The war in Ukraine is reshaping the strategic landscape of Europe. While Western and Eastern European nations within the NATO alliance recognize the Russian threat, each day, NATO nations bordering Belarus and Russia feel the immediacy of the threat.

In an exclusive interview with VOA’s Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze, Lieutenant General Charles Costanza, commander of the U.S. Army’s V Corps (also known as the Fifth Corps) in Poland, discusses how NATO adapts to Russia’s evolving tactics while defending its members’ borders.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: Can you explain the different threat assessments from Eastern and Western European partners of NATO regarding Russia?

Charles Costanza, commanding general of the U.S. Army’s V Corps: Clearly, in the eastern flank of Europe, the threat is real. They’re on the border with Belarus and Russia, and so, they see that threat every day differently. You see recent open-source reporting on the Russian UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones] coming over Romanian territory and Lithuanian territory. Those incursions have increased. You see the sabotage operations going on throughout eastern flank countries and Eastern European countries. So, Russia is increasing that, short of … challenges and interference [that would trigger the NATO mutual defense clause].

VOA: Do you think Russia is doing it deliberately?

Costanza: Of course, they are. They weaponize immigration — I say “weaponize” deliberately. This weaponized immigration is happening in Poland, it’s all been driven from Russia to interfere in Eastern Europe. Moldova is a near-term example with their elections. Russia is actively interfering in those elections to try and shape them in a pro-Russian way. So, all that is going on right now. So, that’s part of this threat assessment piece that isn’t necessarily impacting the Western European countries as much as Eastern Europe.

VOA: How threatening is Russia’s military?

Costanza: I think there’s a view that Russia is going to take three to 10 years to reconstitute, and I think that we need to look at that a little differently. Russian armed forces, ground forces right now, are actually bigger than they were before the war with Ukraine started 2½ years ago, despite the losses of open-source reporting [of] 600,000 casualties that they’ve incurred during the course of the war.

They may not be as well trained, but they’re bigger. Their industrial base is on a wartime footing. Their mobilization base is on a wartime footing. They know they’re fighting a Western-trained, West-equipped country with Ukraine. They’re learning how to defeat those capabilities and those systems over the last 2½ years. So, they’re modernizing their force based on the lessons that they’re learning, and I think that’s something we should be concerned about. They’re modernizing their equipment. They’re changing the way that they fight based on learning how to fight against Western-trained forces in Ukraine. And I think that should be a concern for all of us. It clearly is to our Eastern European allies.

VOA: How are you preparing to defend and deter?

Costanza: First of all, to maintain a high stance on readiness from a U.S. forces standpoint but also the NATO standpoint. At the Fifth Corps, one of the key things we do as partners with our multinational corps and multinational divisions across the eastern flank of Europe [is] just to help build their war-fighting capability as they field new capabilities. HIMARS [High Mobility Artillery Rocket System], for example. Apaches [helicopters] — with Poland just purchasing 96 Apaches from the United States. So, we help them to employ those things, those capabilities. But how you employ them at the corps level, and how you employ them at the division level, we can help, and we do.

VOA: General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and now ambassador to the United Kingdom, recently gave a speech at Chatham House in London in which he talked about the technological advancements of this war, and how this is a different war than NATO was prepared to fight. How would you assess NATO’s capabilities today?

Costanza: I think you’re exactly right. And those are some of the comments that were made by our NATO partners in this event. I think that the United States is kind of setting the standard on that with a new program that our chief of staff of the Army [General Randy George] has talked about, which is transformation in contact. So, for the U.S. forces that are rotating over here to Europe, we’re modernizing them with equipment that’s available right now. So, instead of going through our normal four-year acquisition process to get new equipment, we’re taking things that are available based on what we’re watching happen in Ukraine. … So maybe that can be a model for our partners and allies.

VOA: We talked about NATO capabilities. Now I want to go back to Russian capabilities. How advanced do you think they are right now?

Costanza: I think the biggest concern is what I said before: They know they’re fighting Western-trained and -equipped forces. And so, as they modernize based on the lessons that they’re learning — not just their equipment, but how they fight — they’re really sharpening their ability to fight us in the future. And I think that’s something we need to be concerned about.

