European News 🇪🇺May 20

Exclusive: Hungary signals readiness to sanction Russia's Patriarch Kirill

A "mini" sanction package is set to be discussed by EU ambassadors this week, targeting around ten individuals who were previously protected by Viktor Orbán's government and a handful of Russian vessels.

http://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/05/20/exclusive-hungary-signals-readiness-to-sanction-russias-patriarch-kirill

Exclusive: Hungary ready to sanction Russia's Patriarch Kirill

A "mini" sanction package is set to be discussed by EU ambassadors this week, targeting around ten individuals who were previously protected by Viktor Orbán's government and a handful of Russian vessels. #EuropeNews

euronews
Show threadTim Finnerty
@eunews Ya #Russia gets to sell #oil and #potash now, but at least a priest will be sanctioned.
May 20 at 3:33pmWeb
Show threadDistanteMay 20

@TimFinnerty @eunews “a priest”

Switzerland’s Sonntagszeitung and Le Matin Dimanche newspapers have studied de-classified archives to discover that Patriarch Kirill (Vladimir Gundyaev), head of the Russian Orthodox Church, used to spy for the KGB in Geneva in the 1970s under an alias of Mikhaylov.

https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/02/05/media-russias-church-leader-patriarch-kirill-spied-for-kgb-in-geneva-in-1970s-en-news

Patriarch Kirill said in his sermon today that soldiers dying in Ukraine would have all their sins washed away

https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1574058496324157440

Media: Russia’s church leader Patriarch Kirill spied for KGB in Geneva in 1970s

Novaya Gazeta Europe
Show threadDistanteMay 20

@TimFinnerty Patriarch Kirill urged not to be afraid of death amid mobilization

"Go bravely to fulfill your military duty.And remember that if you die for your country, you will be with God in his kingdom, glory and eternal life"

https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1573058637383471104

NEXTA (@nexta_tv) on X

🤡Patriarch Kirill urged not to be afraid of death amid mobilization "Go bravely to fulfill your military duty.And remember that if you die for your country, you will be with God in his kingdom, glory and eternal life" Maybe Kirill will refuse an armored Mercedes and security?

X (formerly Twitter)
Show threadDistanteMay 20

@TimFinnerty > The church by the airport: Inside Russia’s suspected spy activities in Sweden

https://f24.my/BI6Y

Holy war: How Russia recruited Orthodox priests to sway Moldova's voters https://www.reuters.com/investigations/holy-war-how-russia-recruited-orthodox-priests-sway-moldovas-voters-2025-09-26/

The church by the airport: Inside Russia’s suspected spy activities in Sweden

Just about everything about the onion-domed Russian Orthodox church near the otherwise unassuming Swedish city of Vasteras seems odd: its close proximity to the airport, its taller-than-planned spire, and its elusive priest allegedly commended by the Kremlin’s foreign spy agency, SVR. Swedish intelligence services think so too, and have warned that Moscow is likely using it as a platform for espionage and other hostile hybrid activities potentially threatening Sweden’s national security.

FRANCE 24