Forces, who had been orchestrating a "breakthrough" for Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, the SBU reported on July 30.

The military counterintelligence unit detained a 26-year-old mobilized man, recruited by the Russian forces via a Telegram channel offering "easy money." He agreed to cooperate in exchange for money to cover his gambling debts.

"The SBU conducted comprehensive operations to ensure the security of Ukrainian military bases and movement routes on that section of the front," the statement read.

The SBU reported that the traitor was directing Russian airstrikes and heavy artillery onto the positions of his own unit, which was holding back the Russian advance near the town of Velikiy Burluk. The suspect would leave the shelling zone under false pretenses and gather information for the FSB on the locations of nearby Ukrainian Defense Forces units. The Russian forces hoped to use the information for future "breakthrough" operations.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3757546

Archived version

Almost nothing is known about Darya Pavlova, the latest victim of the mass ‘treason trials’ which Russia is staging against Ukrainians abducted from occupied Ukraine. It is reported only that the young woman, who is from occupied Henichesk raion (Kherson oblast), is now 26. Judging by the indictment, she may well have been abducted by the Russian invaders of her homeland when she was just 24 and, almost certainly held incommunicado, before a fake ‘trial’ was played out at the occupation ‘Kherson regional court’.

The Russian occupation ‘prosecutor’ reported this illegitimate ‘court’s’ sentence on 24 July 2025,, stating that Darya Pavlova had been found ‘guilty’ of treason, under Article 275 of Russia’s criminal code and sentenced to twelve and a half years’ medium-security imprisonment, as well as to a subsequent period of two years’ restricted liberty.

The young Ukrainian was referred to only as “a local resident”, with the fact that Russia has made it impossible to live on occupied territory without taking Russian citizenship used as excuse for accusing her, as a supposed ‘Russian’, of ‘treason’ towards the aggressor state.

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On 20 December 2024, the human rights initiative Pyervy Otdel reported that Russia had charged (and convicted, in all cases) 792 people with ‘state treason’ since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. There had, In 2024 alone, been over 359 convictions, with the sharp escalation almost certain to be repeated in 2025.

Of the known convictions, 201 had been of Ukrainians from occupied territory, with this almost a third of all cases. That number may, in fact, be higher, as Russia is forcing Ukrainians to take Russian citizenship and calling them all ‘Russians’, with this making it harder to obtain full statistics.

...

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39423227

Archived

[...]

The European Union (EU) and China have made headlines with their latest joint climate statement ahead of COP30. While the agreement emphasizes clean energy and green technology, it stops short of committing to reducing coal use—a decision that has left many environmental groups concerned.

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The EU and China’s climate focus now leans heavily toward clean technology development and cooperation.

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China’s Medog Dam: Climate Win or Ecological Fallout?

One of the most ambitious pieces in China’s green energy puzzle is the Medog Dam project in Tibet. With an estimated cost of $137 billion, the dam will become the largest hydropower station in the world.

However, the project has drawn criticism for its environmental and geopolitical risks:

• Built in a fragile ecosystem, near the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, the dam could harm biodiversity, impact river flows, and disrupt agriculture downstream.
• Local communities face displacement, raising humanitarian concerns.
• The dam’s location near the India-China border adds fuel to regional tensions, especially over shared water resources.

[...]

Is China Exporting Clean? And at What Cost?

China is stepping up its global presence as a major exporter of clean technologies [...] However, there’s one more side of the leaf which isn’t so green. The environmental costs of producing these technologies can be significant. Mining and manufacturing components like lithium and rare earth elements often lead to high emissions.

If these upstream processes are not cleaned up, China could end up exporting “dirty green” solutions that undermine the broader climate goals. Life-cycle emissions, i.e., from raw material extraction to final product delivery, must be included when evaluating the real impact of these exports.

Thus, China needs to decarbonize its supply chains and ensure the climate benefits of its clean-tech exports are genuine and lasting.

It is noteworthy that China’s proposed coal mine developments risk creating an oversupply and derailing climate goals, according to Global Energy Monitor.

[...]

Carbon markets are only effective if they are transparent and based on actual, verified reductions in emissions. Strict rules and enforcement are necessary to prevent greenwashing and to ensure the system does not simply shift emissions from one place to another.

Without trust, data accuracy, and mutual accountability, the effectiveness of carbon markets will remain limited. Both the EU and China must ensure that any expansion of the carbon credit system is built on strong governance and integrity.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39421754

Archived

[Czech MEP Ondřej] Dostál was due to speak in Chisinau at the “Make Europe Great Again” (M.E.G.A.) conference organised by pro-Russian Moldovan opposition figures. His diplomatic passport was temporarily withheld before he was deported to Romania, from where he later addressed the event online.

