Who went to Ukraine to fight for Kiev? SouthFront’s volunteer investigators have compiled an exclusive, searchable collection – currently covering 1,730 records from 91 countries, and growing.
Naming Names
Recruitment pitches sell a promise. Battlefield headlines capture a moment. Neither tells the whole story.
Search for individuals or browse by nationality. Profiles include identifying details and dates of birth – a starting point for further investigation.
Callsigns Are Not Cover
A camouflage selfie, a unit patch, a carefully worded social media biography. None of these explains what a foreign fighter actually did in Ukraine. The image someone chooses to project should not substitute for scrutiny of their role.
What brought this person to the conflict? Which formations did they serve with? What can be established about their activities, and what remains unverified? These are questions for investigation, not recruitment publicity.
The database will be updated as new information becomes available.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has warned that disruptions to global shipping routes could trigger famine in vulnerable countries, citing Russian attacks on Black Sea shipping as part of the wider threat to international food supplies.
Russia has increasingly targeted civilian shipping in the Black Sea as part of its campaign against Ukraine’s maritime trade, striking cargo vessels, port infrastructure, and ships transporting agricultural goods. The attacks threaten Ukraine’s ability to export grain to global markets, raise risks for international shipping companies, and jeopardize food supplies in countries that rely on Ukrainian agricultural exports.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Istanbul on Friday, 23 October, Wadephul said attacks and threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Black Sea were disrupting trade in food and fertilizers, DW reported. The impact extends far beyond the conflict zones, threatening countries that depend on imported wheat and agricultural inputs.
Wadephul said fertilizer shortages could threaten basic agricultural production in poorer countries, where access to imported food and farming supplies is already limited. He also pointed to Türkiye, the world’s largest wheat-processing country, as vulnerable to disruptions in the supply of grain.
Russian attacks disrupt Ukraine’s grain exports
Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and civilian cargo ships, disrupting a maritime corridor that carries most of the country’s agricultural exports. In July, Russian strikes brought traffic through the corridor close to a standstill during the harvest season, leaving grain with fewer routes to international markets.
The attacks have also hit foreign-flagged vessels carrying or preparing to load Ukrainian grain. On 16 October, Euromaidan Press reported that Russian attacks had sunk merchant ships and damaged others in the Black Sea region, with seafarers missing. The campaign has increased risks for shipping companies and reduced the routes available for Ukrainian exports.
Ukraine is a major supplier of wheat and other agricultural commodities to global markets, including countries in the Middle East and Africa. Disruptions to its exports can tighten global supplies and push prices higher, adding pressure on countries that depend on imported grain.
Wadephul made the remarks ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Istanbul, where he said countries must send a signal that they will not accept Iran or Yemen’s Houthi militia holding global trade hostage. He called for an end to indiscriminate attacks on shipping and neighboring countries, warning that prolonged insecurity puts vulnerable populations at greater risk of hunger.
His remarks place Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian shipping within a wider pattern of threats to key maritime trade routes, with consequences for food security far beyond the regions directly affected.
Multinational ‘anti-war bloc’ uses Istanbul summit to call for a diplomatic solution to Middle East crisis
Foreign ministers at a summit of eight European and Middle Eastern countries have urged the US and Israel not to renews their attacks on Iran, warning a fresh outbreak of fighting would spread conflict and push oil prices even higher.
The development of a new multinational “anti-war bloc” represents a challenge to the increasingly open plans by the US and Israel to relaunch strikes on Iran while talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme remain deadlocked.
Multinational ‘anti-war bloc’ uses Istanbul summit to call for a diplomatic solution to Middle East crisis
Foreign ministers at a summit of eight European and Middle Eastern countries have urged the US and Israel not to renews their attacks on Iran, warning a fresh outbreak of fighting would spread conflict and push oil prices even higher.
The development of a new multinational “anti-war bloc” represents a challenge to the increasingly open plans by the US and Israel to relaunch strikes on Iran while talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme remain deadlocked.
UK allies have long urged people to stockpile supplies for a crisis. How are people from France to Australia being advised to prepare?
The UK has told people to fill their pantries with food for three days in case of catastrophe, joining a host of countries urging citizens to ready themselves for core systems failing.
Such advice, once dismissed as the preserve of preppers, has become more common in government circles as climate breakdown worsens weather extremes and geopolitical tensions turn cyber-attacks and sabotage into a regular occurrence.
