Europe Today: NATO warns Russia amid escalating hybrid attacks from Moscow

Good morning, it's Tuesday, October 13th, you're watching Euronews and this is Europe Today. Coming up, Ukrainian President Zelensky accused Russia of violating an energy ceasefire announced by Donald Trump, saying Kiev had not even been consulted about the purported agreement and had only learned of it through the media. Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, Zelensky questioned whether Moscow had agreed to the proposal at all, saying he had seen neither a public endorsement from Russia nor any let-up in its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Ukrainian strikes on Russian technology giant Yandex's data centers have been followed by a dramatic decline in automated online activity, raising questions about whether the attacks may also have disrupted Moscow's influence operations abroad. The sudden drop fueled speculation about just how much of the political debate on social media might have been driven by Russian bots. Three data centers operated by Yandex were hit by Ukrainian drone strikes over the past few days. And reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed to end the United Kingdom's asylum system for up to five years if the hard right party gets into power. He renewed his criticism of the government's handling of small boat crossings from mainland Europe as he outlined reforms his stance on those seeking asylum in Britain. Farage has accused Labour of having totally lost control of the UK's borders, whilst Labour says crossing figures have continued to come down in recent years. And this breaking news just coming in. According to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, two ships were hit by drones in the Black Sea and one sank. We don't have more details right now, but you can follow this story on our website. Welcome to the program. I'm Stefan Grobel. Now to our top story. NATO's highest commander has said the alliance is ready to deter any attack on its territory in a warning to Russia. Speaking at a security conference in Warsaw, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexis Grynkevich said the alliance would block blunt and break any assault on its territory the warning comes amid escalating Russian hybrid attacks on NATO's eastern flank our Europe editor Maria Tadeo is in Warsaw with more good morning Maria so a show of force from NATO tell us more well good morning chef and it was a show force and also a warning the NATO The top commander unveiled a new theory of victory strategy here based on those three principles you listed to blunt, block and ultimately break any assault on NATO territory, which he suggested would be, quote, a foolish and futile decision. He also said that the alliance has every capability to reduce and destroy enemy capabilities. It is interesting, however, he did not mention Russia, but this is very much a message aimed at Moscow. We see those escalate in hybrid threats, hybrid attacks, and the hybrid warfare with the front line. And now we see the situation this morning in the Black Sea. For NATO, this was very much a message that this is an alliance that is ready to fight if attacked as soon as tonight. Let's take a look. Across the alliance, we're taking steps to operationalize this theory and maximize the readiness of our forces. If attacked, we are ready to fight tonight, but we are not complacent. We will continue to prepare and rehearse each and every day, and we'll be more ready tomorrow and even more ready the day after that. Preparing ourselves to fight according to this theory of victory is first, of course, about winning in defense. But demonstrating our readiness is also central to preventing conflict. Showing we are ready to execute according to our theory of victory is thus also key to winning in deterrence. That is NATO's top commander, Grinkevich, speaking here in Warsaw to block, blunt and ultimately break any assault on NATO. I should also stress, Stefan, he did say that as it stands, the security assessment has not changed. He does not believe that an attack on NATO is imminent or inevitable, but also stressed if attacked, the alliance would be ready to defend itself and, quote, ultimately win. I have to also tell you this speech. I was in the room when he delivered the address and it broke into a massive applause, spontaneous applause. This was obviously very much a message that the eastern flank wanted to hear. They needed this moment of reassurance. Of course, we've seen the escalating tensions on the front line. And that speech here was met with relief, especially because, as you know, Stefan, And the conversation certainly in Eastern Europe is about whether or not the U.S. would pull some of the troops stationed here and that shift that we're seeing from the U.S. administration away from Europe into the Pacific and the China area. Wow. Meanwhile, Ukraine is also in focus, Maria. President Zelensky and the Europeans saying Putin isn't serious about an energy ceasefire. What's the latest here? Well, we've seen over the past 24 hours, both the Ukrainian leader, but also European leaders, President Emmanuel Macron to the top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, saying they favor and would actually welcome this ceasefire if it is indeed a mutual ceasefire. Ukraine will stop hitting refineries in Russia, but Russia has to do the same in Ukraine. The president of France specifically saying that over the past 24 hours, there had been no indication that Russia is willing to commit to this. President Zelensky going a step further, saying that Russia is already in violation of that deal. Of course, what we see is the Europeans and Ukrainians trying to align some pushback to the White House ever since that Russian diesel deal was announced. But Stefan, overnight, we also had new comments from the