Fotini Bellou

Associate Professor of IR Dptm of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. UNESCO Chair on Women, Peace & Security

[IISS News @IISS_org]

The number of Russian sabotage operations in Europe almost quadrupled from 2023 to 2024.

Russia’s sabotage of ECI is central to its unconventional war on Europe and designed to weaken Western resilience and unity. It presents significant policy challenges to European governments. Russian doctrine intentionally blurs the lines between war and peace, making it challenging for European governments to detect and respond to such aggression.

From the IISS archive - first published August 2025 | Read the full report by Charlie Edwards and Nate Seidenstein to find out more: https://t.co/BV0T1bU9qX

[Fotini Bellou @fbellou]

Interesting! !!!

[Szabolcs Panyi @panyiszabolcs]

Inside Moscow's elite Bauman University, a secret department trains the GRU's next-gen hackers, saboteurs, and spies. Leaked documents now expose how its graduates feed the units behind Russia's cyberattacks, election interference, and NATO sabotage. https://t.co/5TTRIaWZj7

[Malala Yousafzai @Malala]

The EU has invited Taliban officials to Brussels to discuss a migration deal — and today I am shaken and deeply disturbed by this.

This is the same Taliban that banned girls from secondary schools and forced them into marriage. The same Taliban that, earlier this month, arrested dozens of women in Herat for how they were dressed. The same Taliban that detains, beats and executes women who dare to speak out or break their rules.

Through its system of gender apartheid, the Taliban have erased women and girls from public life. Europe must not legitimise a regime responsible for one of the worst human rights crises in the world.

Any engagement with the Taliban must begin and end with the rights of Afghan women and girls.

[The Diplomat @Diplomat_APAC]

BRICS is now moving in a new direction, expanding for the first time into the security domain. https://t.co/tEsJgo6uUK

[Protothema.gr @protothema]

Ο Έντι Ράμα σπούδασε στο Χάρβαρντ με ελληνική υποτροφία #protothema https://t.co/fCXGASdofw

[European External Action Service - EEAS 🇪🇺 @eu_eeas]

We have just launched a report to expose how information manipulation operations function.

Developed together with @DisinfoEU, @Viginum_Gouv, @AuswaertigesAmt, @CheckFirstHQ, @Cassini_Conseil and @DFRLab.

Read more: https://t.co/HlV2fw5JZ0

[Institute for the Study of War @TheStudyofWar]

Authorities recently reported multiple drone sightings over air bases and airports in the Netherlands. Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans reported that authorities observed unidentified drones flying over Volkel Air Base near Eindhoven, a Royal Netherlands Air Force base that hosts a US Air Force squadron as part of NATO, on the evening of November 21. Brekelmans reported that attempts to shoot down the drones were unsuccessful and that authorities never recovered the drones after they flew away. Brekelmans reported that authorities also observed multiple drones at Eindhoven Airport on November 22 and subsequently suspended civilian and military air traffic. Dutch authorities have not identified an actor behind the drone overflights as of this writing.

These are the latest in a series of drone sightings over European airports and air bases in recent weeks, which come against the backdrop of Russia’s intensifying “Phase Zero” campaign to destabilize Europe, undermine NATO’s cohesion, and set the political, informational, and psychological conditions for a potential future Russian war against NATO.

[IISS News @IISS_org]

Faced with Moscow’s aggression, NATO is seeking conventionally armed land-attack weapons able to reach far into Russia, under its deep precision strike (DPS) effort.

France is unique among European NATO members in having a mature and capable ballistic-missile industry. The French government reportedly aims to leverage this technological foundation for the development of a ballistic missile with a range of at least 2,000 km by 2030.

✏️ Douglas Barrie, Zuzanna Gwadera & Fabian Hinz

Read the full #MissileDialogueInitiative report. https://t.co/Tng42vJEH0

[Institute for the Study of War @TheStudyofWar]

MORE: The Kremlin is conducting multiple information operations against the Baltic states as it did to justify the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, likely as part of Phase Zero conditions-setting for a possible attack on the Baltic states at some point in the future. ISW is not currently forecasting an imminent Russian attack on the Baltics. ISW has observed no direct indicators of Russian preparations to attack NATO states imminently, and Phase Zero conditions-setting efforts can last for years. The Kremlin can also choose not to attack even after setting conditions to do so. ISW’s assessments that these and other activities constitute Phase Zero conditions-setting efforts are meant to call attention to the parallels with pre-2022 Russian conditions-setting efforts vis-a-vis Ukraine, but are not an imminent attack warning at this time.

Officials reported aerial incursions in French and Lithuanian airspace.

[Secretary Chris Wright @SecretaryWright]

Today in Athens, @ExxonMobil signed a landmark deal with Greece’s @EnergeanPLC to restore offshore gas drilling in the Ionian Sea for the first time in more than 40 years.

The U.S. is proud to partner with Greece as we restore commonsense and unleash affordable, reliable, and secure energy!

[Greco-Levantines World Wide @GrecoLevantines]

We are not asking the Greek government for money or visas. We are asking for something far more meaningful: to use its diplomatic voice to call for an urgent U.N. meeting on the situation of Syrian Christians after the Saint Elias Church massacre. While your brethren mourn their loved ones today, let their cries be heard in the halls of international power.

[CSDS @CSDS_Brussels]

"the major EU member states coordinate the most EDF projects with France in the lead with 54 projects followed by Spain with 38 projects; Greece with 25 projects; Italy with 21 projects; Germany with 17 projects", writes @DanielFiott for CSDS.

Read🔸https://t.co/4jaYu0blEI

[Glenn Diesen @Glenn_Diesen]

Al-Quaeda rebranded itself pro-diversity to whitewash terrorism as "freedom". They will still massacre Christians and other groups, but our journalists can lean into empty narratives of reformed rebels without explaining what that entails
https://t.co/R4nGj8mW1d

[Fotini Bellou @fbellou]

#ESDC @GreeceMFA @univofmacedonia supported a great course on WPS. When academics meet practitioners, military and civilian personnel in ops and students, who strive for their future in a course advocating democracy and resilience.

[Fotini Bellou @fbellou]

The #ESCD Pilot course “Women, Peace and Security (WPS):Looking at the W.Balkans and the MENA region” was completed today. It was partly sponsored by @GreeceMFA and organised by the UNESCO Chair on WPS and the Dpt of International & European Studies, @univofmacedonia.

[Daniel Fiott @DanielFiott]

I am very pleased to endorse and share this new book on EU foreign policy with my followers. I think that an open access book on this topic is a superb service to the field and beyond.

Great work Oriol Costa, Eduard Soler i Lecha & Martijn C. Vlaskamp

https://t.co/Ovx07tiq7U

[NATO WPS @NATOWPS]

On #16Days we proudly amplify the voices of @NATO Allies’ Ambassadors, saying there is #NoExcuse for #GenderBasedViolence. #WeAreNATO #WPS @UN_Women

[Fotini Bellou @fbellou]

@AlkisStefanis Θερμά συγχαρητήρια Κύριε Διοικητά. Καλές υπομονές και καλή διάκριση στο δύσκολο έργο σας. Πανάξιος για αυτή την αποστολή.

[Foreign Affairs @ForeignAffairs]

.@RobinsonL100 discusses the violent threats that women politicians face both online and offline—and urges world leaders to pass legislation requiring tech companies to combat online hate and violence.
https://t.co/DLozClnWXT