Latest news bulletin | March 1st – Morning
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00:00 With European elections just 100 days away, Euronews took the streets of Brussels to see
00:05 people knew when to mark their calendars to elect their MEPs.
00:10 German soldiers are preparing to relocate to Lithuania in 2027, as NATO allies reject
00:17 calls to send troops into Ukraine.
00:24 Ukraine's Armed Forces Chief Oleksandr Sirsky has claimed that the Ukrainian army shot down
00:30 three Russian bombers early on Thursday.
00:33 The announcement comes as Russia continues its attacks, particularly in the Donetsk region.
00:38 Police there say Russian missiles hit several buildings in Pokrovsk, but left no casualties.
00:44 Donetsk Technical University and a school were hit, 14 residential and two administrative
00:49 buildings, a cultural centre, post office and a heating plant were damaged.
00:54 Russia has also released images it says shows Russian artillery units operating in Ukraine
00:59 without specifying a location.
01:02 But a spokesman for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the east claims that Russia is trying to
01:07 capture two towns in the eastern Bakhmut region.
01:10 Weighing in on the backlash against the French president's invitation to open the door to
01:14 European countries sending troops to Ukraine, the Bulgarian prime minister has underscored
01:20 that as long as he's in office, the decision to send Bulgarian soldiers will never be discussed
01:25 or taken.
01:28 In the midst of Russia's invasion and EU farmers' dispute over Ukrainian grain, Kyiv sent over
01:34 seven and a half thousand tonnes of wheat flour to the World Food Programme in Sudan
01:39 for emergency food distribution.
01:42 The initiative is part of the Grain from Ukraine project, launched by President Zelensky and
01:47 made possible by the German Foreign Office.
01:57 Ukrainian forces have pushed back Russian troops from the village of Orlivka, west of
02:02 Avdiivka, but the situation on the eastern front remains difficult, Ukrainian Army Chief
02:08 Oleksandr Syrsky said on Thursday.
02:11 Orlivka is less than two kilometres northwest from Lastochkin, which was recently occupied
02:17 by Russian forces.
02:19 This territory west of Avdiivka remains the focal effort of Russia's offensive in eastern
02:24 Ukraine, says the UK Defence Ministry in its latest update, adding that since the seizure
02:29 of Avdiivka, Russian forces have advanced approximately six kilometres from the centre
02:34 of the town.
02:35 The tactical gains serve primarily to consolidate Russian positions around Avdiivka.
02:41 Russia is also likely seeking to build momentum of the Axis to take advantage of the fact
02:45 that there are fewer fixed, well-defended positions and urban areas from which Ukrainian
02:50 forces can defend.
02:53 Ukrainian officials continue to report that Ukrainian forces have stabilised a defensive
02:57 line immediately west of Avdiivka, specifically along the Tonnenka-Orlivka-Berdychy line,
03:04 where terrain and several reservoirs are favourable for defensive operations.
03:09 Ukrainian military observers characterised Ukrainian fortifications west of Avdiivka
03:13 as "disappointing and problematic".
03:18 Ukrainian Army Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said he took measures to correct "certain miscalculations
03:24 commanders had made that directly affected the stability of the defence in certain areas".
03:35 Around 5,000 German soldiers are preparing to relocate to Lithuania in 2027, as NATO
03:41 allies continue to reject calls to send ground troops into Ukraine, being the first permanent
03:47 deployment of German troops since World War II.
03:51 Ukrainian Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited affected troops.
03:56 "We have experience with foreign operations, also over the Battlegroup, and yet the conditions
04:02 are different here, because we are talking about several years, and in many cases also
04:06 about an operation under the supervision of the families."
04:09 Two combat battalions will be deployed to support Lithuania, following Russia's full-scale
04:15 invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
04:17 The reinforcement of Lithuania is high on the agenda, as concerns grow about a potential
04:23 attack from Moscow.
04:25 Lithuania borders with the Kaliningrad Oblast, along its ally Belarus.
04:30 One soldier said he had already volunteered to relocate.
04:34 "There are comrades who want to go, there are comrades who don't want to go.
04:37 For me personally, the question hasn't even arisen.
04:40 Ultimately, I serve my country, and therefore I serve Europe, and Europe is Lithuania.
04:47 And that has been important for me, and that's how I communicated at home."
04:52 The permanent deployment of German troops will only be 100 kilometres from the Russian
04:57 border.
04:58 NATO hopes the stationing will protect Lithuania as they predict Russia could attack the 60-kilometre
05:04 stretch of land on the Polish-Lithuanian border if the conflict escalates.
05:09 Some experts have expressed concerns regarding the cost of the relocation and maintenance,
05:14 which is estimated to cost around 30 million euros per month.
05:19 German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said around half of the troops stationed in Bavaria
05:23 have expressed interest to relocate to Lithuania.
05:27 The UK, Canada and the USA also deployed troops in Eastern European states.
05:32 Liv Stroud in Bavaria for Euronews.