president of the U.S. who continued to increase the pressure on the Ukrainian president, saying that he believes Vladimir Putin of Russia does want to make a deal more than Zelensky wants at this point. He gave no explanation for this or the reasons for his assessment, but we are seeing this continued verbal escalation on President Zelensky from the Americans who are also insisting at this point Ukraine should just call an election. All right, Maria Tadeo there at the Warsaw Security Forum. Thank you for these updates. As Washington renews pressure on Ukraine to make concessions in negotiations to end the war, questions remain over what Russia is prepared to accept in return. Moscow has long demanded that Ukraine surrender territory, including areas Russian forces do not control. But despite renewed diplomatic efforts, there has been little indication that the Kremlin is prepared to abandon its longstanding demands. To get to the bottom of this, I'm now joined by our Ukraine correspondent Sasha Vakulina, good morning Sasha so what exactly is Russia demanding from Ukraine and have these demands ever changed over the past they haven't changed they haven't changed since February 2022 or in fact since 2014 since the first time Russia invaded Ukraine Russia wants Ukraine's territory specifically on five regions this is Donetsk, Luhansk from 2014 but also Zaporizhia region and full of Kherson region plus annexed Crimea. And of course, Russia also wants the territories of those regions, even those that its forces do not occupy and do not control. One of these regions is the region of Kherson. Now, half of it, and you can see it here on the map in blue, this is the territory that was liberated by Ukrainian forces. The territory in red is still occupied. And there, there is this town of Oleshky. Oleshky, and I spoke to the head of the city military administration of Oleshky, because Tatiana who said that the experience of this town that has been under blockade and heavily mined all around by Russian forces is directly relevant to the current debate over what Ukraine should or should not surrender, should be prepared to concede in any sort of negotiations of peace settlement. Now, she told me that, you know, Oleshky has been occupied since the very early days of the full-scale invasion, and live there proves that, you know, that Ukraine should not concede any territory to Russia. Let's take a listen. You cannot make concessions to a beast. You know what happens when a predator gets a taste of blood? It only wants more. Our war with Russia has already been going on for 12 years and no concessions have ever led to any kind of consensus. They have never bought a piece that could provide lasting guarantees rather than simply holding for a certain period of time. A predator always wants more and more. And in this case, Russia is that predator. You know, those who have the greatest faith are the people who are still in the temporarily occupied territories, the people who are waiting for us. It is difficult for me to even talk about this. But on our national holidays, we receive messages from the occupied territories with blue and yellow flags. And these people know the risk they are taking. Even having a Ukrainian SIM card in your phone can get you shot on the spot there. But they still take that risk, and they still believe. and what did she tell you about the conditions under which the people in this town are living under Russian occupation you know to put it in a nutshell those conditions are unbearable people there do not have any access to electricity drinking water tap water they don't have any medical assistance any health care and they don't even have food Stepan as simple as that there is sort of widespread hunger and Tana told me how people often are forced to to find food like to eat weeds that they have something that you know is unimaginable in 20 uh in the 21st century she said and we're talking about at least 2,000 people who do remain there among them there are at least 35 children now there were cases when these people tried to make it out of Oleshky tried to escape to Ukrainian controlled territory but that escape means at least 25 kilometers walk on a heavily mined territory something that she called the road of death because many people do not make it and then she said this is as dangerous as it is and sometimes uh food makes it to Oleshky, Ukrainian forces manage to supply including by drones and the reaction of people to such a simple thing is just shocking let's take a listen to what she had to say i think Oleshky will become a terrible symbol of this Russian war against Ukraine we are living in 21st century and people are suffering from hunger i received a message from a woman who said Ukrainian troops had dropped off some food for her among it was a loaf of bread for 20 minutes she could not bring herself to taste it that is how unfamiliar the taste of bread had become and how precious bread is to the people who remain there today they have to eat things that are frightening to even talk about on air people have been forced to eat weeds and you have to understand that people can afford to eat only once a day. Thank you Sasha for your reporting today. After days of high school blockades the movement is set to enter a new phase today. Several student organizations are calling to take to the streets while trade unions ns have joined that people can afford to eat only once a day. the appeal. Of course, all this in France. Also today, France's 2027 budget begins its examination in the National Assembly. