Global Affairs

First volunteer fighters leave Belgium to join Ukrainian brigades

The first batch of volunteers left Belgium Thursday (3 March) to fight Russia in Ukraine — despite official Belgian advice not to go.

Seven men were travelling from Belgium to the Polish-Ukrainian border on a coach provided and driven by a volunteer driver, Ukraine’s embassy to Belgium told EUobserver.

The foreign fighters are coming after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky issued an appeal Saturday for foreigners to join an “international legion.”

As many as 16,000 foreigners have so far answered the call from some 20 nationalities, Zelensky said Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency.

“They are in the embassy now and they are leaving right now,” a Ukrainian diplomat said Thursday afternoon, speaking of the first men from Belgium.

Another 18 were due to follow in the coming days after completing Ukrainian application forms and interviews, out of 70 men who have so far contacted the Ukrainian embassy to volunteer.

Alongside Belgian nationals, men from Brazil, France, Georgia, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Morocco, and Sweden, several of them with prior military experience, applied.

Ukrainian authorities have also created international hotlines to help foreign fighters join the front line.

“Hello,” was the answer when EUobserver dialled one of the numbers on Thursday for information on the initiative. “You have called the hotline for those who want to support Ukraine with humanitarian aid or contribute to territorial defence. My name is Olha, how can I help you?”

Olha identified herself as a civilian Ukrainian activist in Ukraine. She declined to give further personal details for security reasons.

She said that people who called were being asked to declare how they wanted to help and to leave their contact details so that fellow Ukrainian activists could follow up.

“We’ve been getting many calls today — people from Ukraine but also all of Europe, who want to help,” Olha said.

There were some 400 fighters coming from Sweden, media there said. Another 70 volunteers, including 50 former soldiers, were also coming from as far afield as Japan, Reuters reported.

Many Belarusian volunteers already have been fighting against Russia in east Ukraine for years, but their ranks were now swelling too, said a Belarusian opposition source, who asked not to be named.

Some EU governments, such as those in Denmark and Sweden, have given people the green light to join the anti-Russia brigades in Ukraine.

But the Belgian foreign ministry’s advice is for people not to go. “Our advice is clear: do not travel to Ukraine for any purpose or reason due to the security situation,” a Belgian spokesman told EUobserver.

The Belgian interior ministry is studying the legal implications of foreign fighters, not least looking into questions like: whether they would be committing murder if they killed people in Ukraine, even in a combat situation; and whether their status would be as prisoners-of-war or civilian captives, were they to be captured by Russian forces.

The surge of volunteers were travelling into Ukraine as Russian forces began to encircle and bombard Ukrainian cities in the north, south and east of the country. The onslaught is leading to thousands of civilian casualties and pushing 1 million refugees towards the EU borders.

The foreign fighters also are going into an environment into which EU and Nato countries, including Germany, the Nordic states, the Baltic states, and the Netherlands, have been pouring small arms and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles — much of that delivered across the Polish border before supply routes are cut.

Russia has threatened reprisals, including nuclear threats, against Nato states that interfere in the war.

But the Belgian foreign ministry spokesman said the fact that volunteers were being allowed to go could in no way be construed as violating Nato’s promise to stay out of the fighting.

“How can we be accused of provoking Russia if we have asked people not to go?” he asked. “This attack by Russia on Ukraine was unprovoked, period.”

Russia martial law

EU foreign ministers meeting on Friday were expected discuss further economic sanctions on Russia, amid Ukrainian calls for an oil and gas embargo.

The effects of the existing sanctions measures already are being felt inside Russia, where there are calls by the Russian opposition for people to gather for mass protests against the war, but where there are also growing concerns about a clampdown on dissent.

“There is talk of martial law legislation being introduced Friday,” Vladimir Ashurkov, a Russian émigré living in London who worked with jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, told EUobserver. “This would be seen as a bad sign” of how the war was going for Putin, he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday denied the reports.

But if martial law is imposed, it could stop Russians leaving the country and it could mean media blackouts, fast-track jail sentences and mass military mobilisation, according to an EU diplomat, who asked not to be named because he was not an official spokesman.

Some EU countries, such as France, have urged their nationals to leave Russia amid concern that European and Russian aviation sanctions and counter-sanctions could lead to people being trapped in Russia, even as its relations with the West collapse.

“It’s especially about the risk of not being able to leave as transport routes are closed down and the risk of shortages, such as medicine,” said Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert at British think-tank Rusi.

Russian president Vladimir Putin told French president Emmanuel Macron by phone Thursday he had no intention of stopping the war.

“We expect the worst is yet to come,” the Élysée told international media after the 90-minute call.

