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There are so many pending court cases against allies of Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s Socialist prime minister, that a newspaper story on New Year’s Eve forecast that 2026 would be his “judicial Calvary”. They include half a dozen investigations into allegations of corruption against his closest political allies. In addition, the country’s constitutional court is likely to hear an appeal against the Supreme Court’s conviction and dismissal of Álvaro García Ortiz, the former prosecutor-general, for leaking the tax problems of the romantic partner of the head of the Madrid regional government. And judges have charged Mr Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, and his brother with conflicts of interest (both say they are innocent).

The prime minister and his allies consider this a campaign of judicial harassment aimed at overthrowing the government.

...

The wider problem for Spain’s democracy is that the judiciary has become a political football. Some Spaniards think judges have always been influenced by politics, and it has merely become more explicit.

...

Nobody seriously questions ... judicial investigations into corruption. “It’s not true that the judiciary is [biased] against the government,” says Elisa de la Nuez, a campaigner for the rule of law. But the pushback is worrying, she adds. “For the first time judges feel threatened by political power.” In the long term, that is in nobody’s interest. It is up to politicians to take the first step, by ceasing to seek to judicialise politics. But given how polarised Spain has become, that may be too much to ask.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6632765

• Iran has sold nearly $3 billion worth of missiles to Russia to aid President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, according to a Western security official.
• The purchases have included hundreds of Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles, nearly 500 other short-range ballistic missiles and approximately 200 surface-to-air missiles.
• Russia has spent more than the equivalent of $4 billion on Iranian military equipment since late 2021.

...

Contracts with Moscow starting from October 2021 — before the war began — for ballistic and surface-to-air missiles amount to roughly $2.7 billion, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

...

Moscow and Tehran have drawn closer since Putin’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has triggered sweeping sanctions against Moscow and the Kremlin’s most serious confrontation with the West since the Cold War, while Iran’s provision of weapons to Russia has further deepened the two countries’ partnership.

...

Iran has delivered millions of rounds of ammunition and shells, according to the assessment, which doesn’t represent the entirety of what Moscow has purchased from Tehran as more equipment is expected to be supplied.

Tehran has also supplied Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drones and shared technology that has enabled Russia to manufacture them domestically under the name “Geran-2” as part of a $1.75 billion contract signed at the beginning of 2023.

...

Iran, whose government is crushing ongoing violent protests, sought to deepen its ties with Russia starting in the 2010s, smarting from the West’s ability to isolate it over the country’s nuclear program.

While Iran signed a strategic partnership with Russia in January 2025, it doesn’t contain a mutual-defense pact and Moscow didn’t offer any tangible assistance to Tehran during Israeli and US strikes on Iran last year. Russia is building a trade route with Tehran connecting to India to try to weaken the impact of sanctions, and officials have discussed boosting financial and banking cooperation.

• Iran has sold nearly $3 billion worth of missiles to Russia to aid President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, according to a Western security official.
• The purchases have included hundreds of Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles, nearly 500 other short-range ballistic missiles and approximately 200 surface-to-air missiles.
• Russia has spent more than the equivalent of $4 billion on Iranian military equipment since late 2021.

...

Contracts with Moscow starting from October 2021 — before the war began — for ballistic and surface-to-air missiles amount to roughly $2.7 billion, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

...

Moscow and Tehran have drawn closer since Putin’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has triggered sweeping sanctions against Moscow and the Kremlin’s most serious confrontation with the West since the Cold War, while Iran’s provision of weapons to Russia has further deepened the two countries’ partnership.

...

Iran has delivered millions of rounds of ammunition and shells, according to the assessment, which doesn’t represent the entirety of what Moscow has purchased from Tehran as more equipment is expected to be supplied.

Tehran has also supplied Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drones and shared technology that has enabled Russia to manufacture them domestically under the name “Geran-2” as part of a $1.75 billion contract signed at the beginning of 2023.

...

Iran, whose government is crushing ongoing violent protests, sought to deepen its ties with Russia starting in the 2010s, smarting from the West’s ability to isolate it over the country’s nuclear program.

While Iran signed a strategic partnership with Russia in January 2025, it doesn’t contain a mutual-defense pact and Moscow didn’t offer any tangible assistance to Tehran during Israeli and US strikes on Iran last year. Russia is building a trade route with Tehran connecting to India to try to weaken the impact of sanctions, and officials have discussed boosting financial and banking cooperation.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6632613

...

