Poland has filed legal challenges attempting to annul three of the European Union’s main climate change policies, which the Polish government argues would worsen social inequality, document published on Monday showed.

The legal actions, brought by Warsaw to the EU Court of Justice in July, target policies including a law agreed this year which will ban the sale of new CO2-emitting cars in the EU from 2035.

“The contested regulation imposes excessive burdens connected with the transition towards zero-emission mobility on European citizens, especially those who are less well off, as well as on the European automotive companies sector,” Poland said in its challenge, which the European Commission published on Monday.

A second EU policy setting national emissions-cutting targets “threatens Poland’s energy security”, while a third law to reform the EU carbon market may reduce coal mining jobs and increase social inequality, Poland said.

Poland produces around 70% of its power from coal.

The government wants all three laws annulled. Each was passed by a reinforced majority of EU member states, but Poland said they should have been passed with unanimous approval given the impact they could have on countries’ energy mixes.

The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The EU has among the most ambitious climate change policies in the world, and has urged governments to use EU money to help vulnerable communities invest in clean energy to bring down bills and cut health-harming air pollution.

A 17.5 billion euro EU “just transition fund” is designed to support communities affected by the shift away from fossil fuels, notably with help for retraining workers.

The biggest share of that fund is earmarked for Poland. But Brussels has warned that the Polish government’s plans to extend the life of a coal mine in Turow until 2040 could mean the region cannot access the money.
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France will ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools, its education minister said on Sunday ahead of the back-to-school season.

France, which has enforced a strict ban on religious signs in state schools since 19th century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education, has struggled to update guidelines to deal with a growing Muslim minority.

In 2004, it banned headscarves in schools and passed a ban on full face veils in public in 2010, angering some in its 5 million-strong Muslim community.

Defending secularism is a rallying cry in France that resonates across the political spectrum, from left-wingers upholding the liberal values of the Enlightenment to far-right voters seeking a bulwark against the growing role of Islam in French society.

“I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools,” Education Minister Gabriel Attal said in an interview with TV channel TF1.

“When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them,” he said.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin smiled as a crowd of adoring fans surrounded his black SUV on June 24 in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don and cheered him on.

“You rock!” fans shouted while taking selfies with the chief of the Wagner mercenary group, who was sitting in the vehicle after nightfall. “You’re a lion! Hang in there!”

Prigozhin and his masked, camouflage-clad fighters were leaving the city after a daylong mutiny against the country’s military leadership. President Vladimir Putin decried it as “treason” and vowed punishment, but then cut a deal not to prosecute Prigozhin. Beyond that, his fate looked uncertain.

Two months later, on Aug. 23, Prigozhin’s business jet plummeted from the sky and crashed in a field halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. All 10 people on board the plane were killed, Russian authorities said. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Sunday that forensic testing confirmed Prigozhin was one of them.

The two scenes, which unfolded just two months apart, provide bookends to the mystery-shrouded final days of the outspoken, brutal mercenary leader who initially appeared to have escaped any retribution for the rebellion that posed the greatest challenge to Putin’s authority in his 23-year rule.

Suspicions immediately arose that the crash of the plane, which also carried some of the Wagner founder’s top lieutenants, was a Kremlin act of vengeance. The Kremlin denied it.

In on-camera remarks eulogizing Prigozhin, the Russian president sought to show that there was no bad blood between them. He described the head of Wagner as “a talented man” whom he had known for a long time and who made “serious mistakes” but was still apparently doing business with the government.

The last weeks of Prigozhin’s life were overshadowed by questions about what the Kremlin really had in store for him. Had he already dodged a bullet? Or was his comeuppance just further down the road?

Shortly before footage emerged of Prigozhin driving off into the night in Rostov-on-Don, the Kremlin announced a deal to end the mutiny. Prigozhin would “retreat to Belarus,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, without elaborating on whether that meant a permanent exile.

Prigozhin himself went silent, which was unusual for a man who used to release multiple written and spoken statements every day. Responding to an email from The Associated Press on June 25, the day after the mutiny, Prigozhin’s press service said only that he “says hi to everyone” and would respond to all questions once he gets “proper connection.”

An elaborate 11-minute statement from Prigozhin appeared the next day, but it contained nothing about where he was or what was next for him and his forces. Instead, he defended himself and the mutiny in his usual defiant and bullish manner.

