Speaking in an interview with CNN after the meeting, Rutte said certain NATO members were “tested and failed,” while emphasizing that most European countries fulfilled prior commitments in the crisis.

“Some of them yes, but a large majority of European countries have done what they promised before in a case like this,” Rutte said.

He described his talks with Trump as “frank and open,” noting that the U.S. president had expressed disappointment over the level of involvement from some allies during the conflict.

Rutte said he highlighted to Trump that several European countries had contributed through logistical support and other forms of assistance, even if they were not directly involved in military operations.

The remarks underscore ongoing tensions within NATO over burden-sharing and military commitments, particularly as the Iran conflict has exposed divisions among Western allies.

The backlash has emerged despite earlier efforts by Trump to rebuild ties with Europe’s far right after returning to the White House last year.

While U.S. Vice President JD Vance recently campaigned for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, such overt support has become increasingly rare amid discontent over the Iran war.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declined to allow U.S. forces to use an air base in Sicily for strikes on Iran, while Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Rally, described Trump’s war objectives as “erratic.”

In Germany, officials from the Alternative for Germany have called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in the country.The tensions come even as a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran remains in place, underscoring the broader geopolitical strain triggered by the conflict.

Analysts say the developments highlight the limits of Trump’s ambition to forge a cohesive international bloc of nationalist movements.

“Getting a blessing from Donald Trump is now a mixed blessing,” said Charles Kupchan, a professor of international relations at Georgetown University and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The rift follows earlier friction between Washington and European allies over Trump’s remarks targeting Denmark in connection with his demand that the country cede Greenland to the United States.

Trump also criticized NATO for what he described as insufficient support during recent tensions.Daniel Baer, a former U.S. ambassador and State Department official, said the latest disagreements reflect the difficulty of sustaining a unified nationalist coalition across borders.

“Building some sort of international coalition around national chauvinism is very difficult,” he said.Orbán, long regarded as a key Trump ally, has so far avoided direct criticism, maintaining a cautious stance on the Iran conflict. In a recent interview, he said it was too early to determine whether U.S. actions would lead to peace or further escalation.

Hungary’s leader has emphasized his relationship with Trump as a pillar of his foreign policy, often presenting it to voters as a source of security and international leverage. However, analysts warn that the association could carry political risks as perceptions of the U.S. administration shift.

According to Mario Bikarsku, a senior Europe analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, recent U.S. engagement in Hungary could have unintended consequences for Orbán’s domestic standing.

Experts note that the rise of far-right parties across Europe has largely been driven by domestic political dynamics rather than external influence, suggesting limited incentive for alignment with Washington’s policies.

Kupchan said nationalist movements in countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany have gained traction independently, shaped more by local economic and political conditions than by U.S. support.

The evolving divisions underscore the fragility of transnational political alliances built on ideological affinity, particularly as the Iran conflict continues to reshape global alignments.

The survivors, who said their vessel had initially carried 105 people, were found clinging to the wreckage of an overturned boat before being taken aboard nearby ships, according to Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch. The bodies and survivors were later transferred to an Italian coast guard patrol boat and brought to the island of Lampedusa.

Italy’s interior ministry declined to comment on the incident, while the Italian Coast Guard did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation. The rescue took place during Easter, a major holiday in Italy.

Footage released by Sea-Watch showed migrants struggling in open waters, with several individuals holding onto the partially submerged orange hull as rescuers approached.

The central Mediterranean route, one of the world’s deadliest migration corridors, has been further complicated this year by adverse weather conditions. Rough seas have reduced the number of departures from North Africa but increased the risks for those attempting the journey.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that at least 683 people have died along the central Mediterranean route so far this year, marking one of the highest death tolls recorded since 2014.

A proposed genetically modified mustard crop in Canada is intensifying divisions between farmers seeking climate resilience and an export-dependent industry wary of losing premium global markets that demand non-GMO produce.