So, those things I just talked about that we’re trying to rapidly introduce into our brigade to execute the transformation, contact — the UAS [Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or drones], the border, ammunition, the counter UAS, the EW [electronic warfare] capability. And how do you synchronize all of that capability so that you can really, rapidly strike and kill targets? They’ve learned how to do that. And so, we need to be able to do that and do it better than they do.

VOA: Russia is gaining support from China and North Korea right now. Are we ready to face this threat?

Costanza: The lessons that I was talking about, the reasons we should be concerned about Russia — they’re sharing those lessons with China, with Iran, and vice versa, the capabilities that Iran and China are providing. And now you see the North Koreans, as well. North Korea is now providing, I think it’s an initial batch [of] open-source reporting, of 4,000 North Korean soldiers. I think that could potentially just be a starting point for what they provide in terms of manpower to Russia. And I think that’s a problem near-term here in Eastern Europe, because as we talked about before we started, the challenge for Ukrainians is people. It’s the amount of people that they have to put into this fight. And Russia doesn’t care how many losses it takes. I mean, 600,000 [casualties], and they’re still throwing more manpower at it and don’t even blink. Ukrainians can’t afford to take those losses. I think that’s going to be the limiting factor for that as we move forward, watch this war continue into this third period.

VOA: There are different assessments of threats between, let’s say, the political part of the NATO alliance and the military part of the alliance. How are you finding that common ground?

Costanza: Yeah, I think it’s just constant dialogue, right? And so, I know we do that at different levels. So, the combatant commander, the U.S. combat commander, has those discussions at the national levels with our NATO partners and allies. We all live in Eastern Europe, including myself — in Poland. We all see that threat the same way. It can be near term.

VOA: What do you mean by the near term?

Costanza: I think, one year, two years, three years.

VOA: And you’re trying to be ready for that?

Costanza: U.S. forces are ready, and I can tell you, our NATO partners and allies are ready. And we’re just continuing to build capabilities.
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WASHINGTON — Efforts by U.S. adversaries to divide Americans and sow growing distrust in the upcoming presidential election have already begun to intensify, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials, who warn some countries appear to be leaning toward additional measures to spark election-related violence.

The latest declassified assessment, issued Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, comes just two weeks before voters head to the polls November 5 to choose a new president and vote on a series of statewide and local races and initiatives.

“Foreign actors — particularly Russia, Iran and China — remain intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans and undermine Americans’ confidence in the U.S. democratic system consistent with what they perceive to be in their interests,” according to the assessment.

But it warns U.S. intelligence agencies are “increasingly confident” that Russia is starting to engage in plans “aimed at inciting violence.”

It further assesses Iran also “may try to incite violence.”

Post-poll closing concerns

Of particular concern is what appears to be a growing focus on the hours, days and weeks after the polls close, when state and local election officials begin to tally and certify the results.

U.S. adversaries “probably will be quick to create false narratives or amplify content they think will create confusion about the election, such as posting claims of election irregularities,” said a U.S. intelligence official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assessment in additional detail.

The official said Russia, Iran and China “may perceive a window of vulnerability to push disinformation or foment or amplify protests and threats” starting with the moment polling centers close and extending to January 6, when the presidential results are certified by a joint session of Congress.

“Foreign driven or amplified violent protests, violence or physical threats to election workers or state and local officials could challenge state and local officials’ ability to conduct elements of the certification and Electoral College process,” the official said. “Particularly if they prevent necessary physical access to facilities or venues.”

U.S. intelligence officials have previously warned that Russia and Iran have been especially active, running a variety of influence operations targeting U.S. voters, with a high likelihood that these efforts would extend beyond the November 5 election.

Russia, they said, has been working to boost the chances of former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, while Iran has been working to hurt Trump’s reelection bid and instead buoy the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

China, according to U.S. intelligence officials, has so far stayed out of the presidential race, focusing its efforts on congressional and state and local candidates perceived to be promoting policies detrimental to Beijing’s interests, including those voicing support for Taiwan.

Officials said Tuesday that new intelligence streams have raised concerns that Moscow, especially, will try to foment violence once the polls close.

“We expect Russia will be more aggressive in this period if the vice president [Kamala Harris] wins the election,” the intelligence official said. “Russia would prefer the former president to win, and they would seek to more aggressively undermine the presidency of the then-president-elect.”

Russia, China and Iran have all rejected previous U.S. accusations of election meddling.

Russia and Iran have yet to respond to requests from VOA for comment, but China on Tuesday again rejected the latest U.S. intelligence findings.