Polina Azarnykh, a 40-year-old former teacher, uses a Telegram channel to lure young men, often from poor countries, into joining Russia's military.

The former teacher's smiling video messages and upbeat posts offer "one-year contracts" for "military service".

The BBC World Service has identified nearly 500 cases where she has provided documents, referred to as invitations, which allow the recipient to enter Russia to join the military. These have been for men - mainly from Syria, Egypt and Yemen - who appear to have sent her their passport details in order to enlist.

But recruits and their relatives have told the BBC that she misled men into believing they would avoid combat, failed to make clear they could not leave after a year and threatened those who challenged her. When contacted by the BBC, she rejected the allegations.

Twelve families told us of young men they say were recruited by her who are now dead or missing.

...

Azarnykh's Telegram channel has 21,000 subscribers. Her posts have often told readers wanting to apply to join the Russian military to send her a scan of their passport. She has then posted invitation documents, sometimes with a list of names of the men they are for.

The BBC has identified more than 490 such invitations that she has sent over the past year to men from countries including Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

Her posts have mentioned recruitment for an "elite international battalion" and made it clear that people in Russia illegally - including those whose visas have expired - are eligible.

...

Many felt Azarnykh had misled or exploited recruits. They told us the men knew they were joining the military, but did not expect to serve on the front line. Several, like Omar, felt they had inadequate training or thought they would be able to leave after a year.

...

Azarnykh became "one of the most important recruiters" for Russia's army, says Habib, another Syrian who has served in Russia's military. He was willing to be filmed but spoke under a pseudonym for fear of repercussions.

Habib says he and Azarnykh "worked together for around three years on visa invitations to Russia". He gave no further details and we have not been able to confirm his role in the process. An image from social media in 2024 shows him alongside her.

Azarnykh, who is from Russia's south-western Voronezh region, ran a Facebook group helping Arab students come to Moscow to study, before starting her Telegram channel in 2024.

...

Azarnykh's posts from mid-2024 begin to note that recruits will be "participating in hostilities" and mention foreign fighters who have died in combat.

"You all understood well that you were going to war," she says in one video in October 2024. "You thought that you could get a Russian passport, do nothing and live in a five-star hotel?... Nothing happens for free."

In another case, in 2024, the BBC has heard a voice message sent by Azarnykh to a mother whose son was serving in the military. Azarnykh says the woman has "published something horrible about the Russian army". Using expletives, she threatens the son's life and warns the woman: "I'll find you and all your children."

The BBC made multiple attempts to contact Azarnykh. Initially she said she would do an interview with us if we travelled to Russia, but the BBC declined for safety reasons. Later, when asked in a voice call about claims that recruits were promised non-combat roles, she hung up. In voice notes sent afterwards, she said our work was "not professional" and warned of potential defamation proceedings. She also said: "Our respected Arabs can stick their accusations up their arses."

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6632613

...

Polina Azarnykh, a 40-year-old former teacher, uses a Telegram channel to lure young men, often from poor countries, into joining Russia's military.

The former teacher's smiling video messages and upbeat posts offer "one-year contracts" for "military service".

The BBC World Service has identified nearly 500 cases where she has provided documents, referred to as invitations, which allow the recipient to enter Russia to join the military. These have been for men - mainly from Syria, Egypt and Yemen - who appear to have sent her their passport details in order to enlist.

But recruits and their relatives have told the BBC that she misled men into believing they would avoid combat, failed to make clear they could not leave after a year and threatened those who challenged her. When contacted by the BBC, she rejected the allegations.

Twelve families told us of young men they say were recruited by her who are now dead or missing.

...

Azarnykh's Telegram channel has 21,000 subscribers. Her posts have often told readers wanting to apply to join the Russian military to send her a scan of their passport. She has then posted invitation documents, sometimes with a list of names of the men they are for.

The BBC has identified more than 490 such invitations that she has sent over the past year to men from countries including Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

Her posts have mentioned recruitment for an "elite international battalion" and made it clear that people in Russia illegally - including those whose visas have expired - are eligible.

...

Many felt Azarnykh had misled or exploited recruits. They told us the men knew they were joining the military, but did not expect to serve on the front line. Several, like Omar, felt they had inadequate training or thought they would be able to leave after a year.

