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Boats navigate the Moscow River near the Kremlin.
Europeans warn of Russian sabotage attacks
On Monday, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency told a parliamentary committee at the German Bundestag that a package exploded in Leipzig earlier this year before it could be loaded onto an airplane. Had the package reached the plane, he warned, it would have detonated in flight. The official did not name a suspect in the case, but German media reports that officials believe the incident is linked to Russia.
The head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service told the same committee that Russian sabotage attacks in Europe have reached a “level previously unseen” and that “direct military confrontation with NATO has become an option for Moscow.”
This is the latest incident to raise concerns across Europe about Russian sabotage attacks that may be intended to weaken European support for Ukraine. In April, Germany arrested two German-Russian nationals on suspicion of plotting attacks on US military facilities, Poland arrested a man accused of spying on an airport for Russian intelligence, and the UK charged several men for an arson attack on a Ukrainian-owned firm in London. Russian operatives are “on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets,” warned the head of MI5, Britain’s domestic security agency earlier this month.
FILE PHOTO: The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019.
Hard Numbers: ICC Sanctions, Legislative deadlock, Fading free speech, Attacks on health workers, Mexico campaign tragedy
37: At least 37 members of the House of Representatives are co-sponsoring a bill that would sanction prosecutors and staff at the International Criminal Court involved in applying for arrest warrants against senior Israeli leaders. The bill was introduced by a Republican member, but the Biden administration has expressed support. The president called the warrant applications “outrageous,” and Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised to work with Congress on the issue.
0.37: If the above bill does pass, it would be remarkable because just 0.37% of all the bills introduced in the 118th Congress have become laws. That passage rate is the lowest since the 1990-1991 Congress, during which Newt Gingrich executed his first government shutdown.
53: A sharp rise in restrictions on free speech and expression globally left 53% of all humans unable to speak freely last year, up from 34% in 2022, according to Article 19, an advocacy group. The big culprits? Crackdowns in India, home to the world’s largest population, and a deterioration of freedoms in Ethiopia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mongolia. It’s not all bad news though: Article 19 specifically praised Brazil’s progress on freedom of expression after former President Jair Bolsonaro left power.
2,500: Researchers at Safeguarding Health in Conflict, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, recorded over 2,500 attacks on healthcare workers who struggled to look after patients in conflict zones in 2023, a 25% increase from 2022. Researchers attributed the jump to new wars in Gaza and Sudan while older wars in places like Ukraine and Myanmar continue unabated.
9: A stage at a campaign rally collapsed in high winds in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, last night, killing at least nine people, including a child. Scores more were injured at the event featuring presidential long-shot candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez. The country is in campaign mode ahead of the June 2 presidential, state, and municipal elections. Máynez has suspended upcoming events in response to the tragedy.
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