He said his march on Moscow started because of an injustice — an alleged attack on his fighters in Ukraine by the Russian military. He taunted the military, calling Wagner’s march a “master class” in how government soldiers should have carried out the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He pointed out security breaches that allowed Wagner to advance 780 kilometers without resistance and to block all military units on its way.

The following morning, on June 27, Russian authorities announced they were dropping the criminal investigation into the revolt, with no charges for the Wagner leader or any other participants — even though about a dozen Russian troops were killed in clashes and several military aircraft were shot down.

Later in the day, Putin hinted that there might be a new probe — this time into Prigozhin’s finances. The Russian leader told a military gathering that the state paid Wagner almost $1 billion in just one year, while Prigozhin’s other company earned about the same from government contracts. Putin wondered aloud whether any of it was stolen and promised to “figure it out.”

On the day the charges were dropped, Prigozhin’s plane was spotted in Belarus, and Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who helped broker the deal to end the mutiny, said the Wagner chief had arrived. Belarusian activists soon reported that a camp was being erected there for fighters who decided to follow him.

In Russia, Prigozhin’s major business asset — a media company called Patriot — shut down, and many of the news outlets it owned were blocked by authorities. Prigozhin’s media operations included the infamous “troll factory” that led to his indictment in the United States for meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Wagner also announced a halt to recruitment of new mercenaries “due to the move to Belarus.”

On July 6, however, Lukashenko told reporters that Prigozhin was in St. Petersburg — or “maybe he went to Moscow, or maybe somewhere else, but he is not in Belarus.” The remarks came amid media reports that cash and equipment seized during police searches of Prigozhin’s property were returned to him.

“What will happen to him next? Well, anything can happen in a lifetime. But if you think that Putin is so malicious and vindictive that he will be offed somewhere tomorrow. … No, this will not happen,” Lukashenko assured.

As it turned out, Putin met with Prigozhin several days after the revolt.

Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, told reporters on July 10 that the meeting took place in the Kremlin and involved more than 30 Wagner commanders in addition to Prigozhin. The revelation came after Peskov repeatedly said the Kremlin knew nothing about Prigozhin’s whereabouts — including on the day of the meeting with Putin, June 29.

Putin’s spokesperson wouldn’t offer any details about the meeting, saying only that the commanders pledged their loyalty to the Russian president.

Putin later echoed that idea, saying in a July 13 interview that “many were nodding” when he offered to let them continue serving under one of the Wagner commanders. But a defiant Prigozhin spoke for them and said they didn’t like the proposal, according to the Russian president.

Comments from the Wagner chief himself became rare. Nothing more was posted by his spokespeople beyond the 11-minute audio message issued two days after the mutiny.

Words or visuals of Prigozhin instead appeared in one of several Telegram channels believed to be linked to Wagner. The relative quiet raised questions over whether keeping a low public profile was part of his deal with the Kremlin.

One such video on July 19 reportedly came from Belarus. Blurry footage showed a silhouette of a man looking like Prigozhin against the sky at dusk, and his distinctive gravelly voice was heard addressing rows of men in fatigues.

“Welcome guys! I am happy to greet you all. Welcome to Belarusian land!” he said.

Prigozhin repeated his criticism of the conduct of the fighting in Ukraine. “What is going on the front line today is a shame in which we shouldn’t take part,” he said, adding that Wagner forces could return to Ukraine in the future.

In the meantime, Prigozhin said, Wagner would train in Belarus and then set off on a new journey to Africa, where his mercenaries have been active in several countries.

Another video, posted on Aug. 21 in a different Telegram channel, showed a close-up of Prigozhin toting a rifle while standing on a dusty plain. Prigozhin didn’t say where the video was recorded, but he referenced the temperature being 50 degrees Celsius.

“Just the way we like it,” he boasted. He said Wagner was “making Russia even greater on all continents and Africa even freer.”

Two days later came the plane crash — exactly two months after Priogzhin first announced his revolt.

Although the Kremlin rejected allegations that it was behind the crash, the reality of those two months likely didn’t sit well with Putin, political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said.

The mutiny “showcased Putin’s weakness to everyone,” said Gallyamov, who once worked as a Kremlin speechwriter. After that, Prigozhin “was feeling normal.” He was working on projects in Belarus and in Africa, and the case against him was closed.