A 13-year-old German boy identified as Bennet was hospitalized with a concussion, bruised ribs and other injuries after an alleged attack by a classmate outside a school in the eastern German town of Eilenburg, according to the boy’s mother.
The incident, which occurred Friedrich-Tschanter High School as Bennet went to retrieve his bicycle, was filmed by three other students and later circulated on WhatsApp and Snapchat, according to the Bild newspaper. The alleged attacker is Mohammed, )a Syrian classmate of similar age who had previously drawn attention at the school for violent acts.
In a statement Bennet’s mother said: “He baselessly accused my son of insulting his mother. Then he suddenly started beating him — on Bennet’s head, temples. He kicked him in the ribs, brought him to the ground, choked him by the neck. When Bennet got up, the other forced him onto his knees.”
Hospital records cited in the accounts documented a skull contusion, concussion, strangulation marks on the neck, and bruised ribs. Bennet spent a night in the hospital and received an IV. His mother has said he no longer leaves the family property out of fear, continues to experience pain and does not feel safe going to school alone.
School officials transferred the alleged attacker to a school in a neighboring town for one year, but the mother of Bennett stated that the boy is engaging in similar behavior at the new school.
The case has drawn attention on social media in Germany, including a widely shared post by radio host Julian Adrat.
“Mohammad from Syria tortures Bennet after school in the Saxon town of Eilenburg….They send the Syrian to a school in the neighboring town so he can continue tormenting Germans there. What’s going on here is almost impossible to put into words,” wrote Adrat.
Mohammad aus Syrien foltert Bennet nach der Schule im sächsischen Eilenburg. Er schlägt ihn zu Boden, tritt ihm in die Rippen, würgt ihn. Er lässt ihn sich vor ihm hinknien und um Gnade winseln. Bennet erleidet eine Gehirnerschütterung, geprellte Rippen, ihm wird eine Infusion gelegt, er verbringt eine Nacht im Krankenhaus. Seitdem verlässt er sein zu Hause nicht mehr. Den Syrer schicken sie auf eine Schule im Nachbarort, damit er dort weiter Deutsche quälen kann. Was hier abgeht, lässt sich kaum in Worte kleiden. Aufwachen!
One of the issues is the widespread violence against German youths in streets, schools, and clubs at the hands of migrants. Remix News has covered this issue in Germany and other European schools for years. Remix News had documented numerous cases of German students being bullied, assaulted and humiliated at the hands of migrant youths.
Muslim students beat him because he was German and gay.
"They hated me because I am German, because I was already a homosexual boy back then, and because I did not submit to Sharia, to Islamic laws on German soil," said David Brough (@_david_brg).
"During my school days, I was mistreated, beaten, ostracized, and insulted every day by Muslim classmates."
It is a hell many German students have faced as schools become more "diverse."
"The situation in our schools – what I call our Sharia schools, I was in a Sharia school in Wuppertal – has gotten even worse," said Brough.
He then describes how, when he sought help, a guidance counselor claimed he must accept "diversity."
"When I went to the guidance counselor with an SPD party membership card back then and told him about the homophobic assaults, the abuse, and running the gauntlet in PE class, he only said to me: ‘David, we are a school of diversity. You just have to endure it. You have to tolerate other cultural conditions. And in Islam, being gay is haram, a sin.’"
This same attitude dominates within the German left. Even if the costs are unbearable, everything must be done in the name of diversity.
"This country, Germany, and the politicians of this country, have not only sold out our cultural identity, our dignity, and our pride. The worst part is that they sold out our children, and we – the former schoolchildren, now young adults – are being robbed of our own culture."
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In fact, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel addressed the issue in an interview this week.
“We have a lot of violence in schools, imposed, I’m very sorry to say, but we have to talk about it, by children of Muslim descent, beating up our children in school,” she stated.
German AfD Leader Alice Weidel:
We have a lot of violence in schools, imposed, I’m very sorry to say, but we have to talk about it, by children of Muslim descent, beating up our children in school.
People are very afraid. https://t.co/8K4cyjQPz3
It is not just the right in Germany calling attention to the issue.
Arguably Germany’s most famous currently serving mayor, Tübingen’s Boris Palmer, has attributed the success of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party among young voters to the consequences of mass migration, which have transformed the school system and other areas where young people gather. Palmer is notably associated with the left and was a former member of the Green Party.
“They experience what irregular migration means on a daily basis,” Palmer wrote on Facebook.