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is under considerable pressure to find compromises on a budget while simultaneously dealing with the student revolt and broader cost of living and public service grievances. For more on this, let's bring in our correspondent Estelle Nielsen-Julien, who is standing by in Paris for us. Good morning, Estelle. So, the French government has promised to deploy 3,000 supply teachers. Today is the deadline. What's the latest? Are they running late? Good morning, Stéphane. Well, yes, yesterday the French government said that these emergency teacher deployments were underway. However, I haven't managed to obtain the specific figures regarding how many have been deployed, and teaching unions told me that they didn't know either. Meanwhile, student unions have branded these measures as crumbs. Teaching unions have told me that they're sceptical that these emergency teacher deployments will be able to match school needs in terms of specialism and location. I'm outside a school in central Paris. As you can see, students are here. They've been here since half six this morning for what has been dubbed as Act 5 of the protests. So we'll be watching closely to see how this day pans out. Still, there are major protests planned across France this upcoming weekend. Could student unrest escalate and converge with other demonstrations? Well, yes. I mean, it's fair to say that tensions are boiling in France. Another mass demonstration is planned for Saturday, and it was planned before the student movement erupted, as people are frustrated with the rising cost, the cost of living crisis, as well as rising fuel prices. So France could be bracing for a perfect storm six months ahead of the presidential elections. And as you say, the budget is a crucial issue because the government is attempting to push through its budget, which includes some austerity measures through a hung parliament. All right, Estelle Nilsson-Julien, reporting from Paris, thank you very much. And now let's reach for the stars. As competition in space intensifies, Europe is looking to secure its own sovereignty, less dependent on American technology and private players like Elon Musk's Starlink. Earlier this year, the U.S. doubled down on its IRIS satellite project, while French President Emmanuel Macron went a step further, calling for Europe to become a global space power by 2035. But with Europe still trailing the U.S. and China, can it close the gap? Joining me now in the studio is Jaume Sanpera, the CEO of Spanish tech specialist Satelliot. Welcome to the show and thanks for being here. Thank you very much, Stefan. So, your company describes its mission as advancing Europe's technological independence through sovereign satellite infrastructure. So, is Europe finally waking up to the fact that dependence on foreign technology can become a security risk? We have not to see it as it can become. It's already happening today in Europe. We are full dependent on third parties, on third countries, and this is something that you have to solve. It is a square, it's one of the solutions, but we intend to complement it as a square with 5G communications around the world. But isn't there a danger that technological sovereignty can become protectionism? Can Europe be sovereign without becoming technologically isolated? Sovereignty is a need. And the standards, it's an open way to work or not. then we really believe that Europe needs to wake up, needs to have their own solution, and need to offer this solution to the rest of the world in order not to become dependent on just two blocks. And do you see this happening? Yes, this is happening. The European industry is waking up. The European industry is advanced. We have the standards. We have the technology. We have the capability, the industrial base. Why not could we build up here European champions for the global solution? And the EU Space Act is supposed to create a single European framework for space activity. From an industry's perspective, will this reduce fragmentation or just create another layer of regulation? This will reduce fragmentation with no doubt. the intention of the European Commission is to have just one framework, you know, that you don't have to go country by country, having their own permissions, their own laws. And Starlink, the company of Elon Musk, has demonstrated the strategic power of satellite connectivity in Ukraine. Does Europe need its own equivalent, not just for commercial reasons, but also for security and defense? Critical infrastructures of Europe today depend already on space communications, financial transactions, logistics, defence, security. Then Europe needs to have their own sovereignty on space. And this is something that we don't have to say no. We have to go ahead and with this we are going to have power not just in Europe but in the rest of the world. on AI, a much debated issue these days everywhere. Europe has built one of the strongest regulatory framework, but there is now a growing fear that regulation could make Europe less competitive. Now, has Europe regulated too much too early? Europe has their own values, and those values have to be present on AI as well as they are on the technologies. We believe that these values, It's the one that has to be adopted, not just in Europe, but also in the rest of the world. And if there is one task that policymakers, industry, the public administrations need to do most urgently, what is that, in your opinion? We need to push the European industry in order to become global champions. This is something that is a real must. And this is exactly the same that they're doing in China. It's exactly the same that it's doing in the United States. China, and we're still behind China and the United States. Is this a gap that we can ever catch up? For sure. We have all the elements to be there. I'm absolutely optimistic. Okay, that's a great conclusion. Great stuff, Jaime Sanpera, CEO of Satelliot. Thank you for spending time with us this morning. And that's it for today. Stay tuned for more news throughout the day. Thank you for watching, I'm Stefan Grober, take care and I'll see you tomorrow.