“There’s a first time for everything. Even for being deported, as an MEP, from an EU candidate country,” Dostál said on X late on Sunday.

Authorities also denied entry to US conservative activist Brian Brown and Dimos Tchanasoulas, spokesperson for Greece’s far-right party Niki. Brown was held in detention for several hours before being allowed in, while Tchanasoulas remained at the airport.

[...]

Moldova’s Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) later confirmed multiple entry bans, saying the event lacked transparency and alleged links to the Shor criminal group, which is tied to fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and accused of working to destabilise Moldova with Russian backing.

“These actions are part of a broader spectrum of hybrid actions undertaken by Russia,” SIS warned, urging public figures to exercise caution before engaging in such events.

There is no EU_Economics subs and barely any economics subs at all here so just posting this here as I thought it was insightful

I understand all the emotions. But I really think we need to put all things in perspective.

First facts

• EU have about 200 Billion EUR trade surplus on Goods with US

• EU have about 150 Billion EUR trade deficit on services with US

• Europe owns 3.6 Trillion of US assets via FDI and US owns 3.9 Trillion of European assets

• Europe invested 200 billion in US in 2024 and US invested 90 billion in Europe. Europe includes Uk, CH too

• big supplies of Energy products come from US, Norway and others to EU after Russia was eliminated as option

• US president believes in Tariffs since 1990s. There is no way to negotiate a zero tariff. White House is trying to make it a viable policy

• US negotiation is driven by „willing to burn down the village“ approach and doesn’t seek win win.

• after all the discussions -: China got 30%, Japan 15%, EU 15% . These countries have trade surplus with US

• UK got 10% even when they have trade deficit with US. In addition they have quota for cars

What EU needs

• maintain access to US goods market while it expands its other trade routes

• minimize the tariffs as much as possible

• keep US interested in NATO while Defence capabilities are increased in Europe

• Digital Services from US while EU companies try to develop alternatives

• secure energy supply as Russia is not an option

As far as what I have read , following is agreed

• EU will continue to use US for oil & gas. This revenue will be approx 250 B USD per year for 3 years. This is not new revenue , EU already buys a lot from US. So we should see this as additional of about 50 B per year. EDIT -: US is currently exporting 80 B USD stuff to Europe. I think getting to 250B is almost impossible even if Russia share is completely replaced. So seems even this commitment cannot be met.

• EU will invest in US assets via FDI (600 B). This was not mentioned at all by UvdL in press conference. There needs to be more details about it. I think it’s simply an extrapolation of EU already was planning to do in coming years. But make a good headline. Same like Japan, they are not saying same things when you talk to officials.

• EU will get 15% tariff on 75% exports to US (excludes Pharma and metals)

• For now Pharma will continue to have 15% but if US adopts a global policy (in future) on Pharma then that will override

• Zero Tarifs from both sides on Aircraft , Chips and semi conductor equipment

I know people are mainly upset about investment commitment and purchase projections.

• But buying energy products is not that bad deal. In the end EU needs to be buy oil & gas from someone. What are the options outside Europe ? (US, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Middle East ) … if a good chunk come from US and Norway then it’s not really that bad.

Personally I think EU got best they could. The focus should be on reducing dependence on US for Defence and Digital. I am sure in backroom talks, this was the blackmail.

For now -: European companies might be able to compete in US because all imports have higher tariffs now. US companies will be more competitive but that’s something was the plan anyways.

What EU citizens can do (if they are upset) ?

Use your wallet -:

Support more Euroepan services. Specially Financial Services. European brokers , European fund houses (UBS, Amundi, Xtrackers etc). Support more European social media , email and messaging services.

Example -: Use WEBG instead of VWCE. Invest more in Europe than in USA when making your investment portfolio and not 100% in S&P 500.

Edit -: this video shows discrepancies already in the deal. As usual wait for the final agreement because in the world for twitter politics, devil is in the details :)

https://youtu.be/JvTpbIxFneg

https://www.euronews.com/health/2025/07/28/eu-us-trade-deal-leaves-future-of-pharma-tariffs-uncertain

Edit -: based on latest details, it seems Pharma tariffs are capped to 15% irrespective of what happens with global tariffs on Pharma. Although subject to Trump keeping his word

https://www.reddit.com/r/EU_Economics/comments/1mb8o5q/comment/n5kh5bl/