Croatia’s remarkable national journey is a source of hope for Ukraine

I recently had a fascinating chat with my colleague, Darjan Milutinovic. We discussed a country fighting for its freedom at a time when its independence was denied by a far more powerful neighbor. This adversary launched a full-scale invasion with a much larger army and occupied a quarter of the country while destroying entire cities and committing war crimes. People experienced mass murder, torture and rape, with citizens herded into camps. The country’s economy collapsed but the people fought on, buoyed by a strong vision of a brighter future.

Bosnian Serb leader plans to meet Lavrov, Putin

Secessionist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik plans to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Belgrade on Tuesday and President Vladimir Putin on 17 June in Moscow, istraga.ba reported.

“This may provoke some people in the West, but what I can do. My task is to provide stability for my people,” Dodik said in a short speech, interrupted by applause.

Serbia, Russia agree to gas deal in principle, Lavrov says

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the terms of gas supply arrangements and reached an agreement in principle, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the Bosnian Serb entity TV on Sunday in an interview.

The agreement should be elaborated within the companies involved, Lavrov added.

Austria releases oil stocks after refinery malfunction

A technical issue at oil giant OMV’s Schwechat refinery on Saturday forced the government to release strategic gasoline stocks while OMV considers what to do about its investments in Russia.

The government announced a release of 112,000 tonnes of petrol and 56,000 tonnes of diesel. The release will cover a period of about 14 days, while OMV had so far not been able to determine for how long the refinery’s “technical malfunction”, which has damaged the main distillation unit for crude oil, would last.

Ohne Ungarn ist die EU stärker

Viktor Orbán und Recep Tayyip Erdogan gehen vielen Europäern mächtig auf die Nerven. Sie torpedieren die Einigkeit gegen Wladimir Putins Krieg.

Der türkische Präsident blockiert die Aufnahme Finnlands und Schwedens in die Nato. Der ungarische Premier das sechste Sanktionspaket der EU.