EUROPE – Anti-tank ditches near the occupied town of Polohy in southeastern Ukraine stretch for 30 km. Behind them are rows of concrete barricades called “dragon’s teeth.” Further back are defensive trenches where Russian troops will be positioned.

EUROPE – During the Russian occupation of Balakliia in Ukraine, over 200 civilians were illegally detained, and some were subjected to torture, according to testimonies collected by Reuters. The town’s military commander, nicknamed “Granit,” has been identified as Valery Sergeyevich Buslov, a 46-year-old Russian military police lieutenant colonel. Although Reuters found no evidence proving that Buslov personally committed or ordered abuses in Balakliia, he was in close proximity to where these abuses took place.

EUROPE – Poland and Hungary imposed restrictions on certain imports from Ukraine on Saturday. Slovakia announced on Monday that it would follow suit, and other Central and Eastern European countries indicated they were also considering similar measures. Black Sea ports were blocked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, causing logistical difficulties and immobilizing significant quantities of cheaper Ukrainian grain – compared to those produced in the European Union – in Central European countries.

EUROPE – The 41-year-old father of three, Vladimir Kara-Murza, is an opposition politician holding both Russian and British passports. He has spent years criticizing President Vladimir Putin and urging Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia and Russian citizens for alleged human rights abuses.

EUROPE – A Ukrainian presidential advisor, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told Reuters that Ukrainian forces are noticing an increasing presence of Chinese components in Russian weapons deployed in Ukraine. Supplies from Western countries are limited due to sanctions imposed on Russia.

EUROPE – Ukrainian authorities report that Russia has moved forces from other front sectors to launch a major attack on Bakhmut, a city Moscow has been trying to capture for nine months in order to revive the full-scale invasion initiated over a year ago.

EUROPE – Alexei Navalny, the most prominent opposition politician in Russia, is enduring intense abdominal pain in detention, which could be caused by a slow poisoning, his spokesperson announced on Thursday. An ambulance was called for Navalny on Friday night at the high-security IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, about 250 km east of Moscow, where he is incarcerated, Kira Yarmysh, his spokesperson, told Reuters.

EUROPE – Documents allegedly from US intelligence services and published on the web indicate that up to 354,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers may have been killed or injured in the conflict in Ukraine, which could extend well beyond 2023. If these documents are authentic, they provide a unique insight into Washington’s perspective on one of the bloodiest conflicts in Europe since World War II.

EUROPE – Macron made these comments during an interview on a trip to China, which aimed to demonstrate European unity on Chinese policy, in the presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. However, these statements revealed divisions within the European Union.

EUROPE – On Thursday, European Union officials spoke with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about global food security and sanctions imposed on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. They also approved a plan to provide more artillery ammunition to Kyiv.

EUROPE – Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, stated that Ukraine has chosen to fight in the ravaged city of Bakhmut because it weakens Russian elite forces in anticipation of a Ukrainian counter-offensive planned for spring. Podolyak’s comments are the latest indication of a strategy shift by Kiev this week to continue defending the small eastern town, the scene of the deadliest battle of the war, as Moscow seeks its first major victory in over six months.