Small group of MEPs to visit Moscow on Victory Day
A small group of members of the European Parliament, including two members of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, a pro-Russian far-left party in Germany, will be among the guests at the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. [Victory Day is a Russian holiday commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, celebrated on 9 May – ed.]
Source: German news magazine Spiegel, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Ruth Firmenich and Michael von der Schulenburg, MEPs and associates of Wagenknecht, announced they would participate in the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow and would be accompanied by three other MEPs from Czechia, Slovakia and Cyprus.
While in Moscow, they intend to meet with members of the Russian parliament and other representatives of the political and cultural spheres.
They stated their motive as being the desire "to overcome the growing spiral of confrontation and escalation in Europe".
Firmenich and von der Schulenburg stated they plan to travel to Kyiv afterwards and have been in contact with the Ukrainian embassy regarding this.
Ruth Firmenich is described as a close associate of Sahra Wagenknecht, having worked with her since 2004.
When asked about her party members' trip to Moscow, Wagenknecht said she saw nothing scandalous in it.
Quote from Wagenknecht: "They are going to Moscow to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the 80th anniversary of liberation. I don't know what there is to criticise about that. They will not be taking part in the military parade or any similar state events."
Background:
In February, Wagenknecht refused to answer a question about whether she was glad that Ukraine still existed as a state despite three years of full-scale war and numerous losses.
She also stated that German industry – and the European economy in general – "has no chance" without cheap energy resources from Russia.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Russia attacks Ukraine with 4 missiles and 55 UAVs: 43 targets downed, 9 strikes occurred
Since the evening of 12 June, Russian forces have attacked Ukraine with four Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 55 Shahed-type attack UAVs and various types of decoy drones; 43 targets were destroyed, but there were nine strikes. Source: Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram Quote: "As of 09:00, air defence has downed 43 enemy Shahed-type UAVs and other types of drones in the north, east and south of the country. Twenty-eight were shot down by firepower, and 15 disappeared from radar/were suppressed by electronic warfare." Details: It is reported that the Russians attacked Kharkiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. Strikes were recorded in nine locations. The air attack was repelled by aircraft, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems units and mobile fire groups from the Ukrainian defence forces. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
What happened to Moscow? A dispatch from behind the sanctions.
None of which is to say the Russian capital hasn't changed. It has — in small ways, and some not so small. It still feels unmistakably European. But it's a Europe outside the EU, orbiting on its own track. Advertisement A lot of famous names are gone. No McDonald's, no IKEA, no Zara. In their place, Russian versions, Chinese entrants, and homegrown upstarts that mimic the aesthetic, if not the price point. Yet Burger King still grills away, and KFC has become Rostic's again. Starbucks lives on in everything but name as Stars Coffee. Capitalism didn't leave. It changed its clothes. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Walking along Maroseyka street on a recent hot day in Moscow. Pavel Bednyakov/Associated Press On the high street, Turkish and Chinese brands have filled the gaps. Many Western luxury names still linger — Lacoste, Armani, Saint Laurent — but these days they share space with labels few outsiders would recognize. Luxury perfumes are easy to find. iPhones too. In fact, they're sometimes cheaper here than in the EU. Nightlife, once among the continent's most electric, has changed. The once visible LGBTQ scene has largely vanished. Even the legendary Propaganda nightclub has shut. But the lights remain on –– Simach still rocks, and rapper Timati's Flava is the place to be seen. With suitably absurd prices to boot. Advertisement The pubs are busy. Guinness is a luxury at 950 rubles ($12), so people drink local stouts like St Petersburg's Black Sheep instead, at less than half the price. Barmen report take-home earnings of around 150,000 rubles a month with tips. That's about $1,800, and in Moscow, it goes surprisingly far. Rent is still modest, and a single metro ticket costs $0.85. Unlimited monthly travel is $40. A third as much as in Berlin. A sunny day in central Moscow earlier this month. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images Restaurants remain lively. But signs of strain are there. Birds, once a flashy Moscow City skyscraper favorite, has closed. So too has the famed Williams in Patriki. Chefs grumble about inflation, but the kitchen staff still show up, and wages are rising. Unlike in much of Europe, pay here hasn't stood still in recent years. The real shift is human. The migrants and tourists are different. The Americans have gone. So have the Germans. Irish pubs that once echoed with the English language now host mostly Russians. On the streets you hear more Arabic, Persian, and Chinese. Moscow feels more Global South than Global West. Cuisine tells the same story. A decade ago, decent Indian food was a rarity. Now it's everywhere — upmarket on Tverskaya or downmarket in the suburbs. Not just for expats. Russians eat there too, curious and increasingly cosmopolitan in their tastes. Moscow's Cartier boutique closed, a casualty of the West's sanctions. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press Politics? Hardly a whisper. Summers used to bring protests around Trubnaya. Often attended by more Western journalists than actual Russians. Now, silence. The liberal opposition is muted, abroad, or fearful to show its head. The political void isn't heavy with menace. Politics just feels absent. Moscow keeps moving, with or without the drama. Advertisement Football, once a cultural anchor, has drifted too. This year's Champions League final came and went with barely a murmur. Match TV no longer shows it. You can find a stream online, but it's not an event anymore. Hard to believe the World Cup final was played here just seven years ago. The Ukraine conflict is present but not prominent. You see the uniforms, the occasional recruitment poster. And sometimes, a stranger leans in and asks what you think of the 'special military operation.' But there's no rationing. No gloom. Construction crews keep pouring concrete. Shops stay stocked. Streets stay swept. The cars have changed. The Hyundais and Toyotas are thinning out. Mercedes and BMWs still pass by, though they're harder to come by. Now, it's BYD, Lixiang, Zeekr — badges of status from a different place. The digital world reflects the city's new orientation. While such Western media as CNN and The Guardian are not blocked and can still be accessed directly, others require a VPN. The same applies to Instagram, X, and YouTube. This, however, comes with a shrug from most Muscovites. After all, it was the EU that first blocked Russian media for its own citizens, they remind you. In this new bifurcated world, reciprocal restrictions are just part of the game. The departure of many liberals, both native and foreign — journalists, artists, and tech workers — has also left a cultural mark. Once fixtures of Moscow's cosmopolitan energy, many left for Berlin, Tbilisi, Istanbul, and farther afield. In their absence, the city recalibrated. Few mourn the 'relocants,' as they're derisively known. Among those who stayed, they're seen as quitters — self-important chumps who abandoned ship and now jeer from the shore. Meanwhile, a quiet trickle of returnees — particularly young liberal men — have begun to reappear. A few of the more privileged ones discreetly admit that life in Bali or Koh Samui wasn't quite what they'd hoped. Advertisement Tourism patterns have shifted too. Paris weekends and London shopping sprees are out. Now it's Dubai, Antalya, Bangkok. The destinations may be different, but the appetite for travel remains. Moscow's mood, if it can be captured, is one of motion without anxiety. No triumph. No collapse. Just a city learning to walk a new path. A couple dances to a busker on Arbat. A policeman eats a shawarma near Leningrad Station. A barista at Stars Coffee hands you a cappuccino with the faintest smile. Life ticks on. The sanctions were meant to isolate. Instead, they've underlined a truth: This city, with all its contradictions and churn, is going its own way. No fanfare, no hand-wringing, little introspection. Just work to do, money to make, bills to pay, dreams to chase — and plenty to bury. To walk Moscow today is to encounter a capital that no longer seeks the West's approval — and may not miss its presence, either.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chinese social media posts falsely claim German right-wing leader praises China
China's former consul general to Belfast Zhang Meifang shared the 13-second clip of Weidel speaking in German on her account on X on May 21, 2025. "Co-chairwoman of Germany's AfD Weidel said only China's strength can defeat the United States' arrogance and force it sit down and negotiate!" its caption says. "Throughout history, the United States has only sat down for equal negotiations twice -- once during the Korean War, and again during the trade war. China was on the other side of the negotiations both times." Simplified Chinese text overlaid on the clip largely repeats the claim. The post appeared alongside a tide of false claims about the trade war between Washington and Beijing circulating online, which were amplified by Chinese state media outlets (archived link). The two sides announced a truce on May 12 that halted tit-for-tat tariffs announced since President Donald Trump's return to the White House, with a further "framework" agreement reached on June 10 (archived link). China would supply rare earth minerals to the United States, which in turn would allow Chinese students to remain in US universities. Posts suggesting Weidel spoke about the trade war were shared elsewhere on X, TikTok and Weibo. Social media users appeared to believe the circulating claim, with one saying, "She is the guiding light of Germany". Another wrote, "Such an outspoken woman!" Despite having lived and worked in China, Weidel rarely publicly comments on the country (archived link). However, her subtitled speeches circulate widely on Chinese social media, with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle attributing her popularity to AfD and Beijing having similar stances on issues such as European military aid for Ukraine (archived link). The circulating video in fact shows Weidel criticising the German government, not praising China. A reverse image search found the clip was taken from a livestream of her speech at an AfD rally in Thuringia on August 31, 2024, a month before regional elections in Germany (archived link). During her remarks, she called the government's deportation of 28 Afghan nationals -- who German authorities said were "convicted offenders" with no right to remain -- a day before the AfD rally a "gimmick" (archived link). The false clip can be seen at the 55:04 mark of the livestream, where she went on to say, "Nothing is achieved. It should be up to a thousand people, not just 28." She did not mention China during the speech. German media reported Weidel told rally-goers that AfD would "ban Antifa as a terrorist organisation" if her party came to power during her speech (archived link).
