This edition of State of the Union focuses on the ongoing Ukrainian incursion in Russia and the latest spat between the EU and Hungary over Budapest’s easing of immigration laws to include Russian and Belorussian nationals.
One of the stories that kept EU officials busy throughout the summer was Hungary’s anti-immigrant government’s decision to ease the country’s immigration scheme.
That immigration scheme allows foreign workers to stay in Hungary for at least two years and can pave the way towards permanent residency.
Budapest has now relaxed this rule to include nationals from Russia and Belarus.
This week, and not for the first time, Nordic and Baltic countries expressed concern that such a policy could be a serious security risk for the entire EU.
“There was never a Schengen free for Russian diplomats with hostile intentions, and there was never a Schengen free for possible security breaches by certain countries,” said Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže.
“This is why we take it very seriously as a security risk (…) and we are currently waiting for the evaluation from the Commission in terms of the legal complications that the Hungarian decision has created.”
The worry, of course, is that Russian spies and saboteurs could infiltrate the EU and commit all sorts of crimes.
Budapest dismissed such concerns saying that the Hungarian scheme was “in accordance with the relevant EU framework”.
Russia targets Ukrainian energy facilities
All this unfolds against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
This week, Russia intensified its missile and drone strikes, especially targeting energy facilities.
Moscow’s latest attacks are perceived as an effort to regain control of the conflict following Ukraine’s recent territorial gains in Russia’s Kursk region.
The Ukrainian incursion started on August 6 and has been surprisingly sustained.
A Swedish TV crew had access to Ukrainian-held Russian territory and produced a rare interview with Ukrainian soldiers.
“The fighting is non-stop throughout the area. We don’t know anything about the future. Possibly the Russians will gain strength,” said one of them.
“It depends on whether they mobilise reserves and what those reserves will be. If it’s just conscripts, it will not complicate the situation,” said another.
ADVERTISEMENT‘We have continued to overestimate Russian capabilities’
To talk about the Ukrainian incursion in Russia, we spoke to retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe.
Euronews: So, this Ukrainian operation in Russia is very likely not the beginning of a full-scale invasion. How would you characterize it, does it make any sense from a military point of view?
Hodges: This counter-offensive that Ukraine has launched in the Kursk direction is, I think, a brilliant stroke that is changing the momentum of the conflict. It’s also changing the narrative about the inevitable Russian victory. It’s too early to tell how far they plan to go or how long they plan to stay, or if it’s having an effect on Russian operations in the East yet. But I don’t think that this is a stand-alone operation as part of a larger, multi-domain effort by the Ukrainians.
Euronews: After more than three weeks, we haven’t really seen a Russian response – why do you think that is? Are they lacking resources, are they lacking a plan? What’s going on?
ADVERTISEMENTHodges: I think it’s attributable to a couple of things. First of all, on the Russian side, you’ve got rivalry and hatred between the General Staff and the FSB and the border forces, which are under control of the FSB. I mean, these guys hate each other. And so there’s not and never has been much cooperation between them. We saw that during the Prigozhin mutiny. But also Putin, of course, this is bad for him to have to deal with this. And I think he’s trying to ignore the Kursk operation, turns it over to FSB, “You guys treat it like a terrorist operation or counterterrorist operation.” So, I think he’s trying to avoid having to address what is a really significant problem.
Euronews: Is Russia’s military weaker than we all think?
Hodges: I would say we have continued to overestimate Russian capabilities. The problem is because they don’t care how many soldiers are killed. I mean that that’s not a factor for them to consider. They still have a lot of people that they can feed into this sort of meat grinder. And they still have enormous quantities of rockets and glide bombs and missiles and because of US and other European government policies, the Ukrainians are not able to strike the origin of these attacks. And so, Russia still has a lot of fight left in it.
Euronews: And finally, to what extent does the Ukrainian operation in Russia help the Ukrainians at the frontlines in their own territory?
ADVERTISEMENTHodges: I think this does a couple of things. First of all, psychologically it is a huge morale boost. I mean, when you’ve been sitting on the defence getting bombed day after day after day, most soldiers, they really want to hit back somehow. If this draws away Russian forces that are currently operating in the East, that should relieve some of the pressure on Ukrainian forces. I just can’t tell yet how much.
Paris 1944 liberation
From one ongoing war in Europe to one that ended a long time ago, at least for the people of Paris: This week, the French capital marked the 80th anniversary of its liberation by allied forces from Nazi occupation, nine months before the end of World War II.
On that day in August 1944, 1,532 days of nightmare came to an end, as French President Emmanuel Macron said at a ceremony.
A time when Paris was humiliated, and French cultural treasures were destroyed or stolen by the German occupiers.
ADVERTISEMENTMore than 1,400 Parisians lost their lives in street battles during the summer of 1944, until allied soldiers together with French fighting forces raced to the relief of the city.
The parade led by General de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French, has become an indelible part of France’s collective memory.
Macron then turned back his focus to the present and praised the Olympic “summer of flame and joy” – an event, Macron said, that will still be remembered 80 years from now.