...

Azarnykh became "one of the most important recruiters" for Russia's army, says Habib, another Syrian who has served in Russia's military. He was willing to be filmed but spoke under a pseudonym for fear of repercussions.

Habib says he and Azarnykh "worked together for around three years on visa invitations to Russia". He gave no further details and we have not been able to confirm his role in the process. An image from social media in 2024 shows him alongside her.

Azarnykh, who is from Russia's south-western Voronezh region, ran a Facebook group helping Arab students come to Moscow to study, before starting her Telegram channel in 2024.

...

Azarnykh's posts from mid-2024 begin to note that recruits will be "participating in hostilities" and mention foreign fighters who have died in combat.

"You all understood well that you were going to war," she says in one video in October 2024. "You thought that you could get a Russian passport, do nothing and live in a five-star hotel?... Nothing happens for free."

In another case, in 2024, the BBC has heard a voice message sent by Azarnykh to a mother whose son was serving in the military. Azarnykh says the woman has "published something horrible about the Russian army". Using expletives, she threatens the son's life and warns the woman: "I'll find you and all your children."

The BBC made multiple attempts to contact Azarnykh. Initially she said she would do an interview with us if we travelled to Russia, but the BBC declined for safety reasons. Later, when asked in a voice call about claims that recruits were promised non-combat roles, she hung up. In voice notes sent afterwards, she said our work was "not professional" and warned of potential defamation proceedings. She also said: "Our respected Arabs can stick their accusations up their arses."

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6632613

...

Polina Azarnykh, a 40-year-old former teacher, uses a Telegram channel to lure young men, often from poor countries, into joining Russia's military.

The former teacher's smiling video messages and upbeat posts offer "one-year contracts" for "military service".

The BBC World Service has identified nearly 500 cases where she has provided documents, referred to as invitations, which allow the recipient to enter Russia to join the military. These have been for men - mainly from Syria, Egypt and Yemen - who appear to have sent her their passport details in order to enlist.

But recruits and their relatives have told the BBC that she misled men into believing they would avoid combat, failed to make clear they could not leave after a year and threatened those who challenged her. When contacted by the BBC, she rejected the allegations.

Twelve families told us of young men they say were recruited by her who are now dead or missing.

...

Azarnykh's Telegram channel has 21,000 subscribers. Her posts have often told readers wanting to apply to join the Russian military to send her a scan of their passport. She has then posted invitation documents, sometimes with a list of names of the men they are for.

The BBC has identified more than 490 such invitations that she has sent over the past year to men from countries including Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

Her posts have mentioned recruitment for an "elite international battalion" and made it clear that people in Russia illegally - including those whose visas have expired - are eligible.

...

Many felt Azarnykh had misled or exploited recruits. They told us the men knew they were joining the military, but did not expect to serve on the front line. Several, like Omar, felt they had inadequate training or thought they would be able to leave after a year.

...

Azarnykh became "one of the most important recruiters" for Russia's army, says Habib, another Syrian who has served in Russia's military. He was willing to be filmed but spoke under a pseudonym for fear of repercussions.

Habib says he and Azarnykh "worked together for around three years on visa invitations to Russia". He gave no further details and we have not been able to confirm his role in the process. An image from social media in 2024 shows him alongside her.

Azarnykh, who is from Russia's south-western Voronezh region, ran a Facebook group helping Arab students come to Moscow to study, before starting her Telegram channel in 2024.

...

Azarnykh's posts from mid-2024 begin to note that recruits will be "participating in hostilities" and mention foreign fighters who have died in combat.

"You all understood well that you were going to war," she says in one video in October 2024. "You thought that you could get a Russian passport, do nothing and live in a five-star hotel?... Nothing happens for free."

In another case, in 2024, the BBC has heard a voice message sent by Azarnykh to a mother whose son was serving in the military. Azarnykh says the woman has "published something horrible about the Russian army". Using expletives, she threatens the son's life and warns the woman: "I'll find you and all your children."

The BBC made multiple attempts to contact Azarnykh. Initially she said she would do an interview with us if we travelled to Russia, but the BBC declined for safety reasons. Later, when asked in a voice call about claims that recruits were promised non-combat roles, she hung up. In voice notes sent afterwards, she said our work was "not professional" and warned of potential defamation proceedings. She also said: "Our respected Arabs can stick their accusations up their arses."