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Kyiv investigates allegations Russian forces shot surrendering Ukrainian soldiers | International

Ukrainian officials on Sunday launched an investigation into allegations that Russian forces killed surrendering Ukrainian soldiers — a war crime if confirmed — after grainy footage on social media appeared to show two uniformed men being shot at close range after emerging from a dugout.

The video shows the servicemen, one of them with his hands up, walking out at gunpoint and lying down on the ground before a group of Russian troops appears to open fire. It was not immediately possible to verify the video’s authenticity or the circumstances in which it was filmed, and it was unclear when the incident took place.

The Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office on Sunday launched a criminal investigation, hours after the Ukrainian military’s press office said in an online statement that the footage is genuine.

“The video shows a group in Russian uniforms shooting, at point-blank range, two unarmed servicemen in the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were surrendering,” the prosecutor’s office said in a Telegram update on Sunday.

The Russian defense ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. As of Sunday evening, there were no public statements from the Russian government or military on the video.

Kyiv, its Western allies and international human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Moscow of breaching international humanitarian law since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin denies these allegations.

The video first appeared Saturday on DeepState, a popular Ukrainian Telegram channel covering the war. The post claimed the footage came from the front lines near Avdiivka, a Ukrainian holdout in the country’s part-occupied east, where there has been fierce fighting in recent weeks.

The General Prosecutor’s Office on Sunday said that the alleged killing took place in the Pokrovsk district, which includes Avdiivka and surrounding areas.

“It’s clear from the video that the Ukrainian servicemen are taking the necessary steps that show they are surrendering,” Ukraine’s human rights chief, Dmytro Lubinets, said hours after the footage emerged on Saturday.

In a statement posted to Telegram, Lubinets described the incident as “yet another glaring example of Russia’s violations of international humanitarian law.”

Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military grouping that is fighting near Avdiivka, was cited by Ukrainian media as saying the video was “glaring confirmation” of Moscow’s disrespect for the laws of war.

In March, footage of a man exclaiming “Glory to Ukraine” before being gunned down in a wooded area sparked national outcry in Ukraine, as senior officials alleged that he was an unarmed prisoner of war killed by Russian soldiers.

Last summer, Kyiv and Moscow also traded blame for a shelling attack on a prison in occupied eastern Ukraine that killed dozens of Ukrainian POWs. Both sides claimed the assault on the facility in Olenivka was aimed at covering up atrocities, with Ukrainian officials charging captive soldiers had been tortured and executed there.

The U.N.’s human rights chief in July rejected Moscow’s claim that a rocket strike had caused the blast.

Also on Sunday, Ukraine’s energy ministry reported that close to 1,000 towns and villages suffered power outages that day, with hundreds of settlements in the west battered by wintry weather and others affected by ongoing fighting.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, late on Saturday assessed that military operations have slowed down all along the frontline in Ukraine due to poor weather, with mud bogging down tracked vehicles and making it hard for lighter equipment and infantry to advance.

Even so, Shtupun, of Ukraine’s Tavria military command that oversees the stretch of frontline near Avdiivka, said in a separate statement Sunday that Russian infantry attacks had intensified in the area over the past day. In a Telegram post, he insisted Ukrainian troops were “holding firm” in Avdiivka and another nearby town.

In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, at least two people died and seven more were wounded after Russian forces on Sunday shelled a high-rise apartment block and other civilian buildings, the head of the city’s military administration said in a series of Telegram posts.

One of the updates by Roman Mrochko featured a blurred photo of what he said was the body of a deceased civilian, apparently lying on a dirt road or in a yard outside the high-rise. The photo’s authenticity could not be independently verified.

Regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin separately reported on Sunday that Russian shelling that day damaged two of Kherson’s hospitals. He did not immediately reference any casualties.

Earlier in the day, a 78-year-old civilian died in a village northeast of Kherson after Russian shells slammed into his garage, according to a Telegram update by the regional Ukrainian military administration.

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Open Source Software (OSS) Supply Chain, Security Risks And Countermeasures

OSS Security Risks And Countermeasures

The software development landscape increasingly hinges on open source components, significantly aiding continuous integration, DevOps practices, and daily updates. Last year, Synopsys discovered that 97% of codebases in 2022 incorporated open source, with specific sectors like computer hardware, cybersecurity, energy, and the Internet of Things (IoT) reaching 100% OSS integration.

While leveraging open source enhances efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and developer productivity, it inadvertently paves a path for threat actors seeking to exploit the software supply chain. Enterprises often lack visibility into their software contents due to complex involvement from multiple sources, raising concerns highlighted in VMware’s report last year. Issues include reliance on communities to patch vulnerabilities and associated security risks.

