Displaying items by tag: Europe

Russia’s war waged against Ukraine has created devastating consequences for freedom of the press. Reporters have been killed and injured in the field and censorship not seen since the Soviet period’s massive disinformation. Five journalists and media workers died from gunfire during the first month of Russia’s offensive. The Russian military has targeted news sources in territories it occupies and bullies the local media to cooperate. The government has complete control of Russian news and extensive wartime censorship, blocking the media, and pursuing non-compliant journalists. Many are forced into exile. In 2021 Putin toughened the law, labelling the media as ‘foreign agents’. This information control does not stop at Russia’s borders. The Kremlin is imposing its version of the war on its neighbours, especially Belarus, where independent journalists have been persecuted since the 2020 controversial presidential election, and 20+ media workers languish in prison. (Globally 59 journalists were killed and 524 imprisoned this year).

The UN and humanitarians have delivered aid to more people in the retaken areas, reaching 13.4 million people across Ukraine since the end of February. Despite the escalation of hostilities and challenges of helping millions of Ukrainians prepare for winter, Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown pledged that aid will not stop.

According to Transparency International, Russia remains the most corrupt European country. High-ranking public officials commit illegal activities. Albanian businesses are bedevilled by corruption and low conviction rates. Austria has well-developed institutions and proactive legal systems. However, high-level public officials and the central government have experienced corruption recently. Belgium also has a well-developed institutional and legal framework to combat corruption, but is also one of the most corrupt European countries. Bosnia’s political structures are the most affected by corruption. Bulgaria’s government officials engage in embezzlement, unfettered violation by the government relating to procurement of public assets as well as misappropriation of public funds. Bulgaria is the most corrupt member of the EU. Croatia is in the top three corrupt EU members but recently is making efforts to combat corruption. The Czech Republic has widespread corruption across most public sectors. France’s high-ranking officials and defence officers commit many corrupt activities.

The Czech EU presidency is proposing an annual minimum on the number of asylum seekers EU states are willing to relocate. The idea is part of bigger discussions on solidarity sharing, a concept eluding member states when it comes to EU-wide migration and asylum reforms. A Czech presidency paper is proposing either 5,000 or 10,000 voluntary relocations annually as suggestions to gauge what EU states are willing to accept. That debate feeds into an overhaul of the EU's asylum and migration laws proposed by the 2020 European Commission. The solidarity ideas are among many that have sought to create some sort of balance with what the EU has coined flexible responsibility. It is not immediately clear if EU states will agree to the Czech presidency idea. Should they fall short, it will be up to the next EU presidency under Sweden to try to find a solution.

The Americans, French, and British agree that ‘kamikaze’ drones unleashed by Russia into Ukraine were made in Iran and violate a UN security council resolution barring Iranian transfers of certain military technologies. Ukraine has identified the drones - or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - as Iranian Shahed-136 weapons, called kamikaze drones after the Japanese fighter pilots who flew suicide missions in World War Two. Iran denies supplying weapons to Russia, but the USA said, ‘Russia's plan is to import hundreds of Iranian UAVs of various types. There is extensive proof of Russia using them in Ukraine. The deepening alliance between Russia and Iran is something the whole world should see as a threat. Russia and Iran provided key military support for President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.’ The EU's foreign policy chief said it is ‘gathering evidence’ on the Iranian drones and is ready to act - implying intensification of sanctions.

When the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church is the most vocal supporter of Moscow's conflict in Ukraine, calling the conflict ‘war’ can land you in jail; it takes courage to speak out. But Father Grigory has been doing that ever since the Kremlin first set its sights on Ukraine. Once a Russian Orthodox priest, he has now set out to prove that not every Russian stands behind Putin's acts of aggression. Grigory's number one priority is helping the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees trapped across Russia since February. His religious group, the Russian Apostolic Church, has assisted 7,000 refugees over the past eight months. He said, ‘In April our organisation and the St Petersburg parish opened a centre for helping refugees. Many refugees need different types of help. Some need tickets to leave Russia, some need clothes or various medicines. So we do all that we can do to help.’ Grigory is adamant that supporting an aggressive war goes against the tenets of true faith.

Russians are closing evangelical Protestant churches claiming ‘only one faith would be tolerated - Orthodoxy’. They raided Grace Baptist Church while a worship service was being broadcast live. Viewers watched online while they halted the service, registered the names of all present, detained several ministers, and gave the pastor 48 hours to leave the city. They closed Melitopol’s largest Protestant charismatic church with a 1,000-seat auditorium. They tore down its cross and turned the building into a ‘cultural sports entertainment complex’. They are doing the same as they did when they seized and annexed Crimea: they raided places of worship, closed churches, banned missionary activity, fined people for leading worship meetings, seized religious literature, and forced religious communities to re-register with the state, refusing re-registration to the majority. Christians were also driven to the underground churches in the Soviet era, surviving seventy years of Soviet totalitarian rule - demonstrating that persecution can often strengthen the Church.

On 10 October Russian troops began launching a daily series of missile strikes, targeting civilians and energy facilities in populated regions to kill and create chaos. President Volodymyr Zelensky said, ‘They want to destroy our energy system. They are incorrigible. The second target is people. Such a time and such goals were specially chosen to cause as much damage as possible. We are dealing with terrorists trying to wipe us off the face of the earth.’  On 13 October Ukraine’s allies from fifty countries meeting at NATO headquarters announced deliveries to Kyiv of advanced air defence weapons, including missiles and radars. The USA earlier made a similar pledge. One high-tech system from Germany is already in Ukraine. Kyiv hailed the summit as ‘historic’. Hours later, while people slept, Russian shelling hit a five-storey residential building in Mykolaiv, destroying the upper two floors.

44 European leaders gathered in Prague on 6 October for the first meeting of a new political community. Most of the countries already belong to other organisations including the EU, NATO, the Council of Europe (upholding human rights), and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (arms control, freedom of the press, and free and fair elections). But the latter two are ineffective at reining in Russia. EU’s foreign policy chief spoke of building ‘a European political community without Putin’. Liz Truss will join EU and non-EU leaders plus Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky by video. She said the ‘club’ is not an alternative to the EU, but added that after Brexit the UK should be involved in discussions that affect the entire continent.

Flee, or face conscription: that is the choice that has led thousands of Russians to flee to Finland and other nations after Putin announced he is mobilising reservists. Finland will soon limit Russians’ entry on tourist visas; border crossings are up 80% from normal. Finland is largely Lutheran Christian. However, ‘Christian’ in Finland is often just a label, not a reflection of a vibrant, abiding relationship with Jesus. Pray that the opportunity for outreach in love to these new refugees in Finland will be a wakeup call, and for a new Holy Spirit flame to be lit. Pray for Finns leading comfortable lives to see their need of a Saviour.