That reality “completely dissatisfied Putin because it was an open invitation for potential mutineers,” Gallyamov said.
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A second civilian cargo ship, carrying steel products to Africa, safely reached Romanian waters after leaving the Ukrainian port city of Odesa through a temporary Black Sea corridor, Ukraine said Sunday.

Earlier in August, Kyiv announced it had created a new maritime corridor. Russia last month left a Black Sea grain deal, which allowed for safe navigation of civilian grain shipments from Ukrainian ports.

In leaving the agreement, Moscow warned that any vessels leaving Ukrainian ports would be considered military targets. 

“The second vessel has reached Romanian waters after successfully navigating through our temporary Black Sea corridor,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

He said the ship — a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier called Primus — was carrying steel destined for the African market.

“I thank everyone who made this possible, our port workers, our warriors and everyone who defends freedom,” he said.

Also, Ukrainian authorities are investigating what caused a collision between two warplanes while on a training mission, killing three Ukrainian pilots, in the west of the country.

According to the air force’s Telegram page, two L-39 training military aircraft collided Friday during a combat mission over Ukraine’s western Zhytomyr region. 

President Zelenskyy in his nightly address Saturday, paid tribute to the pilots, including Andriy Pilshchykov, a well-known pilot with the call name “Juice,” who advocated for Ukraine receiving F-16 fighter jets. Zelenskyy said he was a “Ukrainian officer, one of those who helped our country a lot.”

The other two pilots were Viacheslav Minka and Serhiy Prokazin.

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation said the inquiry will determine whether the planes were in good condition and whether all rules were followed prior to the flight. Specialists also will examine the black boxes that record data about the planes’ movements and pilot reactions.

“It is too early to discuss details. Certainly, all circumstances will be clarified,” Zelenskyy said.  

Ukraine counteroffensive

Ukrainian forces have made tactically significant gains in western Zaporizhzhia region, advancing through some of the most challenging layers of Russian fortifications, the Institute for the Study of War reported in its daily briefing Saturday.

There are signs that Ukrainian troops have broken through Russian defenses along the southern front and may soon be able to advance more quickly, the Reuters news agency reported.

Russian sources claimed the Ukrainians were attacking toward the rear defensive lines near Verbove, northeast of Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrainian forces now seem to be within striking distance of the next fortifications, which may be weaker than the previous set of Russian defenses but still pose a significant challenge, the ISW reports.

Russia’s defensive lines are the most layered and formidable in Zaporizhzhia region, as the occupying force anticipated and prepared to thwart expected Ukrainian advances toward Melitopol and Berdiansk.

After reportedly taking multiple casualties and losing numerous tanks and vehicles while attacking through dense Russian minefields over the past two months, Ukrainian forces liberated part of the village of Robotyne and the area around it, an important advance toward Melitopol, northeast of Crimea.

Ukraine said Sunday it downed four Russian cruise missiles overnight over northern and central parts of the country.

The governor of the Kyiv region, Ruslan Kravchenko, said two people were wounded and 10 buildings damaged by falling missile debris in one unspecified area of the region.

“Thanks to the professional work of the air defense forces, there were no strikes on critical or residential infrastructure,” he said in a statement.

All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts for about three hours early Sunday before they were cleared at around 6 a.m. local time.

Russian forces shelled a cafe in Podoly — a suburb of the strategically significant northeastern city of Kupiansk — killing two civilians and injuring a third one on Saturday.

The attacks are raising fears that the Russians are pushing to reclaim front-line cities in the northeast region. Ukrainian forces say that fighting there has become more intense, but the Russians haven’t broken through.

British defense officials said Saturday that Russia’s probable objective in the region will be to advance west to the Oskil River and establish a buffer zone around Luhansk region.

U.K. military intelligence reports assess that Russia is attempting to reverse the gradual gains of the Ukrainian counteroffensive near Bakhmut and the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Ukrainian regional administration of Zaporizhzhia reported Saturday that Russia shelled Mala Tokmachka on Friday — one of the villages near which Kyiv’s troops were said to be gaining ground. One resident was killed and another injured in the attack.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Russia says the remains of Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, were confirmed among the dead from a fatal plane crash last week in Russia. The country’s Investigative Committee said genetic testing verified his identity. The crash of the private jet came two months after Prigozhin led a failed uprising against the Kremlin. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.
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