“Above all, the young men who have arrived alone are changing the living environment of young people. In the park, in the club, on the street, on the bus, at the train station, in the schoolyard,” he added.
The beating of a German teen in Frankfurt (Oder) also made national headlines earlier this week as well, which sparked a major demonstration against migrant violence in the Brandenburg city.
“The cowardly attack by ten migrants on a single German has had an effect. Around 1,000 people gathered this evening on Leipziger Platz in Frankfurt an der Oder to protest together with the AfD against migrant violence. We won’t tolerate it any longer! The perpetrators and their families need to be deported,” said AfD state lawmaker Lena Kotré at the demonstration.
The other major issue is that German law sets the age of criminal responsibility at 14, which could limit formal prosecution depending on the exact ages involved.
Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher
On October 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin met in St. Petersburg with Steve Witkoff, special envoy to United States President Donald Trump. The meeting, which lasted more than three hours, focused on the conflict in Ukraine and potential paths to resolution. Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, who attended the talks, said Putin gave Witkoff an objective assessment of conditions on the front lines, stressing that Russia’s armed forces hold the strategic initiative and are effectively striking Ukraine’s military industry, energy, and logistics targets. Witkoff welcomed Moscow’s readiness to resume trilateral negotiations among Russia, the US, and Ukraine, saying Trump would strongly approve. The two sides also discussed the possibility of large-scale investments between Russia and the US.
The meeting followed a series of public statements by Trump criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to pursue a negotiated end to the conflict. Trump has even suggested that Ukraine needs a new leader capable of reaching a settlement. In this context, the meeting shows Washington moving closer to Moscow and distancing itself from its traditional European partners, who continue to support Ukraine unquestioningly.
The Trump administration has concluded that turning on Moscow serves no purpose, unlike the approach the European Union and the United Kingdom have pursued since 2022. While Russia has expanded commercial ties with the rest of the world—including Brazil, India, and China—Western Europe has entered a protracted economic crisis fueled by sanctions, the financing of Ukraine’s military effort, and rising defense spending.
Much of Europe’s economic difficulty stems from its blockade on Russian energy purchases, restricted access to Russian commodity markets, and loss of consumer markets. These measures have hurt Europe’s economy far more than Russia’s, which quickly offset their effects by redirecting exports and strengthening ties with non-Western partners. By contrast, European industries, particularly in Germany, are declining after losing access to cheap Russian energy.
Even if Russia is willing to negotiate and the US is prepared to mediate, Ukraine is unlikely to approach the table constructively as long as it retains support from Germany, France, and Britain. Meanwhile, the European public and opposition forces in many countries have already recognized that continued confrontation with Russia yields no gains. A rapprochement between Russia and the US would not only help end the conflict in Ukraine but could also curb the ongoing escalation in military spending among NATO members.
Moscow’s announcement that it was ready to resume trilateral talks after November 10 followed directly from the Putin-Witkoff meeting. During the meeting, Putin also praised American mediation efforts.
Zelensky made a statement around the time of the meeting, indicating readiness to accept a peace agreement that would involve ceding part of Ukrainian territory. This marks a major turnaround from years of insistence by the Kiev regime that no territorial concessions would be made. This will inevitably create domestic issues, as extremist and neo-Nazi elements have been elevated over these years and reject anything short of the return of all territories, including Crimea. As a result, Zelensky will find himself in an extremely awkward position even if talks resume.
Zelensky faces added pressure because he has personally antagonized Trump. The American president has publicly said Zelensky should be replaced and that someone else should negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf. Intelligence sharing has also been visibly disrupted. Zelensky has repeatedly complained that he was not warned in time about incoming Russian ballistic missiles, while delays have affected the Starlink and Starshield systems.
Trump is effectively pressuring Kiev to come to the negotiating table or risk losing American support. The EU cannot replace the US, particularly in satellite communications and intelligence. Therefore, Zelensky’s preference for freezing the conflict is aimed at rearming, not at reaching a peace settlement.
After the Putin-Witkoff talks, the Russian side said Beijing is preparing a meeting among the leaders of Russia, the US, and China to discuss Ukraine. The meeting could take place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen on November 18–19, and all three leaders have already indicated they will attend. If Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping agree on the basic principles of a peace deal, it will make it nearly impossible for the EU to continue making extreme demands from a different position.
