Ukraine Prepares for Potential Disaster at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

After reports of mining and depleted staff, Ukrainian officials sound the alarm over Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Poland and Hungary unite in opposition to the EU’s refugee bill, and security fears grow in the Baltics as Wagner moves into Belarus.

Upcoming on Visegrad Insight:

• Matej Kandrik and Sigita Struberga break down the potential NATO security guarantees for Ukraine ahead of next week’s summit. 
• Adam Jasser looks into the struggles of the Polish government as the far right surges.  
• Tetyana Oleksiyuk explains the importance of transparency in reconstruction efforts in Ukraine.

EU/REGIONAL

• Poland and Hungary joined ranks again as the veto party in the EU council, making a show of their vehement opposition to a benign asylum deal. Both countries resumed their disruptive alliance just as Ukraine’s membership was the other item on the agenda. If EU opponents of enlargement needed arguments to strengthen their case, Warsaw and Budapest obliged.
• A large deposit of phosphate was discovered in Norway, which may substantially reduce Europe’s dependence on crucial elements for solar and EV expansion.
• Russia denied that it was planning to blow up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, after claims by Ukraine’s intelligence that the facility had been mined and staff reduced.
• Europe’s rule of law undermined by increased corruption and the infiltration of drug barons. Europol chief Catherine De Bolle claims the increase in violent organised gangs operating across the continent is focused on gaining influence in logistics companies, local government and even the judicial system.
• The EU Council approved a law transitioning the existing European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) into a new European Union Drugs Agency aimed at addressing new health and security threats from illegal drugs. The agency will maintain its base in Lisbon, Portugal.
• CIA looks to capitalise on Wagner mutiny. CIA Director William Burns said that the level of dissatisfaction in Russian society creates a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to recruit spies that the agency won’t miss out on.
• Average global surface air temperatures were more than 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels for several days in June, the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) stated. That moves above the target levels of keeping global warming within 1.5 Celsius.

Worries over Zaporizhzhia mount as the US considers sending cluster bombs to UAF

UKRAINE