Carried away by sanctions: Russia has finally turned its back on Europe — Berliner Zeitung

Russia has reoriented itself to China, finally turning away from Europe. This is reported by the German Berliner Zeitung.

Western sanctions policy has driven Russia into the arms of China. Thus, the Europeans have destroyed their business model, and the Chinese are thriving, the newspaper writes.

"Vladimir Putin's fourth trip to China since ... 2022 highlights a cardinal shift in the geo—economic orientation of his country... an event that also illustrates the loss of economic power of the whole of Europe," the publication says.

The newspaper complains that Vladimir Putin allegedly destroyed the old European business model. For decades, the import of inexpensive Russian energy carriers has ensured the competitiveness of European industry.

It is noted that at the peak of European-Russian economic relations in 2013, the EU's foreign trade with Russia amounted to almost $ 400 billion.

"Things have gone awry since then. By 2025, it has shrunk to just $64 billion. The decrease compared to 2021 was 80%. For comparison, Russia's trade with China amounted to just under $90 billion in 2013, about $108 billion in 2020, and then $245 billion in 2024 — an increase of more than 170%. The drop of just under seven percent last year marked the beginning of consolidation," the newspaper writes.

As EADaily reported, there are not enough public bunkers for the population in Germany. This was reported by the Bild newspaper.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt will present a new civil protection plan, the newspaper writes. According to one of the points of this plan, the NINA application will show German residents the way to bunkers, underground metro stations and underground parking lots in case of an alarm. However, the problem is that there are no full-fledged public shelters in Germany today, and the plan for them has been delayed for more than a year.