...

...

Polina Azarnykh, a 40-year-old former teacher, uses a Telegram channel to lure young men, often from poor countries, into joining Russia's military.

The former teacher's smiling video messages and upbeat posts offer "one-year contracts" for "military service".

The BBC World Service has identified nearly 500 cases where she has provided documents, referred to as invitations, which allow the recipient to enter Russia to join the military. These have been for men - mainly from Syria, Egypt and Yemen - who appear to have sent her their passport details in order to enlist.

But recruits and their relatives have told the BBC that she misled men into believing they would avoid combat, failed to make clear they could not leave after a year and threatened those who challenged her. When contacted by the BBC, she rejected the allegations.

Twelve families told us of young men they say were recruited by her who are now dead or missing.

...

Azarnykh's Telegram channel has 21,000 subscribers. Her posts have often told readers wanting to apply to join the Russian military to send her a scan of their passport. She has then posted invitation documents, sometimes with a list of names of the men they are for.

The BBC has identified more than 490 such invitations that she has sent over the past year to men from countries including Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

Her posts have mentioned recruitment for an "elite international battalion" and made it clear that people in Russia illegally - including those whose visas have expired - are eligible.

...

Many felt Azarnykh had misled or exploited recruits. They told us the men knew they were joining the military, but did not expect to serve on the front line. Several, like Omar, felt they had inadequate training or thought they would be able to leave after a year.

...

Azarnykh became "one of the most important recruiters" for Russia's army, says Habib, another Syrian who has served in Russia's military. He was willing to be filmed but spoke under a pseudonym for fear of repercussions.

Habib says he and Azarnykh "worked together for around three years on visa invitations to Russia". He gave no further details and we have not been able to confirm his role in the process. An image from social media in 2024 shows him alongside her.

Azarnykh, who is from Russia's south-western Voronezh region, ran a Facebook group helping Arab students come to Moscow to study, before starting her Telegram channel in 2024.

...

Azarnykh's posts from mid-2024 begin to note that recruits will be "participating in hostilities" and mention foreign fighters who have died in combat.

"You all understood well that you were going to war," she says in one video in October 2024. "You thought that you could get a Russian passport, do nothing and live in a five-star hotel?... Nothing happens for free."

In another case, in 2024, the BBC has heard a voice message sent by Azarnykh to a mother whose son was serving in the military. Azarnykh says the woman has "published something horrible about the Russian army". Using expletives, she threatens the son's life and warns the woman: "I'll find you and all your children."

The BBC made multiple attempts to contact Azarnykh. Initially she said she would do an interview with us if we travelled to Russia, but the BBC declined for safety reasons. Later, when asked in a voice call about claims that recruits were promised non-combat roles, she hung up. In voice notes sent afterwards, she said our work was "not professional" and warned of potential defamation proceedings. She also said: "Our respected Arabs can stick their accusations up their arses."

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6632133

Chinese officials are using a ‘highly specific’ interpretation of EU rules to suggest Taiwanese figures should not be granted visas, EU officials say.

Archived version

Chinese officials have been pushing “legal advice” on European countries, saying their own border laws require them to ban entry to Taiwanese politicians, according to more than half a dozen diplomats and officials familiar with the matter.

The officials made demarches to European embassies in Beijing, or through local embassies directly to European governments in their capital cities, warning the European countries not to “trample on China’s red lines”, according to the European diplomats and ministries who spoke to the Guardian.

The manner of the approaches varied – some to individual countries and some as groups, some by written note verbale (a semiformal diplomatic communication) and others in person. They occurred in November and December, and were at least partly in response to recent European trips by Taiwanese officials including its current vice-president and foreign minister, and a former president.

...

Beijing said it “respects the sovereignty of the European side in introducing and implementing visa policy”, but an “institutional loophole” had allowed frequent visits by Taiwan politicians.

...

The officials’ suggestion, the Guardian understands, was that allowing Taiwanese officials to enter a European country would threaten that country’s international relations with China.

In some cases they also referred to the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, or suggested the European countries follow the UN’s example and bar all Taiwanese people from government buildings, the Guardian was told.