Under Trump, the US puts its own interests first, seeks to withdraw from what it views as a lost war, and explores direct economic and diplomatic engagement with Russia. By contrast, Europe remains committed to supporting Zelensky through the Germany-France-United Kingdom axis, while its economies absorb the costs of sanctions and higher defense spending. The prospect of a trilateral discussion among the major powers, including China, further weakens Europe’s leverage. The St. Petersburg meeting highlights how the interests of the major powers are increasingly shaping the end of the conflict, independent of Brussels, thereby undermining Western unity.
Two leading Jewish groups want the EU’s next antisemitism tsar to also brief diplomats on foreign policy – despite the controversy it caused the last one, Katharina von Schnurbein.
“EU external decisions have direct consequences for Jews living in Europe. Diplomats should hear from the person who sees those consequences every day,” said Pinchas Goldschmidt, who heads the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) in Munich, Germany.
The European Jewish Congress (EJC) in Brussels also told EUobserver: “The [EU antisemitism] coordinator should ensure that this objective is systematically reflected in all relevant EU policies, including external action and foreign policy.”
They spoke as von Schnurbein prepared to leave her EU post after 10 years to become a German “federal government commissioner for Jewish life in Germany and the fight against antisemitism” on 28 October.
The 53-year-old German baroness was highly active at events in EU capitals, had three staff, and travelled to Israel, Serbia, Switzerland, and the US.
She also worked next door to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and had close ties with the Israeli government.
This article continues, but the full version is available only to EUobserver.com subscribers. Visit account.euobserver.com/membership
Concerns about the cost of artificial intelligence investment triggered sharp losses in American technology shares on Thursday, with the sell-off affecting European markets as investors reassessed the outlook for chipmakers and major digital companies.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6 per cent, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index lost nearly seven per cent. Shares in Meta declined sharply after its latest earnings revived concern over the capital needed to expand AI infrastructure.
Trading stabilised in parts of Asia on Friday, but European shares remained under pressure. The retreat came alongside a rise in oil prices and renewed demand for US government bonds, underscoring investors’ sensitivity to several risks at once.
The underlying issue is whether the enormous spending commitments announced by technology companies can generate sufficient returns to justify current valuations.
Building and operating AI systems requires large data centres, advanced chips, electricity supplies and network infrastructure. The companies financing that expansion are investing before the full scale and profitability of future demand can be known.
Strong revenue growth can coexist with higher costs, rising debt and pressure on cash flow. For investors, the question is not simply whether AI will be widely used, but how its benefits will be divided among software companies, infrastructure providers and customers.
The latest market reaction follows earnings announcements that renewed scrutiny of spending plans. A one-day share-price fall does not establish that the AI sector is entering a prolonged contraction.
European exposure
Europe participates in the AI supply chain through semiconductor equipment, advanced manufacturing, energy infrastructure and cloud services. A repricing of major American technology companies can therefore affect European-listed firms even when their own operating results have not changed.
The Netherlands and France are among the markets with listed technology businesses exposed to global semiconductor demand. Falling shares may also reflect general risk aversion rather than a judgment about an individual company’s prospects.
European policymakers have argued for stronger domestic computing capacity and digital independence. The economic challenge is to support that capability without assuming every investment will earn a commercial return.
Energy prices add pressure
Brent crude’s rise to around $114 a barrel has intensified uncertainty about inflation and borrowing costs. Rising fuel prices can affect both households and power-intensive sectors, while higher interest rates tend to reduce the present value of expected future profits.
Global investors have consequently moved towards government bonds and other perceived safer assets. That shift reflects changing risk assessments, not a forecast that markets will necessarily keep falling.
Future earnings reports, capital-expenditure plans and evidence of customer demand will determine whether this week’s losses become a sustained correction or a short-lived reassessment.
For Europe, the sell-off puts renewed emphasis on the financing and competitiveness of its own technology ambitions.
Exclusive: Documents show German party’s scramble to request support after president’s 2016 election win and co-leader’s pursuit of Steve Bannon
A data leak from Germany’s far-right German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has revealed the extent of efforts by the party to court Donald Trump and other leading figures in the Maga movement, stretching back more than a decade.
The trove reveals the pains the AfD took in wooing the president, whom they saw from the beginning as a potential ally, with senior party officials agonising over the wording of an obsequious congratulatory telegram when he was elected in 2016, which included the wish that his “hopes as a person be fulfilled”.
Exclusive: Documents show German party’s scramble to request support after president’s 2016 election win and co-leader’s pursuit of Steve Bannon
A data leak from Germany’s far-right German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has revealed the extent of efforts by the party to court Donald Trump and other leading figures in the Maga movement, stretching back more than a decade.