“The presidential elections are the United States’ own affairs,” Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA in an email. “China has no intention and will not interfere.”

U.S. intelligence officials, though, point to what they describe as growing examples of malign intent, especially by Russia and Iran.

Influence operations

In one example, the officials said Russian-linked actors were responsible for a post on the X social media platform earlier this month that contained false allegations against Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

“There are several indicators of manipulation that are consistent with the influence, efforts and tactics of Russian influence actors this cycle,” the U.S. intelligence official said.

In another case, U.S. officials said a Russian intelligence unit sought to recruit what they assess to likely be an unwitting American to organize protests.

They also point to actions taken last month by multiple U.S. agencies to counter several Russian influence efforts, including the use of fake websites and the creation of a shell company to funnel $10 million to a U.S. media company to push pro-Russian propaganda.

Also last month, the U.S. placed bounties and lodged criminal charges against three Iranian hackers, all accused of seeking to undermine the Trump reelection campaign.

And there are fears that even these types of ongoing influence operations, which often seek to exploit divisive political issues, could lead to problems.

“Even if these disinformation campaigns are not specifically calling for violence, the tactics used to undermine confidence in the democratic institutions can lead to violence, even if not deliberately called for,” said a senior official with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, who, like the U.S. intelligence official, spoke on the condition of anonymity.

‘Expect disruptions’

And while U.S. officials express confidence that safeguards are in place to prevent U.S. adversaries from attacking or hacking systems used to record and tally votes, there is concern that they will target other U.S. infrastructure to try to induce panic or violence.

“That is a real possibility,” said the CISA official, adding the U.S. public should “expect disruptions.”

“We’re going to see a voting location lose power,” the official said. “We’re going to see potentially some type of impact on a transportation system. We’re going to see a potential ransomware attack against a local election office.”

CISA officials say they have been working with state and local election officials to make sure they are prepared to handle sudden disruptions. And state officials say they are prepared.

“All states consider their election infrastructure and IT [information technology] systems a potential target for threats,” said Steve Simon, Minnesota’s secretary of state and the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, during a call with reporters Monday.

“Chief elections officials throughout the United States have worked really tirelessly and consistently to mitigate risks to our election systems and processes,” said Simon.
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is showing resilience after bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic but the eurozone’s prospects are gloomier due to recent crises and deeper problems, according to IMF forecasts released Tuesday.

In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund revised its 2025 eurozone growth forecast down from 1.5% in July to 1.2% as challenges in manufacturing bog down countries such as Germany.

In contrast, the world’s biggest economy is anticipated to grow 2.2% next year.

The United States and eurozone have seen their paths diverge over the past two years, with the U.S. economy logging 2.9% growth in 2023, significantly above the eurozone’s 0.4%, IMF figures show.

The fund expects the U.S. economy to expand by 2.8% in 2024, again higher than the euro area’s 0.8% growth forecast.

This is because “Europe has experienced two shocks, while the United States has only experienced one,” EY chief economist Gregory Daco told AFP.

After rebounding from the pandemic, which led to historic recessions around the world, European countries took a hit from the effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

This once again sharply raised energy prices and snarled supply chains in the region, with the United States experiencing less of an impact given its distance from the conflict and greater energy independence.

Germany stalls

In particular, the war has made a significant impact on the eurozone’s biggest economy — Germany — which saw its economy shrink in 2023.

The German economy is set to see no growth this year, only expanding 0.8% in 2025, said the IMF’s latest report.

The 2025 figure was revised down from July’s projection of 1.3% growth.

“Persistent weakness in manufacturing weighs on growth for countries such as Germany and Italy,” said the IMF.

Although Italy’s domestic demand is set to benefit from a European Union-financed recovery plan, “Germany is experiencing strain from fiscal consolidation and a sharp decline in real estate prices,” the fund said.

But it noted that “in the euro area, growth seems to have reached its lowest point in 2023.”

France, the second-biggest EU economy, is projected to post modest growth of 1.1% for this year and the next.

US advantages

Daco of EY said the United States benefits from more favorable structural factors: “In view of its population growth, investment rate and productivity, it has growth prospects that are double those of Europe.”

He pointed to a younger U.S. population and greater competitiveness.

Other factors include Washington’s support for households and businesses during the pandemic, which have helped to prop up consumption.