05:38 With European elections just 100 days away, Euronews took the streets of Brussels to see
05:43 people knew when to mark their calendars to elect their MEPs, who will be representing
05:48 them for the next five years.
05:50 "Do you know when the European elections are?"
05:56 "I don't, I don't, no."
06:00 "No, pas du tout."
06:03 "This year, ok, but I don't know the month."
06:08 "October, no?
06:09 November, un truc comme ça."
06:11 "June."
06:12 "June?"
06:13 "This year, month of June."
06:14 "En tout cas, j'ai l'intention d'aller voter, oui, ça c'est sûr."
06:20 These elections are taking place in a tense time as the EU faces several crises, such
06:24 as the war in Ukraine and the inflation.
06:27 Citizens have different priorities for their next European Parliament.
06:31 "Well, I guess ecology, that's very important."
06:35 "Le cambio climatico, que se réunieron, pero no arreglaron nada."
06:39 "Maybe talk about Palestine and what's going on over there.
06:43 They need to discuss Palestine."
06:44 "Qu'on vive de nouveau en paix."
06:47 "Less liberal, more social."
06:50 "Les pays ont envie de se refermer sur eux-mêmes, cette montée du nationalisme fait peur."
06:57 "I do hope that the extremes won't be there."
07:00 "Do you plan on voting this year?"
07:02 "I probably will, yes."
07:04 "Je m'intéresse pas du tout à ça, je suis désolée."
07:11 School buses, trams and subway trains have come to a halt in much of Germany as transport
07:16 employees carry out another two-day strike.
07:18 They're calling for better working conditions, including shorter working weeks and extra
07:23 compensation for shift and night work.
07:27 Such short warning strikes are a common tactic in German contract negotiations, but they've
07:32 frustrated travellers and commuters.
07:34 "You have to see both sides and you can understand that the people who work at the KPP want to
07:41 be paid accordingly and act accordingly."
07:45 "But that you keep arguing against this, I think that's unfair.
07:50 You're arguing against the people who are also driving in the suburbs."
07:54 The union Verdi called for the 48-hour warning strike in the ongoing nationwide wage dispute
08:00 in regional negotiations.
08:02 The walkout coincides with weeks of rail, airport and local transport strikes across
08:07 the country.
08:10 More than half of Denmark's drinking water supplies are contaminated with pesticides
08:14 and other toxins.
08:16 The findings are from a report commissioned by several Danish regional councils.
08:20 One in ten water sources exceeds acceptable levels of contamination, it concludes.
08:25 The report says the situation has reached a critical point and threatens a transition
08:30 to a green economy.
08:32 Several waterworks are in the process of purifying their drinking water.
08:36 At the same time, Copenhagen uses up to 2.5 times more water than what geologists consider
08:42 sustainable.
08:44 Euronews is with Alejandro Villanueva from real estate agency Gilmar on a commercial visit.
08:56 "This 172-square-meter office is one of many that are running out."
09:01 Offices once full now sit empty, all down to the work from home surge which started
09:06 during the pandemic.
09:08 In the centre of Madrid alone, more than 180 office buildings could soon have a new life.
09:13 "The office has lighting, ventilation, the project that needs to be done would be minimal
09:19 to adapt it to a home, and the space is more than enough to take out several units."
09:26 The expansion of the telework is leaving hundreds of offices like this in the capital of Spain
09:31 underutilised.
09:33 Madrid now plans to transform them into up to 20,000 flats in a city where the housing
09:38 park needs to be increased desperately.
09:42 Spaniards on average go to the office less than three days a week.
09:46 Meanwhile, workplaces are changing.
09:50 "Companies are looking for more collaborative spaces to adapt and attract employees to the
09:57 office, and the more obsolete buildings that are not adapting to these new trends will
10:03 be the subject of a transformation.
10:06 It could be the solution to the lack of stock in the residential park, as long as the urban
10:14 and architectural regulations allow it."
10:19 The regional government of Madrid hopes to make it easier to change the transition from
10:24 office space to residential over the next two years.
10:27 Despite the demand for housing in the city centre being much higher, most vacant offices
10:32 are in the city outskirts.
10:33 Their transformation can only be successful if they are equipped to live in.
10:46 25 films, including Oscar and César Award nominations, will be screened at the 14th
10:52 edition of the Francophone Film Days in Budapest.
10:56 People will be able to meet the directors and actors of several of the films in the
11:00 Hungarian capital.
11:02 "The French language is something that so many people across the world have in common.
11:10 It's a language that is spoken on the five continents, which is the case only of English,
11:15 you know, and which is spoken in areas with the greatest demographic growth.
11:20 So it's really a language with a proud history, language for today and language for tomorrow.
11:26 And so we will have now the cinematographic celebration of Francophonie."
11:32 The Francophone Film Days will run until March 10 in Budapest, but a selection of the program
11:38 will be screened in 16 cities in the countryside over the coming weeks.
11:42 [Whoosh]