Dallas Leduc, a fourth-generation farmer in Saskatchewan, sees promise in the new genetically modified mustard hybrid being developed by BASF. Farming more than 10,000 acres in a region marked by sandy soils and persistent drought stress, Leduc said the crop could improve yields and profitability in an increasingly challenging environment.

He described the innovation as a practical tool to sustain farm incomes under harsh climatic conditions.The new crop, designed to produce oil similar to canola while tolerating herbicides, is expected to be more resilient in arid conditions where traditional canola often fails. BASF aims to secure regulatory approval in the United States as early as next year, with Canadian commercialization expected to follow within a few years.

However, the technology has drawn strong opposition from mustard growers and exporters who rely on strict non-GMO standards in key overseas markets. Trent Dewar, a Saskatchewan farmer producing specialty mustard for international buyers, warned that even minimal contamination from genetically modified crops could undermine Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier of non-GMO mustard.

Mustard exports, valued at around $150 million annually, are small compared to Canada’s canola sector, which generates approximately $8.9 billion. Yet for producers in semi-arid regions such as Palliser’s Triangle, mustard has historically provided a stable income where other crops struggle.

Industry representatives say the risk of cross-contamination is significant because the genetically modified hybrid and traditional mustard belong to the same species, Brassica juncea. This allows pollen from one crop to fertilize the other, raising concerns about unintended mixing through wind or pollinators.

Norm Hall, chair of Sask Mustard, said the industry is lobbying federal authorities to block the introduction of the new crop, citing the potential impact on export markets. He described resistance among growers as widespread, noting that many had not anticipated such a development being considered.

France, which imports roughly half of its mustard seed from Canada, maintains strict non-GMO standards. Christophe Planes, sales and marketing director at French processor Reine de Dijon, said the company systematically tests all supplies to ensure compliance. He indicated that the presence of genetically modified traces, even at low levels, could disrupt sourcing decisions.

Contracts reviewed by Reuters show that many buyers require non-GMO certification, although specific tolerance thresholds are often determined by individual purchasers. Industry participants say this ambiguity adds to uncertainty about how markets would respond if contamination were detected.

Canada’s mustard sector remains sensitive to historical precedent. In 2009, traces of a genetically modified flax variety known as Triffid were found in European shipments, leading to a collapse in exports that have yet to fully recover. Growers and exporters say this episode underscores the risks associated with introducing genetically modified crops into supply chains reliant on strict quality standards.

Peter Gorski of Broadgrain, which markets Canadian specialty crops globally, said international buyers view contamination risks with extreme caution. He compared the potential presence of GMO material in mustard shipments to a foreign object in food products, reflecting the severity of market reactions.

BASF, for its part, maintains that safeguards can be implemented to prevent cross-contamination. Brent Collins, who heads the company’s seeds and traits division in Canada, described the hybrid as a necessary innovation that could expand canola production into new areas and meet growing global demand for vegetable oils.

The company estimates that up to two million acres could eventually be cultivated with the hybrid crop across Canada and the United States, particularly in regions where existing oilseed varieties perform poorly. Collins said BASF is working to address growers’ concerns and ensure coexistence between genetically modified and traditional crops.

Industry groups remain unconvinced. Rick Mitzel, executive director of Sask Mustard, said coexistence is not feasible given the biological characteristics of the plant. He argued that even small-scale adoption could jeopardize the integrity of non-GMO supply chains.

The debate reflects broader tensions between technological innovation and market access in global agriculture. While genetically modified crops can enhance productivity and resilience, their acceptance varies widely across regions, particularly in Europe, where regulatory frameworks and consumer preferences remain restrictive.

The stakes extend beyond Canadian producers. Kacy Gehring of Mountain States Oilseeds in Idaho said uncertainty surrounding GMO contamination could discourage farmers from growing mustard altogether, potentially affecting global supply chains and food manufacturing.

Despite the concerns, some farmers remain committed to adopting the new technology. Leduc acknowledged the risks but said economic pressures leave little choice. Operating in a region increasingly affected by drought and climate variability, he said access to more resilient crops could be critical to maintaining viability.

The divide between proponents and opponents has widened as commercialization approaches, with industry meetings reflecting growing urgency among traditional mustard stakeholders.