Funds from the government’s CHIPS and Science Act as well as Inflation Reduction Act — to boost domestic semiconductor and clean energy industries, respectively — are also stimulating the economy, he said.

Meanwhile, Europe is struggling to contend with these major initiatives.

A report by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, unveiled in September, aims to limit Europe’s economic gap with the United States.

“It is crucial to swiftly follow up, with concrete and ambitious structural policies, on Mario Draghi’s proposals for enhancing European competitiveness,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde last Thursday.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine amid a Russian advance on the battlefield and increasing anxiety among Ukrainians that Western allies are experiencing growing fatigue toward the Russia-Ukraine war. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. VOA footage by Vladyslav Smilianets.
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Russian officials said Tuesday a Ukrainian drone attack caused an explosion and fire at a biochemical plant in the Tambov region.

Tambov Governor Maxim Yegorov said on Telegram the fire was extinguished early Tuesday and that preliminary information indicated there were no injuries.

Ukrainian drones also damaged two distilleries in the Tula region, officials said Tuesday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down 11 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region, three drones over Belgorod, two over Kursk and each over the Tula and Oryol regions.

The governor of Belgorod reported two homes were damaged by falling debris from destroyed drones, while the governor Bryansk said the attack damaged one building.

In Ukraine, Sumy Governor Ihor Kalchenko said a Russian drone attack killed three people.

Kalchenko said Ukrainian air defenses shot down 25 Russian drones in the region.

US aid

The United States “will get Ukraine what it needs” to continue to fight its 32-month war with Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday during a visit to Kyiv.  

But he gave no indication the U.S. would consent to Ukraine’s wish to immediately join NATO or allow Kyiv’s forces to launch missile strikes deeper into Russia.  

Austin said the U.S. would hand Ukraine what it requires “to fight for its survival and security,” saying it was essential for Western allies to fend off Russia’s aggression.  

“Europe’s future is on the line,” Austin said in a speech at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. “NATO’s strength is on the line. America’s security is on the line.”  

As Austin visited Ukraine, the U.S. announced its 68th tranche of military aid since the start of the war with Russia, about $400 million in new armaments, including munitions for rocket systems and artillery mortar systems and rounds, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.  

Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told VOA that the new U.S. assistance does not provide most of what Ukraine asked for. 

“In other words, there was no new weaponry provided. Ukraine still does not have the capability to use its weaponry to strike inside Russia, and there was no discussion of a potential NATO membership for Ukraine,” she said. 

As fighting continues, a Russian missile attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed two people and injured 15 in the city center and caused huge damage to civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten and more than 30 residential buildings, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said.   

North Korean involvement 

Separately at the U.N. Security Council, Western officials expressed concern that North Korea may be planning to send thousands of troops to Ukraine to fight for Russia. 

Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday that there is satellite and video evidence that North Korea is sending not only equipment to Russia but is also preparing soldiers for deployment. 

Russia’s envoy only alluded to the accusations during a council meeting Monday on Ukraine. 

“They [the West] have become distracted by circulating scaremongering with Iranian, Chinese and [North] Korean bogeymen, each one of which is more absurd than the one before,” Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. 

South Korea’s envoy said according to his government’s National Intelligence Service, Pyongyang has shipped Russia over 13,000 containers filled with artillery shells, missiles and anti-tank rockets since August 2023, and now they are sending troops. 

“Pyongyang, according to our NIS [National Intelligence Service], has deployed about 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far Eastern cities, aboard Russian naval vessels, since earlier this month,” Ambassador Hwang Joonkook said. “The transported soldiers were provided with Russian military uniforms and Russian weapons. And to disguise their identity, they were issued with fake identity cards of residents from Yakutia and Buryatia who share similar facial features with North Koreans.” 

Hwang said North Korea will expect a “generous payoff” from Moscow in return for its troops. 

“It could be either military or financial assistance; it could be nuclear weapons-related technology,” he said. 

The U.S. envoy said Washington is aware of the reports, and if true, they are a “dangerous and highly concerning development.” 

“If Russia is indeed turning to the DPRK for manpower, it would be a sign of desperation on the part of the Kremlin,” U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Robert Wood said. “We know Russia is suffering extraordinary casualties on the battlefield due to the bravery and effectiveness of the Ukrainian military. Russia cannot sustain its aggression without assistance.” 