The trove reveals the pains the AfD took in wooing the president, whom they saw from the beginning as a potential ally, with senior party officials agonising over the wording of an obsequious congratulatory telegram when he was elected in 2016, which included the wish that his “hopes as a person be fulfilled”.
New film Fatherland took Sandra Hüller back to a divided Germany. She talks about damaged dreams, Hollywood feelgood and - just maybe - appearing in the new Marvel movie
Sandra Hüller is crying, and it feels very strange. A wildly gifted actor, she can convey every human emotion there is. On screen, though, she is most often asked to embody deep self-possession. Even doing karaoke, Hüller is in control. And in real life, life is good. Her 2026 will end with four high-profile movies this year alone. Two (Fatherland and Rose) are black-and-white arthouse films that centre on her brilliance, and though one of the others (Digger) is already a Hollywood cautionary tale, a second (Project Hail Mary) was a giant $684m hit. (There may also be a fifth movie, bigger still. We will come back to that.)
And yet, dressed in film star black, she is in tears. “This is really hard for me,” she says.
Germany’s federal states are proposing that social media platforms reserve at least 20 percent of algorithmic recommendations for content from a pool of approved media outlets deemed important for opinion diversity, according to a draft under public consultation. The proposed measure is already being slammed as a state-mandated propaganda effort that would force German citizens to view content friendly to the ruling establishment parties.
The measure is part of the second stage of a planned Digital Media State Treaty developed by the Broadcasting Commission of the Federal States. Under the draft, public broadcasters such as ARD, ZDF and Deutschland Radio would automatically qualify for certain offerings.
Meanwhile, private outlets would generally need to apply and demonstrate that they meet criteria including news and political reporting, information and educational content, documentaries, local or regional coverage, original journalistic production, editorial staffing and accessibility standards. Approvals would be decided by the 14 state media authorities.
In other words, the state wants to control what people are seeing in their feeds.
As the Berliner Zeitung reports, the media law involves “media quotas with an advantage for ARD and ZDF,” which are two state broadcasters that already have a massive advantage over private competitors. Both outlets, which are notoriously in favor of mass migration and known for their anti-AfD bias, and which employ virtually all left-wing journalists, are already known for not playing on a level playing field.
Austrian remigration activist Martin Sellner, along with other right-leaning accounts, already are warning about the new plans.
Germany plans to force social media platforms to fill at least 20% of algorithmic recommendations with "diversity positive" government-regulator-approved media content.
Public broadcasters like ARD and ZDF would qualify automatically. Private outlets would need "State approval"
The rule would apply to algorithmic recommendations shown to users, such as in feeds or under videos on platforms including Instagram and X. Content drawn from the approved pool would still be selected according to the platforms’ algorithms and user interests. Officials have framed the quota as a way to protect journalistic content from being sidelined by engagement-driven material.
However, skepticism is obviously abundant.
“And who gets this golden seal of quality for preferential playback completely automatically? Of course, the public broadcasters. Private publishers, on the other hand, get to play the supplicants and politely apply for the status at the so-called “state-independent” media authorities. A rogue mind thinks evil of it,” wrote commentator Bernd Kaiser.
“If you want to exchange views on X in the future, the algorithm will soon forcibly serve you the curated explainer journalism from Tagesschau — right between your friends’ posts. They’re selling us this unprecedented market intervention as ‘Public Value,’ but it’s a blatant attempt to secure air superiority over online discourse,” he added.
Mündiger Bürger? Dass ich nicht lache! Weil ARD, ZDF und Co. trotz 8,5 Milliarden Euro Zwangsgebühren im Jahr immer öfter an den Interessen der Menschen vorbeisenden, greift der Staat jetzt zur digitalen Brechstange.
Die neueste Glanzidee der Länder: Wenn das Publikum freiwillig wegläuft, zwingt man ihm die Inhalte eben per Gesetz auf. Der geplante Digitale-Medien-Staatsvertrag sieht allen Ernstes eine 20-Prozent-Quote für Social Media vor. Das heißt: Jeder fünfte Post in Ihrem Feed bei X oder Instagram soll künftig verpflichtend ein „vielfaltsfördernder“ Beitrag sein.