Calls for legal and political action have intensified, although representatives acknowledge that regulatory frameworks in Canada do not typically consider market impacts when approving new crop technologies.

The fire department said a man in his 50s was found trapped under a car in Nea Makri, northeast of Athens, amid severe weather conditions. Emergency services reported nearly 500 calls across the greater Athens area, including more than 30 rescue operations.

Authorities issued emergency alerts and closed schools in Athens and other regions as the storm intensified. Ferry services, a key transport link for Greece’s islands, remained suspended in many areas due to rough seas.

The national weather service warned of continued severe conditions, forecasting intense rainfall, thunderstorms and possible hail across much of the country.

Localized flooding has already been reported in several areas.On Wednesday, flights to Crete were disrupted after an African dust storm reduced visibility, forcing some aircraft to reroute.

Officials said the storm system, which has affected large parts of the country for three days, is expected to ease by Friday.

The three incidents at Omar’s constituency office form part of increased hostility to Muslims in Europe fanned at times by politicians since the Hamas assault, more than 30 community leaders and advocates consulted by Reuters said, adding that incidents were under-reported because of low trust in police.

“I feel really alone and if somebody with the status of an elected official can’t be protected then how must others feel?” said Omar. He said police were investigating but had told him they could not offer extra security at his premises.

“Imagine if a white German politician was attacked by a migrant or a refugee,” he said, suggesting security forces would do more in such cases. Berlin police did not reply to a request for comment.

Hate crime has risen dramatically in Europe since the Oct. 7 assault killed around 1,200 Israelis and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza which has killed around 14,800 Palestinians, with registered antisemitic incidents up 1,240% in London and steep rises also seen in France and Germany.

Official data shows a significant, smaller increase in anti-Muslim incidents in Britain and is patchy for the other two countries. It does not fully capture the extent of attacks and hostility against individuals and mosques, including children targeted at school, according to the people Reuters consulted, some of whom asked not to be named citing fear of retaliation.

Under-reporting is also prevalent among victims of antisemitism, Jewish groups and leaders in the three countries said.

Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said government language, such as calling pro-Palestinian protests “hate marches,” had made the fight against antisemitism and for the rights of Muslims or Palestinians a zero-sum game in many people’s minds.

“Ministers have been really reckless, this peddling of the culture wars and pitting communities off one another is really unhelpful and it is very divisive and dangerous as well,” she said. The British government did not respond to a question about official use of such language.

European Muslims’ sense of vulnerability was further heightened with the electoral victory last week of Dutch far-right populist Geert Wilders, who previously called for mosques and the Koran to be banned in the Netherlands. In the United States, there has been deadly anti-Palestinian violence since Oct. 7.

At the Ibn Ben Badis Mosque in Nanterre, Paris, elderly worshippers fear attending the dawn prayer in the dark, two worshippers there said, after a written arson threat against the mosque in late October apparently from a far-right sympathiser.

Rachid Abdouni, the mosque president, said a request for extra police protection was not met. Local police said they were patrolling the area but were low on resources, he said. The police did not immediately respond to a comment request.

“Do I want my daughter to grow up in this climate?” said Khalil Raboun, 42, a French-Moroccan taxi driver, speaking after Friday prayers outside the mosque.

Under- Reporting

Attempted arson, verbal abuse, vandalism and a pig’s head left at a mosque site were among more than 700 reports of Islamophobic incidents in Britain the month after the Hamas attack, campaign group Tell Mama said, a sevenfold increase over the previous month. Tell Mama only reports some incidents to the police, with the consent of the complainant.

The French Muslim Council received 42 letters containing threats or insults between October 7 and November 1 but has not reported any of them, said council vice president Abdallah Zekri, among a wave of hate mail and racist graffiti on mosques.

“The vast majority of Muslims do not file a complaint when they are victims of such acts. Even the heads of mosques don’t want to. They don’t want to spend two hours or more in a police station to file a complaint that in the end is often going to be dismissed,” Zekri said.