“Beijing’s application and interpretation of this regulation is bold,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, assistant professor at Taiwan’s National Dong Hwa University, when told about the moves. “It is Beijing’s interpretation that EU-Taiwan ties threaten EU-China ties. This is not at all the perception or reality in Europe.”

...

The [Chinese] note verbale said European countries should reject any “so-called diplomatic passports” issued by Taiwan, and “prohibit Taiwanese personnel from entering Europe to seek official contact and exchanges and trample on China’s red line”.

“China hopes the EU institutions and European countries will, out of the larger interests of China-EU relations and bilateral relations, make the political decision of refusing the entry of Taiwan’s so-called president or vice president (former ones included),” it said, also listing other officials.

The note cited visits by the officials to Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Germany, Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland, saying they “seriously undermine China-EU relations”.

...

“The European side … even indulged [vice-president] Hsiao Bi-khim to speak at the building of the European parliament and promote ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist claims,” it said, referring to a speech given by Hsiao to the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) in Brussels.

...

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: “Permission to enter the UK is determined solely by our own laws and immigration rules, which apply equally to those travelling from Taiwan.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said officials’ visits to Europe were “entirely unrelated to China, and China has no right to interfere”.

“On the contrary, China’s use of various coercive measures against other countries and its threats of force against Taiwan, which undermine global and Indo-Pacific peace and stability and threaten the direct interests of the EU, is the real force damaging European international relations,” the spokesperson told the Guardian.

...

“I see this as another way to generate unease among member states that their relations with the [People’s Republic of China] might be at risk … and Beijing knows well that some EU member states are very keen to attract Chinese investment at present,” said Ferenczy.

The EU does not take a position on Taiwan’s status, and while it has formal relations with Beijing it also maintains “solid” unofficial relations with Taipei through parliamentary diplomacy and trade. Several European countries and the EU have trade offices that act as unofficial embassies in Taipei.

...

However in recent years the bloc has come under increasing pressure from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as a province of China, and intends to annex it – by force if necessary. Among its strategies to coerce Taiwan into accepting unification without conflict, Beijing puts intense diplomatic pressure on the international community to isolate Taipei from multilateral engagement.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6632133

Chinese officials are using a ‘highly specific’ interpretation of EU rules to suggest Taiwanese figures should not be granted visas, EU officials say.

Archived version

Chinese officials have been pushing “legal advice” on European countries, saying their own border laws require them to ban entry to Taiwanese politicians, according to more than half a dozen diplomats and officials familiar with the matter.

The officials made demarches to European embassies in Beijing, or through local embassies directly to European governments in their capital cities, warning the European countries not to “trample on China’s red lines”, according to the European diplomats and ministries who spoke to the Guardian.

The manner of the approaches varied – some to individual countries and some as groups, some by written note verbale (a semiformal diplomatic communication) and others in person. They occurred in November and December, and were at least partly in response to recent European trips by Taiwanese officials including its current vice-president and foreign minister, and a former president.

...

Beijing said it “respects the sovereignty of the European side in introducing and implementing visa policy”, but an “institutional loophole” had allowed frequent visits by Taiwan politicians.

...

The officials’ suggestion, the Guardian understands, was that allowing Taiwanese officials to enter a European country would threaten that country’s international relations with China.

In some cases they also referred to the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, or suggested the European countries follow the UN’s example and bar all Taiwanese people from government buildings, the Guardian was told.

“Beijing’s application and interpretation of this regulation is bold,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, assistant professor at Taiwan’s National Dong Hwa University, when told about the moves. “It is Beijing’s interpretation that EU-Taiwan ties threaten EU-China ties. This is not at all the perception or reality in Europe.”

...

The [Chinese] note verbale said European countries should reject any “so-called diplomatic passports” issued by Taiwan, and “prohibit Taiwanese personnel from entering Europe to seek official contact and exchanges and trample on China’s red line”.

“China hopes the EU institutions and European countries will, out of the larger interests of China-EU relations and bilateral relations, make the political decision of refusing the entry of Taiwan’s so-called president or vice president (former ones included),” it said, also listing other officials.

The note cited visits by the officials to Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Germany, Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland, saying they “seriously undermine China-EU relations”.

...

“The European side … even indulged [vice-president] Hsiao Bi-khim to speak at the building of the European parliament and promote ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist claims,” it said, referring to a speech given by Hsiao to the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) in Brussels.

