Mark Duursma

@markduursma.eurosky.social

Buitenlandredacteur NRC. Posts over Midden- en Oost-Europa, Balkan, Kaukasus, Oekraïne, Rusland / Foreign desk NRC. Posts about Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Caucasus, Ukraine, Russia www.nrc.nl

Europa brandt. In een zomer dat regen schaars is en de temperaturen onveranderd hoog, is meer Europees gebied dan ooit door vuur verteerd. En het eind is nog niet in zicht. Dit zijn de grafieken van de verwoesting. buff.ly/NR1KJ03

De hete zomer van ’26: nooit stond zoveel grondgebied van Europa in brand

Natuurbranden: Europa brandt. In een zomer dat regen schaars is en de temperaturen onveranderd hoog, is meer Europees gebied dan ooit door vuur verteerd. En het eind is nog niet in zicht. Dit zijn de…

nrc.nl

The deliberate destruction of a people's culture, including books, museums, cultural landmarks and churches, constitutes cultural genocide, or 'culturicide' – a term coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, in the same book that introduced the term 'genocide'. www.kyivpost.com/post/81650

One of Kherson’s Last Landmarks Destroyed as Russian Drone Strikes 300-Year-Old Cossack Church

Built in 1726 without a single metal nail, the oak Cossack church survived years of shelling in the de-occupied Kherson region.

kyivpost.com

⚡️ Ukraine will 'never' join NATO, ex-commander Zaluzhnyi says. "It is impossible for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, given their current level of development, to join an organization that is guided by World War II doctrines," Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K., Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said.

Ukraine will 'never' join NATO, ex-commander Zaluzhnyi says

"It is impossible for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, given their current level of development, to join an organization that is guided by World War II doctrines," Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K., Valerii...

kyivindependent.com

Drie Nederlandse correspondenten in Warschau besteedden afgelopen week aandacht aan de Poolse geschiedenis. De aanleiding: juli is de maand waarin oorlogen en massamoorden worden herdacht. Samen vormen ze een Pools drieluik. Een bloederig draadje. 1/4

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#Serbia: We have just published a mission report including key recommendations. Media freedom in Serbia is in a deepening crisis with a rapidly closing window for independent journalism to operate. Read our recommendations w/@mediafreedomeu.bsky.social @coemediafreedom.bsky.social 👇🧵

Serbia: A dangerous spiral of violence against journalists

Record levels of physical violence against journalists, death threats and online smear campaigns, entrenched impunity, and tight political control over ...

europeanjournalists.org

Serbia must show real commitment to EU values.   Progress towards EU membership of Serbia only possible with rule of law reforms and stronger democratic standards. Serbia must normalize relations with Kosovo. Free and fair elections needed to solve political crisis.

Infographic about Serbia showing its status as an official EU candidate since 2012, with a GDP per capita of €13,526 and a population of 6.6 million. A map of Europe displays EU member states in dark blue and candidate countries in light blue, with Serbia highlighted and marked by a yellow arrow. The Serbian flag is displayed over Serbia's location on the map. Source: European Commission, Eurostat (2025). European Parliament logo sits in the bottom right corner.

Today, Viktor Orbán’s former foreign minister Péter Szijjártó stunned everyone by quitting parliament—not to join Gazprom’s board, as some expected, but to lead external relations at Chinese EV giant BYD, which he had backed with billions of forints as minister. Quite shameless.

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