In Germany also, police often do not register Islamophobic crime as such due to a lack of awareness, for example attacks on mosques are sometimes registered simply as damage to property, said Rima Hanano of Claim, an NGO.

“People affected by racism like Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim often fear to go to authorities because they are afraid of secondary victimization, that they will not be believed or made out to be the perpetrators,” she said.

A British government spokesperson said “there must be zero tolerance for antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred, or any other forms of hatred,” adding that police were expected to fully investigate such attacks.

Germany’s interior ministry said it “confronts all kinds of hate, including Islamophobia explicitly” and noted it conducted a survey this year it said gave greater understanding of anti-Muslim racism.

In France, interior minister Gerald Darmanin acknowledged additional anti-Muslim acts since Oct. 7, however French official figures for 2023 appeared on track for a drop, with 130 incidents through Nov. 14, compared to 188 incidents recorded all last year. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for France’s national police acknowledged data on anti-Muslim incidents was “incomplete”, and relied on victims filing a complaint. Security services are actively monitoring for antisemitic incidents, the spokesperson said.

History

Both France and Germany developed institutional mechanisms to respond to antisemitic acts in the aftermath of the Holocaust of World War Two and in response to continued prejudice against Jews.

Western Europe’s colonial and religious past has also cast Islam as regressive and foreign, contributing to entrenched prejudice among parts of the population and in institutions, said Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, historian at Kings College London and author of ‘Antisemitism and Islamophobia: an entangled history’.

Attacks by Islamist militants in Europe or abroad often bring repercussions for the general Muslim population.

After mosques were defaced and the spread of anti-Muslim commentary by pundits on TV, French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that “to protect French people of Jewish faith should not be to pillory French people of Muslim faith.”

However, historian Zia-Ebrahimi said, the decision by France’s interior ministry to ban pro-Palestinian protests as a risk to public order in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks fomented a view that Arabs are aggressors and that supporters of Palestinians are motivated by antisemitism.

Amnesty International called the blanket ban disproportionate.

Aiman Mazyek of the German Muslim Council said a federal government commissioner on Islamophobia was needed to complement existing commissioners for antisemitism and anti-Roma racism.

“The fact that we have so many commissioners in Germany and no commissioner for Islam in particular is discrimination in itself,” he said.

Germany’s newly appointed commissioner on racism, Reem Alabali-Radovan, acknowledged a need for better monitoring after the interior ministry survey showed one in two Germans hold Islamophobic views.

For some Muslims in Germany, which has welcomed about a million Syrians and just under 400,000 Afghans in recent years, rising hostility came as a surprise.

Ghalia Zaghal came to Germany from Syria in 2015 and said she never had major issues with discrimination. But shortly after Oct. 7, she was shoved twice in one day, with one man shouting at her: “This is my street, not yours.”

“I was too shocked to go to the police,” said Zaghal, who owns a Berlin beauty salon.

Concerns have led to discussions about adopting a lower profile, such as covering skullcaps in public and possibly concealing mezuzahs, the traditional symbols on doorposts of Jewish homes.

Sitting in Geneva, Michel Dreifuss doesn’t sense much distance from the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza. The repercussions are reverberating through Europe, challenging both global and personal assumptions, particularly regarding his safety as a Jew.

“I recently purchased a tear-gas spray canister from a military equipment surplus store,” revealed the 64-year-old retired tech sector worker at a rally marking a month since the Hamas killings.

This choice, he explained, is a precautionary measure driven by a surge in antisemitism in Europe.

The recent slayings of approximately 1,200 people in Israel by armed Palestinian militants marked the most significant killing of Jews since the Holocaust.

The aftermath, coupled with Israel’s forceful military response that reportedly claimed at least 13,300 Palestinian lives in Hamas-controlled Gaza, has had repercussions in Europe.

This has rattled a continent with a long history of deadly anti-Jewish hatred, particularly in the context of the past century, which is notable for the atrocities of World War II.

The concern about the rise in antisemitism in Europe is fueled, in part, by the historical persecution of Jews before and during that war, making it particularly alarming for those only one or two generations removed from the victims of anti-Jewish violence and Nazi brutality.

