Europe at a glance

Amsterdam

Sanctions: The Netherlands has become the latest European country to have its supplies of Russian gas cut off for refusing to pay the state-owned supplier Gazprom in roubles. Moscow has demanded that “unfriendly” countries pay for gas in roubles in an effort to mitigate the impact of sanctions. It had already suspended supplies to Finland, Poland and Bulgaria; and Denmark is reported to be next in the firing line.

On Monday, EU leaders unveiled a new package of sanctions against Russia, which will include a block on most Russian oil imports by the end of the year. The agreement was reached following weeks of negotiation, with objections coming from Hungary in particular: 65% of its oil is piped in from Russia, and its PM, Viktor Orbán (pictured), is on good terms with President Putin. The leaders eventually agreed on a compromise position, which allows a “temporary exemption” for oil that comes via a pipeline. Two-thirds of Russian oil comes by sea; but the amount blocked will rise to 90% when Germany and Poland phase out their pipeline imports voluntarily later this year. Russia currently supplies the EU with 27% of its oil imports.

Dublin

Soldier convicted: A former Irish soldier has been convicted of joining Islamic State, but acquitted of attempting to finance the terror group. Lisa Smith, who converted to Islam in 2011, first travelled to Isiscontrolled territory in Syria in 2013 and returned in 2015, by which time the Sunni terror group had declared its so-called “caliphate”. There, she married a British fighter called Sajid Aslam, with whom she had a daughter in 2017. The nine-week, non-jury trial at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin heard that following her conversion, Smith had expressed a desire to live under sharia law and to die a martyr. However, it ruled that there was insufficient evidence that €800 she had sent to a man in 2015 was specifically to fund the group. Smith, 40, returned to Ireland in 2019 following the collapse of the “caliphate”, and was arrested on arrival. She was freed then on bail, and was this week granted bail again pending sentencing in July, when she faces a maximum term of eight years.

Paris

Louvre boss charged: The former director of the Louvre Museum in Paris has been charged with complicity in fraud and money laundering in connection with the alleged trafficking of ancient Egyptian artefacts. Jean-Luc Martinez, who ran the Louvre from 2013 to 2021, is reportedly accused of turning a blind eye to fake certificates of origin for pieces that may have been smuggled out of Egypt during the chaos during the 2011 Arab Spring. These objects are believed to include a rare pink granite stele (or upright slab) depicting Tutankhamen that was acquired for the museum’s branch in Abu Dhabi. Since stepping down from his role at the Louvre, which is owned by the French state, Martinez has been involved in combating art trafficking as France’s ambassador for international cooperation on heritage. He denies the charges and has been released under investigation.

Milan

Berlusconi case: The Italian government is demanding millions in compensation from Silvio Berlusconi for the reputational damage he caused to his country and individuals with his “bunga-bunga” sex parties. Although the four-time PM, now 85, left office in 2011, proceedings against him are still ongoing. He is currently charged with paying 28 guests to lie about the parties during an earlier trial when he was accused of paying for sex with a minor. Prosecutors are calling for him to be jailed, but even if he is convicted he is unlikely, at his age, to spend any time behind bars.

Moscow

Putin “not ill”: Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has flatly denied rumours that Vladimir Putin is seriously ill. In the past few months, Russian sources and Western intelligence have repeatedly suggested that the Russian president has blood cancer, or Parkinson’s. Recent news footage has variously shown him with shaking hands, gripping a table and limping, and only this week a Russian spy said he only had three years to live. But Lavrov dismissed the claims as nonsense, saying Putin is on TV every day showing no symptoms. Frank Gardener, the BBC’s security correspondent, says two years of pandemic isolation have “reinforced” his paranoia, but that talk of him being ill is little more than “wishful thinking”.

Kyiv

War crimes charges: Two men believed to be Wagner Group fighters from Belarus have been charged in absentia with war crimes in Ukraine. Sergey Vladimirovich Sazanov, 51, and Alexander Alexandrovich Stupnitsky, 32, are among eight men wanted for the torture and murder of civilians in the village of Motyzhyn, near Kyiv. Of the others, five are Russian soldiers and one is a Russian mercenary with the Wagner Group, The Guardian reported. Several of them are believed to have served in Syria. The Wagner Group was formed in 2014 to support proRussian separatists in eastern Ukraine. It is believed to be controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and close confidante of President Putin – and to be in effect a branch of the Russian state. Its fighters have been accused of committing atrocities in west and central Africa, as well as in Syria and Libya.