...

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: “Permission to enter the UK is determined solely by our own laws and immigration rules, which apply equally to those travelling from Taiwan.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said officials’ visits to Europe were “entirely unrelated to China, and China has no right to interfere”.

“On the contrary, China’s use of various coercive measures against other countries and its threats of force against Taiwan, which undermine global and Indo-Pacific peace and stability and threaten the direct interests of the EU, is the real force damaging European international relations,” the spokesperson told the Guardian.

...

“I see this as another way to generate unease among member states that their relations with the [People’s Republic of China] might be at risk … and Beijing knows well that some EU member states are very keen to attract Chinese investment at present,” said Ferenczy.

The EU does not take a position on Taiwan’s status, and while it has formal relations with Beijing it also maintains “solid” unofficial relations with Taipei through parliamentary diplomacy and trade. Several European countries and the EU have trade offices that act as unofficial embassies in Taipei.

...

However in recent years the bloc has come under increasing pressure from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as a province of China, and intends to annex it – by force if necessary. Among its strategies to coerce Taiwan into accepting unification without conflict, Beijing puts intense diplomatic pressure on the international community to isolate Taipei from multilateral engagement.

...

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/6632133

Chinese officials are using a ‘highly specific’ interpretation of EU rules to suggest Taiwanese figures should not be granted visas, EU officials say.

Archived version

Chinese officials have been pushing “legal advice” on European countries, saying their own border laws require them to ban entry to Taiwanese politicians, according to more than half a dozen diplomats and officials familiar with the matter.

The officials made demarches to European embassies in Beijing, or through local embassies directly to European governments in their capital cities, warning the European countries not to “trample on China’s red lines”, according to the European diplomats and ministries who spoke to the Guardian.

The manner of the approaches varied – some to individual countries and some as groups, some by written note verbale (a semiformal diplomatic communication) and others in person. They occurred in November and December, and were at least partly in response to recent European trips by Taiwanese officials including its current vice-president and foreign minister, and a former president.

...

Beijing said it “respects the sovereignty of the European side in introducing and implementing visa policy”, but an “institutional loophole” had allowed frequent visits by Taiwan politicians.

...

The officials’ suggestion, the Guardian understands, was that allowing Taiwanese officials to enter a European country would threaten that country’s international relations with China.

In some cases they also referred to the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, or suggested the European countries follow the UN’s example and bar all Taiwanese people from government buildings, the Guardian was told.

“Beijing’s application and interpretation of this regulation is bold,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, assistant professor at Taiwan’s National Dong Hwa University, when told about the moves. “It is Beijing’s interpretation that EU-Taiwan ties threaten EU-China ties. This is not at all the perception or reality in Europe.”

...

The [Chinese] note verbale said European countries should reject any “so-called diplomatic passports” issued by Taiwan, and “prohibit Taiwanese personnel from entering Europe to seek official contact and exchanges and trample on China’s red line”.

“China hopes the EU institutions and European countries will, out of the larger interests of China-EU relations and bilateral relations, make the political decision of refusing the entry of Taiwan’s so-called president or vice president (former ones included),” it said, also listing other officials.

The note cited visits by the officials to Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Germany, Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland, saying they “seriously undermine China-EU relations”.

...

“The European side … even indulged [vice-president] Hsiao Bi-khim to speak at the building of the European parliament and promote ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist claims,” it said, referring to a speech given by Hsiao to the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) in Brussels.

...

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: “Permission to enter the UK is determined solely by our own laws and immigration rules, which apply equally to those travelling from Taiwan.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said officials’ visits to Europe were “entirely unrelated to China, and China has no right to interfere”.

“On the contrary, China’s use of various coercive measures against other countries and its threats of force against Taiwan, which undermine global and Indo-Pacific peace and stability and threaten the direct interests of the EU, is the real force damaging European international relations,” the spokesperson told the Guardian.

...

“I see this as another way to generate unease among member states that their relations with the [People’s Republic of China] might be at risk … and Beijing knows well that some EU member states are very keen to attract Chinese investment at present,” said Ferenczy.

The EU does not take a position on Taiwan’s status, and while it has formal relations with Beijing it also maintains “solid” unofficial relations with Taipei through parliamentary diplomacy and trade. Several European countries and the EU have trade offices that act as unofficial embassies in Taipei.

