The German government holds Russia responsible for a cyberattack on German air traffic control, and for targeted disinformation campaigns before the last federal election. According to the German Foreign Office in Berlin, the incidents could be clearly attributed to the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU. In response, the Russian ambassador to Berlin was summoned to the Foreign Ministry. "We have been observing a massive increase in threatening hybrid activities by Russia for some time now," a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry stated. These range from disinformation campaigns and espionage to cyberattacks and sabotage attempts. The aim is to divide society, sow distrust, and undermine confidence in democratic institutions. The spokesperson added that with these actions, Russia is "very concretely threatening our security, not only through its war of aggression against Ukraine, but also here in Germany."  The Foreign Ministry spokesperson explained that the cyberattack on air traffic control in August 2024 was clearly attributed to the hacker collective "APT28," known as "Fancy Bear," and to the responsibility of the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU. Furthermore, it could now be "conclusively stated" that Russia had attempted "to influence and destabilize both the last Federal election and the ongoing internal affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany." There was "absolutely irrefutable evidence" for this". The so-called "Storm 1516" campaign, which has been running since 2024, is allegedly backed by "reliable information" that the Moscow-based think tank "Center for Geopolitical Expertise" is behind it. The Center is also said to be supported by Russian military intelligence. Its primary aim is to influence democratic elections in the West. (Click the image to read more).

Russia could attack a NATO country within the next five years, the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, said in a stark new warning. "NATO's own defences can hold for now," Rutte warned in Berlin, but conflict was "next door" to Europe, and he feared "too many are quietly complacent, and too many don't feel the urgency, too many believe that time is on our side. "Russia is already escalating its covert campaign against our societies," Rutte said in a speech in Germany. "We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured." Earlier this month, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said his country was not planning to go to war with Europe, but it was ready "right now" if Europe wanted to - or started a war. But similar reassurances were given by Moscow in 2022, just before 200,000 Russian troops crossed the border and invaded Ukraine. Putin has accused European countries of hindering US efforts to bring peace in Ukraine - a reference to the role Ukraine's European allies have recently played in trying to change a US peace plan to end the war, whose initial draft was seen as favouring Russia. But Putin was not sincere, Nato's secretary-general said in the German capital, Berlin. Supporting Ukraine, he added, was a guarantee for European security. "Just imagine if Putin got his way; Ukraine under the boot of Russian occupation, his forces pressing against a longer border with Nato, and the significantly increased risk of an armed attack against us." Russia's economy has been on a war footing for more than three years now - its factories churn out ever more supplies of drones, missiles and artillery shells. According to a recent report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Russia has been producing each month around 150 tanks, 550 infantry fighting vehicles, 120 Lancet drones and more than 50 artillery pieces. The UK, and most of its Western allies, are simply not anywhere near this point. Analysts say it would take years for Western Europe's factories to come close to matching Russia's mass-production of weapons. "Allied defence spending and production must rise rapidly, our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe," the Nato chief said.

Renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has entered its fourth day, with both sides accusing one another of violating international law, as they await a promised phone call from United States President Donald Trump. Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence accused Thailand’s military of carrying out numerous attacks within the country in the early hours of Thursday morning, including deploying tanks and artillery to strike targets in the country’s Pursat, Banteay Meanchey, and Oddar Meanchey provinces. In one such attack, Cambodia accused Thai soldiers of violating international humanitarian law by firing on civilians in Prey Chan village in Banteay Meanchey province. In another, it accused Thai forces of shelling “into Khnar Temple area”, and said Thai forces had also “fired artillery and support fire into the O’Smach area”. “Cambodia urges that Thailand immediately stop all hostile activities and withdraw its forces from Cambodia’s territorial integrity, and avoid acts of aggression that threaten peace and stability in the region,” the Defence Ministry said. Clashes took place on Wednesday at more than a dozen locations along the contested colonial-era demarcated 817-kilometre (508-mile) Thai-Cambodian border, with some of the most intense fighting being reported since a five-day battle in July, which saw dozens killed on both sides. Cambodia’s Ministry of the Interior said homes, schools, roads, Buddhist pagodas and ancient temples had been damaged by “Thailand’s intensified shelling and F-16 air strikes targeting villages and civilian population centres up to 30km [18.6 miles] inside Cambodian territory”. (click the image to read the full story).

There is no denying that the EU, especially key member states acting in support, helped bring Baku and Yerevan closer to the Washington Declaration of August 8, 2025. But a declaration is not a treaty. Turning principles into a peace deal and eventually to a sustainable peace requires consistent long-term European involvement, writes Yalchin Mammadov in this-op-ed for commonspace.eu Before facilitating trust between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the EU is first expected to address its own credibility gap with Baku. A more balanced approach—such as including Azerbaijan, alongside Armenia, in the European Peace Facility—could be a useful first step. Diplomats can negotiate peace; societies must build peace. In this context, the EU can do what it does the best: long-term societal engagement. By expanding youth and academic exchange programmes, investing in cross-border civil society initiatives, and fostering people-to-people cooperation, Brussels can help shape a new generation equipped to sustain peace beyond political cycles. Such tools are slow and unglamorous, but if ignored, even the strongest treaty risks collapse. And obviously, these aspects require two-way engagement and genuine willingness by both governments to facilitate contact. If Brussels wants to remain influential, it needs to replace outdated one-size-fits-all policies with ambitious, interest-driven and differentiated approaches. Without a clear regional strategy, which appears to be the current situation, the South Caucasus will continue to sit at the margins of Europe’s security architecture—leaving space for other powers to take the lead. (You can read the op-ed in full by clicking the image.)

Sudan’s latest war began in April 2023, though the seeds of its violence were planted long before. The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces did not collide out of nowhere; they emerged from decades of political rot, unaddressed grievances, ethnic persecution, and military rule that carved deep fractures into the country’s social fabric. When fighting exploded across Khartoum and later consumed Darfur, Kordofan, and the east, it unleashed one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of the 21st century. In this op-ed, Ioana-Maria Ungureanu, Junior Research Assistant at LINKS Europe, takes a heartfelt look at the plight of Sudan, and its children. When the latest war started, whole cities emptied. Markets burned. Families fled on foot. And a famine began tightening its grip, slow and suffocating. And yet, the world remained mostly silent. Sudanese death is too often framed as an unfortunate feature of the region, a tragedy that feels expected rather than outrageous. Even when evidence of atrocity is abundant, it fails to command the same emotional weight. Sudan should not have to beg for visibility. It deserves it. Because its people deserve to live. And their lives deserve the same respect, safety, and hope that we demand for our own. (read the op-ed in full by clicking the image above)