What deeply unsettles many Jews in interviews is the perceived absence of empathy for the Israelis who lost their lives in the early morning massacre and for the families of the hostages—approximately 30 of whom are children—caught in a painful state of uncertainty.

Expressing his dismay, Holocaust survivor Herbert Traube spoke at a Paris event commemorating the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 1938 government-backed pogroms against Jews in Germany and Austria. He remarked, “What really upsets me is witnessing the absence of a widespread public reaction against this.”

Acts of Antisemitism – Defining the Parameters

Antisemitism is broadly characterized as hatred directed towards Jews, but an ongoing debate has persisted for years regarding the classification of actions and words as antisemitic.

Critics argue that there has been a historical conflation of criticism of Israel’s policies with antisemitism, a perspective endorsed by Israeli leaders like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and certain watchdog groups.

This blending, critics contend, undermines opposition to the policies of the country and fosters a perception that any expression against Israeli policy is inherently antisemitic.

Susan Neiman of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, Germany, emphasizes the problematic nature of framing language around Israel and the Palestinians as if it were a sports match.

“We are perpetuating the idea that you’ve got to be on one side or the other instead of being on the side of human rights and justice,” she remarked.

On the other hand, some argue that antisemites often use criticism of Israel as a guise for expressing their anti-Jewish sentiments.

Since the October 7 attacks, governments and watchdog groups across Europe have extensively documented a lengthy list of examples of anti-Jewish sentiment.

• Just over a month following the attack in Israel, the French Interior Ministry disclosed a staggering 1,247 reported antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, almost three times the total recorded for the entire year of 2022.
• Denmark’s primary Jewish association noted a 24-fold increase in cases compared to the average of the last nine months.
• The Community Security Trust, responsible for monitoring antisemitic incidents in Britain, documented over 1,000 such events, marking the highest number ever recorded within a 28-day period.

Despite widespread condemnations of anti-Jewish hatred and expressions of support for Israel from European leaders since the attack, instances of such hatred persist.

Reports indicate that some of Europe’s Jewish population encounters anti-Jewish sentiments in public spaces and through the media. Jewish schoolchildren, for example, face bullying on their way to class, and in some cases, they are compelled to explain Israel’s actions, as reported by Britain’s Community Security Trust.

Concerns have led to discussions about adopting a lower profile, such as covering skullcaps in public and possibly concealing mezuzahs, the traditional symbols on doorposts of Jewish homes.

In Russia, an airport riot unfolded with antisemitic chants and posters, targeting passengers arriving from Israel.

A Berlin synagogue faced a firebombing, and a Jewish woman in Lyon, France, was stabbed twice in the stomach at her home by an assailant, according to her lawyer.

Incidents in Prague’s Little Quarter involved staff at a well-known bar, Hippopotamus, refusing to serve beer to tourists from Israel and their Czech guides.

Some patrons even resorted to insults, requiring police intervention. In Berlin, the Jewish community is still grappling with the aftermath of an attempted firebombing on a synagogue last month.

Anna Segal, the 37-year-old manager of the Kahal Adass Jisroel in Berlin, a community with 450 members, expressed, “Some of us are in a state of panic.”

Navigating a Sense of Foreboding

According to Segal, some members of the community are altering their lifestyles. Students have abandoned uniforms, and kindergarten classes avoid venturing beyond the building for field trips or to the nearby playground.

Certain individuals refrain from calling taxis, and there’s hesitation in ordering home deliveries. The practice of speaking Hebrew in public is dwindling, and there’s contemplation about relocating to Israel.

“I hear more and more from people in the Jewish community who feel safer and more comfortable in Israel now than in Germany, despite the war and all the rockets,” Segal noted. “Because they don’t have to hide there.”

During pro-Palestinian demonstrations, some protesters are chanting, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” While some argue it signifies a call for Palestinian freedom and is not anti-Jewish but anti-Israel, others point out that the region from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea encompasses not only Israel but also the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where Palestinians have lived under Israeli occupation since 1967.