Und wer bekommt dieses goldene Gütesiegel für bevorzugte Ausspielung völlig automatisch? Natürlich die Öffentlich-Rechtlichen. Private Verlage dürfen hingegen als Bittsteller auftreten und sich bei den sogenannten „staatsfernen“ Medienanstalten brav um den Status bewerben. Ein Schelm, wer Böses dabei denkt.
Wenn Sie sich künftig auf X austauschen wollen, serviert Ihnen der Algorithmus bald zwangsweise den betreuten Erklärbär-Journalismus der Tagesschau – direkt zwischen den Beiträgen Ihrer Freunde. Man verkauft uns diesen beispiellosen Markteingriff als „Public Value“, aber es ist der völlig unverhohlene Versuch, die Lufthoheit über den Diskurs im Netz zu sichern.
Wer exzellenten Journalismus macht, braucht keine algorithmische Rollator-Hilfe durch den Staat. Wer aber Panik vor der eigenen Irrelevanz hat, flüchtet sich in Zwangsquoten. Wir dürfen den Elfenbeinturm nicht mehr nur teuer bezahlen, wir sollen ab sofort auch bei jedem fünften Swipe in Demut daraus lesen.
The draft was released for public comment in late September 2026, with submissions accepted until Nov. 13. It builds on an existing “public value” system that already grants preferential placement to certain media apps in app stores and on smart-TV interfaces. Some private broadcasters, such as those already holding “public-value” status, would also be eligible for the pool.
The Berliner Zeitung, a private newspaper, noted that state-funded broadcasters could expand their visibility relative to private competitors that rely on advertising or subscriptions. Critics have also pointed out that the criteria emphasize structural and production features of outlets rather than the range of viewpoints in individual posts, and that there is limited evidence the specific 20 percent threshold would increase actual diversity of perspectives.
The Digital Media State Treaty is being prepared in two parts. The first, focused largely on implementing European Union rules including aspects of the AI Act, has already advanced. Part two remains a discussion draft and would require agreement by the governments and subsequent ratification by the parliaments of all 16 German states before it could take effect.
Media regulation in Germany is primarily a responsibility of the states under the country’s dual public-private broadcasting system.
Nearly 5,000 Germans emigrated to Poland in 2025, outpacing the numbers who left for Britain, Italy or the Netherlands, according to new government data.
Figures from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed 4,941 people moved from Germany to Poland last year, the highest total since the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, only 1,720 moved in the opposite direction. The resulting negative migration balance for Germany was highlighted by financial daily Handelsblatt reporter Christian Wermke, who asked: “Why are more and more Germans moving across the Oder? What exactly works better in the Polish economy than in Germany? And what could we learn from our eastern neighbor so as not to permanently lose skilled workers?”
Poland features 5 amazing swimming pools just outside Kraków, in Zakrzówek.
German Youtuber @freiformation appears to prefer Poland to Germany when it comes to swimming.
"No groping, no harassment, just families, children, girls, women, men, all peaceful." https://t.co/r3cGmXnsMT
Kevin Wörner, a 33-year-old who relocated from Berlin to Warsaw, and whose mother is Polish, told the newspaper there is “an incredible sense of a new beginning here. Everyone here is very optimistic.”
He contrasted that atmosphere with conversations among friends in Germany, where “it just gets you down.” Wörner cited lower taxes, less bureaucracy, stronger digitalization, and a more business-friendly environment as practical advantages, saying he had the impression “everything is a bit simpler here and more conducive to entrepreneurship.”
The trend also comes at a time when more and more Western European visiting Poland have made remarks about how safe the country is, how there is a lack of migrants, and how much better of a lifestyle the country offers.
A young French-speaking woman traveling in Poland describes how shocked she is to finally not be catcalled and harassed.
"It’s when you come to countries like Poland that you realize there are really problems with our countries, like Belgium or France."
"Whether it’s Brussels, Liège, or slightly bigger cities like that, I would always get catcalled, honked at, harassed… really, everything you can think of."
"And now I’m in Krakow, Poland, and it’s been two days that I’ve been walking around in this outfit, and I get absolutely no comments, no stares – like, only respect."
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Jens Althoff, head of the Warsaw office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, noted that many Germans still hold a “rather distorted image of Poland.” He pointed to ongoing infrastructure investment, high levels of digitalization, punctual trains, and well-maintained stations as visible differences.
Althoff also observed that younger Poles often emphasize achievement and implementation over the work-life balance discussions common in Germany.
After returning from Poland, French journalist @YOANNUSAI said:
"It’s true that after coming back from certain countries to France, you can say to yourself: ‘My God, what have they done to our country?’"
