The Economist writes about Germanyʼs "awakening" as a result of the Russian Federationʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For Putin, the war turned out to be not what he expected, but the decision of Sweden and Finland to join NATO, the strengthening of democracy and nationalism in Ukraine, and the massive rejection of Russian exports to the world. The publication emphasizes something else: The Economist writes that the Russo-Ukrainian war can become a catalyst that will cause large-scale changes in the economy and defense of Germany, and an impetus to strengthen the countryʼs position as the leader of the European Union. It is interesting that the article is illustrated by an eagle (the coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Germany) hatching from an egg. The egg apparently symbolizes outdated policies, including dependence on Russian gas and bureaucracy ― such as the slow pace of digitization of services. Russia has now forced Germany to "hatch" from this egg, and the publication writes that itʼs not too late to overcome old problems and reform problem areas. At the same time, Germany risks losing this chance, and the continuation of support for Ukraine is the first test of Germanyʼs stability.
Politico Europe blog section editor Jamie Dettmer ponders how Ukraineʼs proposal to revoke visas for Russians in Europe could play into the Kremlinʼs hands. The author writes that many Russians who are already in Europe complain of hostility on the basis of their citizenship and campaigns directed against Russian culture and science, etc. Dettmer considers President Zelenskyʼs call to stop issuing visas to EU countries to Russians as contrary to the Geneva Convention, because it is a collective punishment of a group of people for the actions of individuals. Zelensky says that Russians elected their government and now they must bear responsibility for it. Dettmer counter-argued that fair elections are impossible under an authoritarian regime, as voting is falsified and any opposition is exterminated. Some European countries responded to Zelenskyʼs call, and Estonia, Finland and Latvia are lobbying for the introduction of a ban on visas for Russians throughout the EU. According to the author, such steps will not lead to the overthrow of Putinʼs regime and will not help to end the Russian-Ukrainian war. Instead, Dettmer believes, visa bans will only fuel the Kremlinʼs narrative that the West is full of staunch Russophobes.
The Associated Press writes about how Russia is recruiting soldiers to replenish its demoralized troops. The publication spoke with a woman whose boyfriend is serving a sentence in a colony in St. Petersburg. She said that prisoners there are offered to join the Russian armed forces and fight in Ukraine in exchange for freedom. According to her, out of 11 volunteers that her boyfriend knows about, eight have already died in Ukraine. Since the general mobilization will harm Putinʼs popularity, he has to resort to the covert one, in particular recruiting future occupiers from among the prisoners. The manpower crisis is exacerbated by the fact that many active-duty military personnel are looking for any way to terminate their contracts. According to Volodymyr Osechkin, the founder of the group for the protection of prisonersʼ rights, Gulagu.net, active recruitment is taking place in seven regions of the Russian Federation. It is interesting that recruitment is not handled by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, but by private mercenaries of the Wagner Group.
Mark Lawson, columnist for The Guardian, writes about two premieres of Ukrainian plays at the small Finborough Theater in London. The theater chose two works by Ukrainian authors, which focus on the events of 2014, which became harbingers of the great war of 2022. The first play Take out the trash, Sasha by Natalya Vorozhbyt about the deceased Sasha, the colonel of the Ukrainian army, whose ghost supports the desire to fight for the homeland. Lawson notes the successful combination of comedy and tragedy, real and mystical in Vorozhbytʼs play. The second work, Neda Nezhdanaʼs Kitty in Memory of Darkness is a monologue of an unnamed woman from Donbas who tries to sell kittens on the street, and tells the story of the occupation of Donbas. The reviewer writes that both plays make it clear that the threat to Ukraineʼs freedom did not begin on February 24, but many years ago.