War-torn Ukraine shares a river border with eastern Romania: the Danube. On the Romanian bank of the river, as summer approaches, residents are worried. (Rebroadcast)
The consequences of the war in Ukraine seen from the Romanian border
The war in Ukraine also has consequences for neighbouring countries, such as Poland, Hungary, Moldova… and the Romaniawhich shares a river border, the Danube, with its large neighbour at war. Russian bombings of cargo ships exporting Ukrainian wheat from the ports of Odessa and Izmail struck very close to NATO member Romania last year (2023), to the point that debris fell on the Romanian side in the delta countryside. A small fishing village even found itself at the centre of world attention when fragments of a Russian drone were found on its land. And the consequences for the inhabitants are disastrous. A balcony on the war is a report from Plauru, on the Romanian-Ukrainian border of Leonard Vincent.
In Moscow, the clear falcon leads its authors to prison
In Russiaopposition to the war is being brutally repressed, but not only that. The regime has strengthened its legislative arsenal so as to simply make any free public expression illegal. Last month, a particularly high-profile trial opened in Moscow. That of two women, Evgenia Berkovitch and Svetlana Petriïtchouk: one is a director, the other a playwright. Their play,Finist, the clear hawkhas found herself in the sights of the judicial authorities. The two artists are currently being tried for “apology for terrorism”. Etienne Bouche spoke with Antoine Nicolle, who translated the text into French, published by L’espace d’un instant.
Read alsoRussia: Two critical theatre artists sentenced to six years in prison
Far-right in power in Croatia
Following the parliamentary elections of 17 April 2024, conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was forced to form an alliance with the far-right Patriotic Movement (Domovinski pokret, DP). For the first time since independence, an openly xenophobic and anti-Serb party has thus come to power in Croatia. Women’s rights, migrants’ rights, freedom of the press, relations with Serbia… on several issues, Zagreb risks moving even further to the right. The leader of the DP, Ivan Penava, is mayor of the symbolic city of Vukovar, where he has pursued a policy of division, using the traumas of war and attacking the Serbian minority. Report from Vukovar byLouis Seiller.