Many Jews, however, argue that the chant is inherently anti-Jewish and advocates for the destruction of Israel.

Peggy Hicks, a director at the U.N. human rights office, underscores that governments and political movements are legitimate subjects for criticism. However, she issues a caution against discrimination, a challenge the Geneva-based office has long grappled with. Amidst the recent tumultuous weeks, Hicks finds reasons for optimism.

“In my experience working in human rights, I’ve been amazed by the compassion and resilience of human beings,” Hicks remarked. “Individuals who, despite losing children, have come together on both sides of a conflict, sharing a common loss but from opposing perspectives. They have managed to transcend the expectation of being enemies.”

She further noted, “I acknowledge that not everyone possesses the ability to demonstrate such courage. Nevertheless, the existence of such resilience, I believe, provides us all with something to aspire to.”

ATF exports from India have reached a record high average daily volume of 208,433 barrels (bpd) so far in June. Kpler records show that the 206,871 bpd previous peak occurred in June 2018. Since the voyage generally takes roughly a month, more than half of the ATF volumes despatched from India this month are destined for Europe, where they are likely to arrive in July.

According to an analysis of data shared by commodity market analytics and intelligence firm Kpler, India’s export of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) could reach an all-time monthly high in June, and the nation is likely to be Europe’s largest source of jet fuel in July, which also happens to be the peak of the continent’s summer travel season.

ATF exports from India have reached a record high average daily volume of 208,433 barrels (bpd) so far in June. Kpler records show that the 206,871 bpd previous peak occurred in June 2018. Since the voyage generally takes roughly a month, more than half of the ATF volumes despatched from India this month are destined for Europe, where they are likely to arrive in July.

According to Kpler’s projections, 131,136 bpd, or more than 30%, of the 435,482 bpd in ATF imports to Europe in July are projected to come from India. As Europe avoids Russian crude oil and petroleum fuels due to the conflict in Ukraine, Indian refiners, particularly export-focused private sector giants Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, have emerged as important providers of refined petroleum products to the continent. It’s interesting that this is happening at the same time as Indian refiners are buying up cheap Russian oil, giving the impression that goods made from Russian barrels may be travelling through India to reach European beaches.

According to the Kpler statistics, India contributed the most to the deliveries of jet fuel imported into Europe in April and May as well. However, in June, volumes significantly decreased while imports from Kuwait showed a robust increase.

The month of July falls in the middle of the June through August summer travel season in Europe. The continent typically has increased travel demand at this time, which leads to an increase in jet fuel consumption. According to recent data on jet fuel imports into Europe, Kuwait, India, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are the continent’s main suppliers of jet fuel.

Lead Crude Analyst at Kpler, Viktor Katona, claims that from the perspective of Indian refiners, the increase in jet fuel exports from India is timely. “The monsoon season has historically hampered domestic fuel consumption in India, so this (high ATF export quantities) is really helpful to Indian refiners. Therefore, having many export markets aids in maintaining high refinery run rates, according to Katona. In India, demand for refined goods and transportation fuels decreases during the monsoon because some sectors see a reduction in production owing to the rains, which in turn reduces demand for refined products and other petroleum products.

As of March 4, when the Indian government eliminated the cess on jet fuel exports, there are no restrictions on the fuel’s exports, according to Katona. In order to collect super-normal profits made by oil producers and gasoline exporters due to the rise in global oil prices and fuel margins, the government began enforcing windfall gains taxes through cesses on domestic crude oil and exports of refined fuels, including petrol, diesel and ATF, from July 1, 2022.

Despite being the third-largest consumer of crude oil in the world and relying on imports for more than 85% of its oil needs, India is a net exporter of petroleum products due to its higher than necessary refining capacity of 250 million tonnes annually, or roughly 5 million bpd. India is now playing a more significant role in the global crude oil and refined products supply map as a major refining hub that has increased purchases of discounted Russian oil.