"And it’s true that Poland is still Poland, while France is no longer France. The reality is this. The Poland of 40 years ago is the same as the Poland of today. France today is nothing like the France of 40 years ago. And immigration, of course, is partly responsible for this."
Many Western Europeans have the same reaction after returning from Poland, which still has basically the same demographics as 40 years ago.
Poland is also a vastly safer country for women on the streets.
"Finally, in Poland, young girls go out freely, without fear. Obviously, in Poland, there are young girls who are dressed however they want to be dressed. They don’t censor themselves, which is no longer the case in France. I had to go out on a Saturday night in Paris, and a lot of young girls self-censor how they dress. This is not the case in Poland, as I have seen. You can walk freely around Warsaw at any time of day or night without worrying about your safety, which is not even the case for me in Paris, as a man, OK? I’m afraid for my own safety at certain hours in some neighborhoods of Paris."
Other interviewees mentioned Polish digital tools such as the BLIK mobile payment system and the mObywatel government app as examples of efficiency that stand out to newcomers. Handelsblatt’s reporting appeared amid broader German media coverage noting Poland’s economic growth and infrastructure improvements, even as some outlets have described ongoing operational difficulties on the German rail network.
The Destatis figures place Poland among the top destinations for German emigrants in 2025, behind Switzerland, Austria and Spain but ahead of several Western European countries. The newspaper framed the trend as a potential signal for German policymakers concerned about retaining skilled workers, while noting that overall German emigration remains highest to neighboring German-speaking countries, such as Austria.
In a podcast with Paul Ronzheimer, ARD chairman Florian Hager conceded that public broadcasters have often lectured AfD voters, that migration coverage was “probably not critical enough” in places, and that journalists from academic backgrounds can lose touch with everyday realities.
During the podcast, Hager distinguished AfD politicians from their voters and said concerns about representation and trust in public media are a problem that public media must acknowledge as a problem.
“I am trying to create a separation between AfD politicians and the people who vote for the AfD,” he said, noting that the concerns of voters should not be ignored. “And if there’s a feeling that we don’t represent them, that they aren’t seen, or that they can no longer trust us, then it’s a huge issue for us. And then you can’t say it is their problem… but it’s our problem.”
These are rare admissions from an ARD chief. However, in a country where approximately a third of voters support the AfD, the party and its voters can no longer be swept aside by public media as anger over mass immigration soars.
In general, public trust has eroded in public broadcasting while the AfD consolidates its position at nearly 30 percent in national polls.
Public media’s trust problem is measurable and persistent. A Media Tenor “Zukunftsindex Deutschland” survey of more than 3,000 people found only 31 percent trust ARD, ZDF and related programs; among 16- to 29-year-olds the figure was 25 percent, and among AfD supporters it dropped to 15 percent.
WDR/Infratest Dimap data from spring 2025 put institutional trust in public broadcasting at 55 percent overall, with a clear East-West gap (higher in the West, lower in the East).
Compulsory fees continue to fund a system whose audience is shrinking relative to the political landscape, and the people who have to pay those fees are even willing to hold public demonstrations over the issue. t has strong echoes of the protests against the BBC.in Britain, where taxpaying Brits who vote for conservative parties have launched campaign after campaign for the abolition of compulsory fees to support the network.
The ideological skew inside the German journalism industry helps explain much of the uncritical migration coverage. Hager is now being forced to confront this issue, but the problem is that the vast majority of journalists working in public media are extremely supportive of left-green parties, and many of these same journalists could even be considered open-border extremists.
The 2024 TU Dortmund “Journalism and Democracy” survey of 525 journalists — with 40 percent of respondents working for public broadcasters — found 41 percent leaning toward the Greens, 16 percent toward the SPD, 6 percent toward the Left, and only 8 percent toward the CDU.
As for the AfD, it either was not listed or received support so low, at below 1 percent, that it was considered “negligible.”
In total, among those expressing a preference, left-green parties accounted for roughly 82 percent of journalists. Green Party support among journalists was several times the party’s national polling level at the time.
Meanwhile, the party that is supported about a third of the population, the AfD, does not even have 1 percent representation in the public media networks, even though those same networks are obligated by law to represent a full spectrum of the public’s political opinions.
