Eurotopics.net

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and several European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday evening. According to Rutte, the meeting focused on how to put Kyiv 'in a position of strength'. Europe's press wonders where this strength is supposed to come from.

The Polish government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk has added the country's two largest private media companies, Polsat and TVN, to the list of strategic companies, which enjoy special protection. The move is intended to protect these companies from takeovers that contravene the rule of law. Commentators point out that threats to press freedom don't only come from the private sector.

Every year on St Lucia's Day, celebrated on 13 December, a young woman chosen by public vote carries a wreath of candles on her head at a ceremony in Helsinki Cathedral and performs charitable tasks during the Christmas season. In 2024 Daniela Owusu was chosen as the first Black Lucia - and was promptly targeted by racists, especially on the social media.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed on Tuesday in an explosion outside his residence in Moscow. The day before, the Ukrainian secret service SBU had charged Kirrilov, who is responsible for Russia's radiation, biological and chemical defence forces, with war crimes and formally opened an investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Europe's press assesses the situation.