...

However in recent years the bloc has come under increasing pressure from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as a province of China, and intends to annex it – by force if necessary. Among its strategies to coerce Taiwan into accepting unification without conflict, Beijing puts intense diplomatic pressure on the international community to isolate Taipei from multilateral engagement.

...

Chinese officials are using a ‘highly specific’ interpretation of EU rules to suggest Taiwanese figures should not be granted visas, EU officials say.

Archived version

Chinese officials have been pushing “legal advice” on European countries, saying their own border laws require them to ban entry to Taiwanese politicians, according to more than half a dozen diplomats and officials familiar with the matter.

The officials made demarches to European embassies in Beijing, or through local embassies directly to European governments in their capital cities, warning the European countries not to “trample on China’s red lines”, according to the European diplomats and ministries who spoke to the Guardian.

The manner of the approaches varied – some to individual countries and some as groups, some by written note verbale (a semiformal diplomatic communication) and others in person. They occurred in November and December, and were at least partly in response to recent European trips by Taiwanese officials including its current vice-president and foreign minister, and a former president.

...

Beijing said it “respects the sovereignty of the European side in introducing and implementing visa policy”, but an “institutional loophole” had allowed frequent visits by Taiwan politicians.

...

The officials’ suggestion, the Guardian understands, was that allowing Taiwanese officials to enter a European country would threaten that country’s international relations with China.

In some cases they also referred to the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations, or suggested the European countries follow the UN’s example and bar all Taiwanese people from government buildings, the Guardian was told.

“Beijing’s application and interpretation of this regulation is bold,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, assistant professor at Taiwan’s National Dong Hwa University, when told about the moves. “It is Beijing’s interpretation that EU-Taiwan ties threaten EU-China ties. This is not at all the perception or reality in Europe.”

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The [Chinese] note verbale said European countries should reject any “so-called diplomatic passports” issued by Taiwan, and “prohibit Taiwanese personnel from entering Europe to seek official contact and exchanges and trample on China’s red line”.

“China hopes the EU institutions and European countries will, out of the larger interests of China-EU relations and bilateral relations, make the political decision of refusing the entry of Taiwan’s so-called president or vice president (former ones included),” it said, also listing other officials.

The note cited visits by the officials to Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Germany, Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia and Ireland, saying they “seriously undermine China-EU relations”.

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“The European side … even indulged [vice-president] Hsiao Bi-khim to speak at the building of the European parliament and promote ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist claims,” it said, referring to a speech given by Hsiao to the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac) in Brussels.

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A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: “Permission to enter the UK is determined solely by our own laws and immigration rules, which apply equally to those travelling from Taiwan.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said officials’ visits to Europe were “entirely unrelated to China, and China has no right to interfere”.

“On the contrary, China’s use of various coercive measures against other countries and its threats of force against Taiwan, which undermine global and Indo-Pacific peace and stability and threaten the direct interests of the EU, is the real force damaging European international relations,” the spokesperson told the Guardian.

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“I see this as another way to generate unease among member states that their relations with the [People’s Republic of China] might be at risk … and Beijing knows well that some EU member states are very keen to attract Chinese investment at present,” said Ferenczy.

The EU does not take a position on Taiwan’s status, and while it has formal relations with Beijing it also maintains “solid” unofficial relations with Taipei through parliamentary diplomacy and trade. Several European countries and the EU have trade offices that act as unofficial embassies in Taipei.

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However in recent years the bloc has come under increasing pressure from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as a province of China, and intends to annex it – by force if necessary. Among its strategies to coerce Taiwan into accepting unification without conflict, Beijing puts intense diplomatic pressure on the international community to isolate Taipei from multilateral engagement.

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Archived version

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According to Kyiv Police, the ninth-grade student entered a classroom wearing a mask and helmet after preparing them in advance and attacked a 39-year-old teacher and a 14-year-old classmate with a knife. Both victims were hospitalized with stab and cut wounds, and doctors are assessing the severity of their injuries.

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Police said the student later locked himself in a restroom and inflicted knife wounds to his arm and abdomen. He was taken to hospital and is receiving medical care.

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During investigative actions, law enforcement officers found messages on the suspect’s phone indicating possible communication with hostile foreign intelligence services, police said, without providing further details.

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