Ukraine’s ambassador accused North Korea of fueling and prolonging the war and said Russia is “begging global outcasts” for weapons and troops. Sergiy Kyslytsya said according to publicly available information, about 11,000 North Korean infantry troops are being trained in the east of Russia and are expected to be ready for deployment by November 1. 

VOA national security correspondent Jeff Seldin and VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some material was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
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SYDNEY — Britain’s King Charles was embraced by an Indigenous elder after a welcome smoking ceremony on Tuesday in the birthplace of Australia’s urban Aboriginal civil rights movement in Sydney, a day after being heckled by an Indigenous senator in Canberra.

Charles met with Indigenous elders at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in inner-city Redfern, including “bush tucker” – or native food – chef Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, who served kangaroo pies.

The king was embraced by elder Michael Welsh, and a woman introduced herself as a member of the Stolen Generation – a reference to Aboriginal children systematically removed from their families decades earlier. “Welcome to this country,” she said.

A day earlier, Charles was heckled at Parliament House in Canberra by independent senator and Indigenous activist Lidia Thorpe who shouted that she did not accept his sovereignty over Australia, and demanded a treaty for Indigenous people.

While the atmosphere at Redfern on Tuesday was respectful, some people who came to see the king expressed sympathy for Thorpe’s actions.

“We’ve got stories to tell and I think you witnessed that story yesterday,” Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Chairperson Allan Murray said.

In a radio interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday, Thorpe said she “wanted the world to know the plight of our people.”

Former Olympic athlete Nova Peris, who was the first Indigenous woman elected to federal parliament, wrote in a social media post she was “deeply disappointed” by Thorpe’s actions, which “do not reflect the manners, or approach to reconciliation, of Aboriginal Australians at large.”

Emotions around Indigenous rights and Australia’s colonial history are raw after a national referendum on whether to alter Australia’s constitution to recognize Aboriginal people was rejected last year.

Charles referred to Australia’s “long and sometimes difficult journey towards reconciliation” in a speech on Monday before he was heckled by Thorpe.

Under glorious spring skies, the king later visited a social housing project designed with the support of his King’s Trust Australia charity in the inner suburb of Glebe.

He toured the construction site with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who grew up on a public housing estate, and met Indigenous actor Wes Patten, one of three apprentice construction workers on the project.

Patten played the son of an Indigenous politician in TV political drama “Total Control,” depicting the imagined first Indigenous prime minister of Australia.

Claude Tighe, an Indigenous man in Glebe who saw the Lidia Thorpe protest on social media, said: “I want him to talk to real traditional owners. There’s a lot of us here.”

“She spoke for Aboriginal people,” he added, referring to Thorpe.

Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting Sydney and Canberra over six days before traveling to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.

The public will have an opportunity to meet the royal couple at the Opera House later on Tuesday.
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washington — The General Assembly of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is set to begin Thursday, following months of ongoing harassment from the Chinese government that the top Uyghur organization has described as “unprecedented.”

In the months leading up to the group’s eighth general assembly, which takes place this year in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Uyghur organization has endured numerous efforts to derail or even cancel the event, the group said. The harassment included threats of physical harm, arrest and sabotage.

Groups that advocate for Uyghur human rights have long faced harassment from the Chinese government, but this recent harassment was particularly extreme, according to Zumretay Arkin, the WUC’s spokesperson and director of global advocacy.

“It’s reached another level this time,” Arkin told VOA from Sarajevo. “The World Uyghur Congress is among the most important organizations in our movement, in the diaspora, and they want to destroy it completely.”

In one of the most severe examples, the email account of a WUC employee was hacked, Arkin told VOA. The unidentified hackers on Monday sent out emails, which VOA has reviewed, to all attendees, including WUC delegates and candidates, as well as foreign lawmakers, falsely claiming that the general assembly had been postponed.

The WUC holds its general assembly every three years. At each assembly, the organization elects its leadership and sets strategic priorities in response to human rights abuses in the Chinese region Xinjiang, where most Uyghurs live.

“We are advocating for not only the human rights of Uyghur people, but also self-determination of Uyghurs. And that’s considered a threat to the Chinese government,” said Arkin, who is running to be the WUC’s next vice president.

The Germany-based WUC has condemned the harassment.

“It is a clear effort to intimidate the Uyghur community and silence their voices,” the organization said in a Friday statement.