In spite of the initial annoyance of the West over India’s increasing purchases of Russian oil in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, major Western nations like the US have come to terms with the growing flow of Indian refined goods to Europe. The key reason for this, in their opinion, is that despite Russian oil and goods being rejected by many nations, refiners in nations like India are allegedly guaranteeing that the world market for oil and processed products is balanced and adequately supplied.

In fact, according to a number of experts, the achievement of price limitations on Russian oil and refined goods imposed by the G7 countries and their allies without triggering a shock to the global supply chain depends on increased purchases of Russian oil and expanding exports of petroleum products from nations like India to Europe.

(Reuters) – The abortive mutiny by Russia’s Wagner group last week calls into question the fate of the group’s wide network of military and commercial operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

This factbox shows what Wagner is doing and where.

Ukraine

Wagner deployed in Ukraine soon after the invasion began early last year and by the summer it was enlisting thousands of prisoners to fight for it on front lines.

By December, as it took a central role in the battle for Bakhmut, U.S. intelligence estimated it had 40,000 prisoner recruits fighting in Ukraine, though Wagner itself has not commented on the figure.

The group’s leaders took credit for Russian success in Bakhmut while criticising the regular military and the leadership of the Defence Ministry.

Belarus 

Wagner boss Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday under a deal negotiated by President Alexander Lukashenko. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the group’s fighters would be offered the choice of relocating there.

Satellite images of a military base near Asipovichi, southeast of Minsk, where Russian media had reported the group would establish itself, appeared to show new construction, suggesting the swift development of a Wagner facility.

Syria

Russia officially began military operations in Syria in 2015 in support of President Bashar al-Assad, deploying its air force from Hmeimim airbase and using contractors including Wagner for some ground operations and in security roles.

Several hundred Wagner fighters were killed by U.S. forces during a confrontation in Syria in 2018.

The group took over security of al-Shaer oil field and Western officials say it owns Evro Polis, a company that takes 25% of profits from several oil fields.

Wagner has recruited former Syrian rebel fighters in areas retaken by Assad, including for use as mercenaries in Libya from 2019.

Hmeimim airbase has meanwhile become a critical node in Wagner’s global logistical operations as a transit point for flights between Russia, the Middle East and into Africa via airbases in Libya.

Central African Republic

The mineral-rich Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world. Russian mercenaries including from Wagner intervened in 2018 on the side of the government to quell a civil war that has raged since 2012.

The Russian ambassador to the Central African Republic said in a February interview with Russian state-owned news agency RIA that 1,890 “Russian instructors” were present in the country.

Analysts have said Wagner received logging rights and control of a gold mine in CAR. This week the United States put sanctions on a CAR company as one of several including one from the UAE that it said was involved in financing Wagner through illicit gold dealings.

Mali

Both Russia and Mali have said Russian fighters there are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops fight a decade-long insurgency against Islamist militants.

Mali’s leaders seized power in a 2021 coup and brought in Wagner after asking a French military mission to leave.

The government is contracting directly with Wagner, paying around $10.8 million a month for its services, Reuters reported in 2021.

Wagner fighters have been accused of involvement in an incident last year in Moura, in central Mali, where local troops and suspected Russian fighters allegedly killed hundreds of civilians.

Sudan

Western nations and diplomats say Wagner has been involved in gold mining, spreading disinformation and schemes to suppress pro-democracy protests in Sudan as Russia has tried to sway events before and after the 2019 overthrow of Omar al-Bashir.

While Moscow has ties to both the military factions that have been locked in conflict in Sudan since April 15, Wagner is thought to have sustained a relationship with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rather than the army.

Wagner has denied it is operating in Sudan, saying its staff had not been there for more than two years and said it had no role in the fighting.

However, in May the U.S. accused Wagner of supplying the RSF with surface-to-air missiles, “contributing to a prolonged armed conflict that only results in further chaos in the region”.

Like many other families, Saleh’s relatives don’t know the fate of their son.

The last time Sabah Abd Rabu Hussein heard from her son, Yahia Saleh, he was planning to board a migrant vessel from conflict-ridden Libya to Europe. That was two weeks ago.

