Regional Overview: Europe & Central Asia | January 2024

Europe: Farmer protests proliferate across the region

Farmers across Europe took to highways and cities to voice their discontent with national and European Union policies regulating the agriculture sector. Of the nearly 4,000 demonstration events ACLED records across the continent in January, almost 44% involved farmers. Primary grievances shared in most EU countries included demands for fuel subsidies, reconsidering environmental requirements contained in the EU-wide Green Deal, and greater protection of local agricultural producers from foreign competition. Tactics shared among demonstrators across the continent included converging with machinery on roads and cities, leading to traffic disruptions to increase pressure on governments to offer concessions. 

The initial large wave of farmer demonstrations started in Germany in the second week of January before spreading to France. The demonstrations triggered government concessions in both countries: the German federal government pulled back from its plan to abolish the agricultural vehicle tax exemption¹ and the French government made an early promise to end the fuel tax for farmers.² Despite the French government’s preemptive concession, farmers marched toward Paris, choking traffic around the city and on major highways for about a week. Demonstrators burned tires and haystacks and dropped manure near government offices and supermarkets. On at least one occasion, in southeastern France, farmers burned food imports after emptying trucks carrying them. The farmers ended their blockade around Paris on 2 February after the government promised further aid and protectionist measures.³  

Farmer demonstrations also spread to Belgium and southern Europe, with particularly prominent movements in Greece, Italy, and Spain. Elsewhere, Polish farmers and truck drivers lifted their two-month blockade of four border crossings with Ukraine mid-month but returned to the streets on 24 January, protesting the extension of tariff-free trade with Ukraine. In Romania, copycat blockades of three border crossings with Ukraine and Constanta port proved short-lived, while police prevented farmers from converging on Bucharest.   

For the evolution of farmer protest events in Europe since November 2023, see ACLED’s Farmer Protests Across Europe infographic.   

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Germany: Backlash against the far-right

A press revelation of an anti-migration far-right tryst rallied hundreds of thousands to denounce racism across Germany for weeks on end. In November 2023, a group comprising representatives of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), neo-Nazis, and far-right business people allegedly mulled plans to deport people with migrant backgrounds, including German citizens.⁴ The news prompted outrage from the political establishment and the public that quickly spilled over to the streets. ACLED records about 380 demonstration events against right-wing extremism in January, occurring mostly on weekends. Participants demanded an inclusive society and, in some instances, a ban on the AfD. The largest rallies, gathering over 100,000 people, were seen in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Munich.⁵ The gatherings were peaceful, except for a rally in Dortmund on 20 January, during which right-wing activists attempted to use pepper spray against participants. There were also three instances of vandalism at AfD premises and venues and one attempt to set an AfD politician’s car on fire in Hessen. In the wake of the scandal, an AfD politician in Thuringia lost a local election that he had been predicted to win; however, the party continues to poll nationally at about 20%.⁶ 

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Greece: Students demonstrate against private higher education

Protests against government plans to introduce private higher education have simmered since November 2023 and escalated in January. Students, teacher groups, and anarchist and anti-establishment groups have claimed that the proposed reform will infringe on the constitutional right to free education, potentially leading to the exclusion of people with modest means and devaluing degrees obtained at public universities.⁷ Nearly half of about 20 rallies in January turned violent, all in Athens and Thessaloniki. Suspected anarchists raided the National Technical University of Athens on 15 and 16 January. In a probable attempt to end recurring sit-ins at universities, prosecutors launched an investigation into the behavior of both students and university staff, the latter suspected of allowing campus occupations.⁸ Additionally, hooded individuals disrupted student gatherings at Athens University, threatening students who disapproved of sit-ins with clubs and knives. 

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Russia: Drone strikes on the rise

The number of Ukrainian drone strikes on the European part of Russia more than doubled in January, with most attacks targeting the Belgorod region. The number of claimed interceptions of incoming drones and shells increased by over 50%. Ukrainian drones also reached St. Petersburg for the first time, where — like in the other four regions in Russia — their target appeared to be facilities for holding or processing oil. In the deadliest incident, a probable Ukrainian surface-to-air missile shot down a Russian military transport plane near Belgorod city on 24 January. According to Russian authorities, it killed all 74 people onboard, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war flown in for an exchange.⁹ Russia has refused to hand over their remains,¹⁰ though prisoner swaps continued to occur after a nearly five-month hiatus.

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Ukraine: Russia claims gains during fierce fighting in Donetsk and Kharkiv

In January, Russia advanced southeast of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, with the number of Russian attacks in this direction increasing by 25% compared to the month prior. Russia also intensified its air bombing campaign in the region. Most fighting again occurred in the Donetsk region, concentrated around Avdiivka, which has been the focus of Russia’s counter-attack since October 2023. Replicating a war tactic applied during the battle for Bakhmut, Russian forces appeared unable to cut off the Ukrainian supply line and were trying to ease out Ukrainian defenders by attacking areas north of the town and its southern outskirts. The Russian military, though, claims to have seized a village north of Soledar. The number of clashes also increased in the area of Velyka Novosilka, on the boundary between Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions, towards which Russian forces are pushing to roll back modest Ukrainian gains during the past summer.

Ongoing fighting continued to exact a high toll on civilians, although the number of shelling events slightly decreased. In January, ACLED records over 120 reported civilian deaths due to indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling on populated areas, half of them in the Donetsk region. In the deadliest incident, an unidentified artillery strike on a market in the western part of the Russian-occupied Donetsk city on 21 January killed 28 people and injured 30 more.   

For more information, see the ACLED Ukraine Conflict Monitor.

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