Section: Newsweek (USA)
Russian Spying in Czech Republic ‘Worse Than Cold War’
Prague has become a major target for Russian and Chinese spies attempting to gain access to NATO intelligence and leverage the Czech Republic’s status as an EU member state, according to a former head of the Czech military intelligence. After reports emerged in the Czech press that three suspected Russian spies were asked to quietly leave...
EU to Launch ‘Mythbusters’ Taskforce to Counter Russian Propaganda
The European Union has launched a campaign this week aimed at tackling the formidable flow of propaganda from Russia, which many European leaders fear is destabilising the continent. Heads of government met in Brussels yesterday to ask Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, to draw up a detailed plan to counter Russia’s...
Over 100 Russian Snipers Training in Armenian Forests
More than 100 Russian servicemen have been sent into the woods of mountainous Armenia in the Caucasus to participate in “sniper duels”, as part of Russia’s huge snap military drills that are being carried out this week, testing the combat readiness of the Russian armed forces. According to the press service of Russia’s Southern...
Lithuania Votes to Reintroduce Military Conscription
The Lithuanian parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of military conscription last night, prompted by fears about the “existing geopolitical situation” and the threat of the crisis in Ukraine spilling over to the Baltics. 112 of Lithuania’s parliamentarians supported the bill, which will see 3,000-3,500 men between the ages of 19 and 26...
The Czech Minister, the Mistress and the Gold Bars
The last 18 months in the Czech Republic have resembled a high-octane soap opera with a plot that could easily be dismissed as too fanciful. That’s not quite how the European Commission’s anti-corruption body (GRECO) put it last month – but it was a withering report all the same, charging the Czech Republic with making “little...
Tusk and Merkel Draft Plan at Summit to Renew Sanctions Despite EU Rift
The EU looks likely to renew sanctions on Russia, as European Council president Donald Tusk and German chancellor Angela Merkel met with French president Francois Hollande during a two-day summit to draw up a plan to appease growing dissent on the issue between the 28 member states, according to Reuters. Current sanctions on Russia expire in...
The Coming Propaganda War With Russia
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is set to launch a first operation in a new propaganda war with Russia within days of EU leaders giving formal approval to the campaign at a summit on Thursday. Officials told Reuters that a dozen public relations and communications experts would start work by the end of March in Brussels with a brief...
Bronze Bust of Putin as Roman Emperor to Be Unveiled
St Petersburg’s Cossack community has promised to mark Russia’s anniversary of the allied victory over the Nazis by unveiling a bronze bust of Russian president Vladimir Putin depicted as a Roman emperor. Andrey Polyakov, the leader of the St Petersburg Cossack group Irbis – a popular organisation which stresses the importance...
The Secret Submarine Base Norway Accidentally Handed to the Russians
Norway is ruing the day it sold off a key submarine base near the Russian border and now, with President Putin flexing his muscles in the region, there is growing alarm among Nato chiefs that the west has left itself woefully unprotected. Only six years ago, Norwegian politicians decided that Russia no longer posed a significant threat and that...
Sweden Labels Russia Its Biggest Threat
Russian espionage in Sweden has increased over the past year and is the biggest threat to domestic security, according to an annual report released by Sweden’s security service, SAPO, on Wednesday. In a news conference on Wednesday, Wilhelm Unge, chief analyst at SAPO, said one-third of Russian envoys in Sweden are used as spies to gather...