“I had begged him not to go,” the Egyptian housewife said Sunday, “but he became fed up with our difficult (living) conditions.”

The 18-year-old was on board an old fishing trawler that sailed from the town of Tobruk in eastern Libya on June 9. He was heading to Italy, like many other young men from his village in Egypt’s Nile Delta.

As many as 750 migrants, including women and children, were on the boat that capsized and sank off Greece in one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean Sea.

Only 104 survived. As of Monday, the Greek authorities had retrieved 81 bodies, and the chances of finding anyone else alive have diminished. The shipwreck appears to be one of the worst tragedies in the Mediterranean in recent history, raising questions and outrage over how European authorities have dealt with the influx of migrants.

Like many other families, Saleh’s relatives don’t know the fate of their son. Born to a family of farmers, he was the second of four children and left home less than a month ago without telling them about his plans.

The family is from Ibrash, in the agricultural Nile Delta province of Sharqia, where water buffalos, cows and donkeys share dirt roads with cars, motorbikes and three-wheeled rickshaws known as tuk-tuks.

Many of the area’s young men and teenagers have made the perilous trip to Libya, hoping to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Some of them managed to reach Italy, but many others were detained and returned, according to five villagers, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by authorities.

Egypt, the most populous Arab nation with 105 million people, has sealed off its maritime borders for migrant boats following a 2016 deadly shipwreck off the Mediterranean town of Rossetta. The government regularly tries to discourage young men from illegal migration, but the country’s economic crisis has motivated many to try to leave despite the dangers.

Following the shipwreck on June 14, the Greek authorities arrested nine Egyptian men and charged them with people smuggling and participating in a criminal enterprise.

Libya has become the dominant transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to make it to Europe. The country plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Those hoping to make the journey to Europe travel thousands of kilometers (miles) on land to reach Libyan shores, where traffickers pack them in unseaworthy boats.

Dozens of Egyptians were on the trawler. They included as many as 35 from Saleh’s village, most of them minors or single men in their early 20s. Only six are known to have survived the shipwreck, according to relatives.

On Saturday, the Egyptian Embassy in Athens shared a list of 43 Egyptians, including minors, who it said had survived. The list included migrants from Cairo and other Nile Delta provinces.

“The village is wounded,” said one villager, Sameh el-Gamal. “It’s a catastrophe. Each family has a funeral.”

For over six months, Saleh’s parents tried to talk him out of his plans to make the perilous trip. But he had become increasingly determined as his family’s living conditions deteriorated. He helped his father cultivate their small farm, and sometimes worked as a day laborer, earning about $60 a month, his mother said.

“He wanted to help us,” Hussein said.

Saleh planned to follow in the steps of other villagers who traveled to Europe via Libya over the past few years and sent money back home, his father, Mohammed Saleh, said.

One evening in mid-May, he bid farewell to his mother without telling her where he was going. She thought he would spend his evening with friends.

“He kissed my forehead as if he knew that it would be the last time he would see me,” Hussein remembered.

A day later, the parents found out that he had traveled to Libya with his cousin and four other men. He had borrowed around $50 from a villager to pay for the trip. The five traveled first to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and then to the coastal town of Salloum on the border with Libya. There, traffickers smuggled them across.

His father and other relatives frantically reached fellow Egyptians living in Libya, who connected them with traffickers working between Egypt and Libya.

“I begged them to get my son back,” he said, fighting tears. He said he offered to pay them up to 50,000 Egyptian pounds (over $1,600) to return him. They refused.

“They told me, ‘He has been warehoused, waiting to sail’ and asked me to pay the bill,” Saleh, the father, said.

Eventually, he gave in and paid the equivalent of more than $4,500, most of which he borrowed, for fear that if he didn’t, his son could face torture or death at the hands of the smugglers.

For the past week, Saleh’s family have been desperately hoping for word of their son or the others. They want to know whether he is among the survivors, the dead, or still missing.

“I want my son, I want him alive or dead,” his mother said, covering her face with her hands and sobbing.