In other cases of harassment, the Chinese Embassy in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has exerted pressure to cancel the general assembly entirely and indicated it would encourage local authorities to arrest former WUC President Dolkun Isa, who is a German citizen.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has an extradition treaty with China. When Isa and Arkin arrived in Sarajevo on Monday, Arkin said they didn’t have any issues in entering the country.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassy in Sarajevo did not immediately reply to VOA’s emails requesting comment.

In another example, an informant with knowledge of the situation told the Norway-based Uyghur activist Abduweli Ayup that Chinese authorities were considering various ways to disrupt the general assembly, including staging a car accident or cutting electricity.

“He told me that they might make [a] car accident and cut the electricity, or protest in front of the World Uyghur Congress,” Ayup told VOA.

Chinese authorities have also directly targeted WUC delegates from countries including Australia, Germany, Ireland and Turkey, Arkin said. Those authorities have pressured delegates not to participate in the general assembly, including by making threats against family members who are still in Xinjiang, according to Arkin.

And in the case of Uzbekistan, local Uzbek authorities pressured WUC delegates who live in Uzbekistan to not participate in the general assembly, according to Arkin, who said no delegates from Uzbekistan will be attending as a result.

Uzbekistan’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.

Beijing has long targeted Uyghur rights groups and activists around the world to silence criticism, according to Sophie Richardson, a visiting scholar at Stanford and the former China director at Human Rights Watch. This recent bout of harassment is just the latest example.

“It’s the ultimate expression of how desperate it [Beijing] is to keep people from talking about genocide and crimes against humanity,” Richardson told VOA.

The Chinese government stands accused by rights groups and multiple Western governments of perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, which many Uyghurs prefer to call the Uyghur Region or East Turkestan. Beijing denies any wrongdoing in the region.

Part of why the Chinese government is so brazen in its perpetration of transnational repression is that Beijing has long done so with almost complete impunity, according to Richardson.

“They’ve now been doing so for decades and accelerated it significantly over the last decade — and not really had to pay a price for doing so,” Richardson said.

With the general assembly set to begin in just a few days, there are a lot of things on Arkin’s mind — the most pressing of which is the safety of WUC members, her family members still inside Xinjiang and herself.

Nevertheless, Arkin thinks the extreme lengths the Chinese government is going to in order to derail the general assembly may also underscore Beijing’s own fears.

“We’re building a system that is our own. We’re building something totally opposite to what the Chinese government has, and so they’re scared of that. They’re scared of democracy and human rights,” Arkin said.
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Many European Union countries are calling for the bloc to clamp down on migration amid a surge in support for right-wing political parties. But Spain is bucking the trend — and insists Europe’s aging population needs controlled migration to boost its economy. Henry Ridgwell reports. Camera: Alfonso Beato.
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TIRANA, Albania — Albania’s left-wing Freedom Party said Monday its leader and former Albanian President Ilir Meta has been arrested on alleged corruption charges.

Meta, 55, was arrested in the capital, Tirana, by officers with the National Investigation Bureau, according to local media. Local television stations showed masked, plainclothes police officers taking Meta from his vehicle after he returned from neighboring Kosovo ahead of holding a news conference.

The party’s secretary-general, Tedi Blushi, called it “a criminal kidnapping.”

There was no immediate comment from the prosecutor’s office.

After meeting Meta at the police department, his lawyer Genc Gjokutaj said the former president is being investigated for alleged corruption, money laundering and hiding personal income and property.

Meta was Albania’s previous president, serving from 2017-2022. He was being investigated for alleged illegal lobbying in the United States years ago. He and his former wife also have been investigated on allegations of hiding their personal property and income.

Meta has been a vocal opponent of the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama, accusing it of running a “kleptocratic regime” and concentrating all legislative, administrative and judiciary powers in Rama’s hands.

Corruption has been post-communist Albania’s Achilles’ heel, strongly affecting the country’s democratic, economic and social development.

Judicial institutions created with the support of the European Union and the United States have launched several investigations into former senior government officials allegedly involved in corruption. Albania seeks EU membership.

Former prime minister and president Sali Berisha, now a lawmaker and leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is also accused of corruption and is under house arrest waiting for the trial.

Soon after Meta’s arrest, Romana Vlahutin, EU ambassador to Tirana when the judicial reform was approved in 2016 and now a European Council official, said on social platform X, “Justice reform in full force! There are no untouchables.”
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