What does this mean in practice? When the people producing the news overwhelmingly favor parties that have defended high immigration levels, expansive asylum rules, and framing that treats immigration restriction as morally unjustified, then the type of “uncritical” reporting described by Hager is the predictable outcome — not an accidental oversight.
Hager’s attitude has been repeated not only throughout German politics, but across the entire Western world. The elite, the political establishment, and the organs of the press offer a constant platitude, claiming to have not “paid enough attention” to voters and that we “need to do better” on the topic of immigration. This has been repeated ad nauseam for decades, and is only amplified when right-wing parties opposed to immigration get closer to power.
They are ultimately empty words at the end of the day meant to paper over a real crisis. Is Hager going to hire more journalists who support the AfD? The thought would never cross his mind. Is he going to start reporting on the nationality of suspects in crime reports? Highly unlikely. Is he going to start running more pieces critical of immigration? This is also unlikely, although there may be some subtle steering toward acknowledging there is a problem but that the public should never vote for the AfD to potentially fix the problem.
Notably, he also expresses worry that an AfD-led government may place curbs on the cash cow that feeds the ARD with tens of millions of euros in mandatory fees on German citizens, who have to pay to keep the ZDF and ARD running whether they like it or not.
Hager says he wants to separate AfD voters from the party and address feelings of being unseen. That is tactically sensible for an institution facing state-treaty threats and potential cuts to its funding. Yet the parties that dominate journalistic preferences – the Greens, SPD, and large parts of the center-left spectrum – continue to support higher immigration and more open policies that sharply contrast with the AfD’s core demand for sharp reductions and stricter controls.
That problem is not going away.
Even if Hager truly wanted to turn the ship around and gain back the trust of AfD voters, would there even be any institutional support for such a change of pace within the ARD itself?
For an example of this, it is important to review the case of Julia Ruhs. Her case shows, along with the cancellation of her show, that reporting critically on immigration can lead to a witch hunt within the German public broadcasters. Remix News covered the moment she learned public broadcasters had dropped her show.
A female German journalist wanted to research the topic of gang rapes by migrants in Bavaria but was labeled "racist" and "right-wing" by her colleagues.
Julia Ruhs, a high-profile television presenter, said it is still a "taboo" to research topics regarding why "certain population groups are more susceptible to committing sexual offenses."
"That’s when I realized the whole editorial imbalance that when you dedicate yourself to such a topic."
She added that it became an environment where she was told: "You’re not allowed to say that and you’re totally racist."
Ruhs is currently at the center of a significant "Cancel Culture" and media sovereignty debate in Germany.
She is often described as a rare conservative voice within the German public broadcasting landscape, which is frequently criticized for having a "left-green" bias.
In 2025, Ruhs was chosen to host a new experimental debate format called "Klar," co-produced by the northern public broadcaster NDR and the southern BR. The show’s mission was to reach viewers who felt alienated by mainstream media by tackling sensitive topics like migration, Covid-19, and the farmers’ protests.
After the first episode on migration, a massive internal wave of criticism hit. Approximately 250 NDR employees signed an open letter distancing themselves from the show, accusing Ruhs of one-sided and populist reporting.
In September 2025, the NDR officially decided to drop Ruhs as a presenter for their portion of the show, citing a desire to move toward a "multi-moderator concept."
Ruhs responded on social media, calling the decision a "disgrace" and claiming she was "too right-wing for the NDR."
High-profile politicians like CSU’s Markus Söder (Bavaria) and Daniel Günther (Schleswig-Holstein) criticized the NDR for stifling diversity of opinion.
While the NDR canceled her, the Bavarian broadcaster BR stood by her. New episodes of "Klar" are planned from the BR broadcaster for 2026.
Hager is aware of this problem to a large degree. He also cites police and local officials repeatedly describing persistent problems over migration. However, he is offering nothing more than a weak mea culpa on behalf of years of ARD reporting, which has gone to great lengths to whitewash the growing problems with mass immigration.
Most importantly, Hager does not address how the ARD actually plans to change its reporting and win back the trust of these voters. Additionally, he completely fails to confront the structural imbalance in who is hired, trained, and promoted, or the compulsory funding that insulates the system from market feedback.
Damage control without altering the underlying editorial incentives or the immigration positions of the favored parties is unlikely to restore broad trust from AfD voters. If he was serious about truly diverse representation in the public media, he would require measurable diversification of political backgrounds inside the newsrooms and reporting that treats migration outcomes – crime correlations, integration failures, fiscal costs, and local pressures – with the same rigor applied to other policy areas.
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