Raza Qadri, founder of Vibertron Technologies, emphasizes OSS’s pivotal role in critical infrastructure but underscores the shock experienced by developers and executives regarding their applications’ OSS contribution. Notably, Qadri cites that 95% of vulnerabilities surface in “transitive main dependencies,” indirectly added open source packages.

Qadri also acknowledges developers’ long-standing use of open source. However, recent years have witnessed heightened awareness, not just among developers but also among attackers. Malware attacks targeting the software supply chain have surged, as demonstrated in significant breaches like SolarWinds, Kaseya, and the Log4j exploit.

Log4j’s widespread use exemplifies the consolidation of risk linked to extensively employed components. This popular Java-based logging tool’s vulnerabilities showcase the systemic dependency on widely used software components, posing significant threats if exploited by attackers.

Moreover, injection of malware into repositories like GitHub, PyPI, and NPM has emerged as a growing threat. Cybercriminals generate malicious versions of popular code to deceive developers, exploiting vulnerabilities when components are downloaded, often without the developers’ knowledge.

Despite OSS’s security risks, its transparency and visibility compared to commercial software offer certain advantages. Qadri points out the swift response to Log4j vulnerabilities as an example, highlighting OSS’s collaborative nature.

Efforts to fortify software supply chain security are underway, buoyed by multi-vendor frameworks, vulnerability tracking tools, and cybersecurity products. However, additional steps, such as enforcing recalls for defective OSS components and implementing component-level firewalls akin to packet-level firewalls, are necessary to fortify defenses and mitigate malicious attacks.

Qadri underscores the need for a holistic approach involving software bills of materials (SBOMs) coupled with firewall-like capabilities to ensure a comprehensive understanding of software contents and preemptive measures against malicious threats.

As the software supply chain faces ongoing vulnerabilities and attacks, concerted efforts are imperative to bolster security measures, safeguard against threats, and fortify the foundational aspects of open source components.

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The Implications Of Controlling High-Level Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI)

Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI)

By Clint Bailey | ‘Voice of EU’

The notion of artificial intelligence surpassing humanity has long been a topic of discussion, and recent advancements in programs have reignited concerns. But can we truly control super-intelligence? A closer examination by scientists reveals that the answer is highly unlikely.

Unraveling The Challenge:

Controlling a super-intelligence that surpasses human comprehension necessitates the ability to simulate and analyze its behavior. However, if we are unable to comprehend it, creating such a simulation becomes an impossible task. This lack of understanding hinders our ability to establish rules, such as “cause no harm to humans,” as we cannot anticipate the scenarios that an AI might generate.

The Complexity Of Super-Intelligence:

Super-intelligence presents a distinct challenge compared to conventional robot ethics. Its multifaceted nature allows it to mobilize diverse resources, potentially pursuing objectives that are incomprehensible and uncontrollable to humans. This fundamental disparity further complicates the task of governing and setting limits on super-intelligent systems.

Drawing Insights From The Halting Problem:

Alan Turing’s halting problem, introduced in 1936, provides insights into the limitations of predicting program outcomes. While we can determine halting behavior for specific programs, there is no universal method capable of evaluating every potential program ever written. In the realm of artificial super-intelligence, which could theoretically store all possible computer programs in its memory simultaneously, the challenge of containment intensifies.

The Uncontainable Dilemma:

When attempting to prevent super-intelligence from causing harm, the unpredictability of outcomes poses a significant challenge. Determining whether a program will reach a conclusion or continue indefinitely becomes mathematically impossible for all scenarios. This renders traditional containment algorithms unusable and raises concerns about the reliability of teaching AI ethics to prevent catastrophic consequences.

The Limitation Conundrum:

An alternative approach suggested by some is to limit the capabilities of super-intelligence, such as restricting its access to certain parts of the internet or networks. However, this raises questions about the purpose of creating super-intelligence if its potential is artificially curtailed. The argument arises: if we do not intend to use it to tackle challenges beyond human capabilities, why create it in the first place?

READ: ALL ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Urgent Reflection – The Direction Of Artificial Intelligence:

As we push forward with artificial intelligence, we must confront the possibility of a super-intelligence beyond our control. Its incomprehensibility makes it difficult to discern its arrival, emphasizing the need for critical introspection regarding the path we are treading. Prominent figures in the tech industry, such as Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, have even called for a pause in AI experiments to evaluate safety and potential risks to society.

The potential consequences of controlling high-level artificial super-intelligence are far-reaching and demand meticulous consideration. As we strive for progress, we must strike a balance between pushing the boundaries of technology and ensuring responsible development. Only through thorough exploration and understanding can we ensure that AI systems benefit humanity while effectively managing their risks.

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