Eurotopics.net

Not only Russian soldiers but also mercenaries from the Wagner Group founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin are fighting in the war against Ukraine. Partly recruited from prisons, these soldiers have a reputation for being particularly brutal. Commentators voice concern about the increasing use of private armies.

The gay Dutch author Pim Lammers has withdrawn as the writer of the Children's Book Week Poem 2023 after receiving numerous death threats. Citing a story Lammers wrote in 2015 about a relationship between a teenage boy and his trainer, the Christian group Gezin in Gevaar [Family in Danger] branded him a "paedophile author" in a petition. Prime Minister Mark Rutte has condemned the threats on Twitter.

The US Air Force shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the waters off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. Beijing insisted that the balloon was merely a civilian climate research tool that had been blown off course, and criticised the US's response as excessive. Europe's press would like to see more efforts to avoid an escalation on both sides.

"I believe Ukraine deserves to start negotiations on EU membership this year," Volodymyr Zelensky said in the run-up to Friday's EU-Ukraine summit. Now the summit is over without any mention of a timetable for accession. The debate about desirable perspectives and realistic expectations continues in the commentary sections.