Starmer’s Russian oil tanker raid was a political stunt
This morning, in a blaze of publicity, Royal Navy commandos boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the English channel in…
Forever war: will Zelensky and Putin be brought to an exhausted peace?
Volodymyr Zelensky stood proudly on the steps of 10 Downing Street this week, flanked by Sir Keir Starmer and the…
Is the West deserting Ukraine at precisely the wrong moment?
Moscow is coming under direct drone attack, the Russian economy is creaking, patriotic bloggers are ever more apocalyptic in their…
Russia is becoming embarrassingly dependent on Beijing
A week after Donald Trump was greeted in Beijing by well-orchestrated crowds of flag-waving schoolchildren, it was Vladimir Putin’s turn…
Starmer’s sanctions U-turn will put money in the Kremlin’s pocket
The British government yesterday quietly issued two sweeping import licences for Russian oil and gas. This may ease European supply…
Russians no longer believe Putin’s war propaganda
A year ago, Russia marked the 9 May Victory Day celebration with a spectacular display of fireworks that lit up…
The Kremlin’s secret plans for post-war Russia
A top-level Kremlin policy document discussing post-war political planning and how to neutralize potential ultranationalist discontent has been leaked to…
How the Ukraine war could end in revolt
Ukraine and Russia are exhausted. Neither side is close to defeat and yet discontent is growing on both sides. In…
It’s hard to believe that Starmer is getting tough on Russia
Less than a fortnight ago, Sir Keir Starmer sought to signal that the British government was getting tough on Putin…
Ukraine’s allies are falling away
As Ukraine emerges battered but unbowed from the third and most terrible winter of the war against Russia, its people…
How an illiterate peasant changed the course of modern history
Grigory Rasputin was no Machiavelli but a simple, venal man who wielded an influence far more dangerous than he could ever comprehend
Putin is enjoying the Iran war
After Iran unleashed a torrent of missiles against its neighbours – including those with whom it had enjoyed friendly relations…
Will Turkey intervene in Iran?
Even as Iran lashes out with missile and drone strikes against its wealthy Arab rivals in the Gulf, three neighbours…
‘More than half our squad were executed’: Inside Russia’s rotten army
The Russians are on the warpath – and Europe is Vladimir Putin’s next target. That was Sir Keir Starmer’s alarming…
How Silicon Valley is calling the shots on the battlefields of Ukraine
Sometime in the late morning of February 4, somebody at SpaceX headquarters pressed a computer key. A command line was…
Is the war in Ukraine any closer to ending?
Is the latest round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, sponsored by the United States and currently under way in Geneva, likely…
How the Washington Post became a liability for Bezos
What does Jeff Bezos’s gutting of the Washington Post say about America’s sense of itself and of its place in…
The secrets of Putin’s shadow fleet
Of all the weapons in Vladimir Putin’s arsenal, the most strategically crucial has proved to be not hypersonic missiles but…
Why is America determined to pick a fight with Poland?
Until very recently it was hard to find more stalwart allies of America in Europe than the Poles. Poland was…
Why is Ukraine trying to cancel Swan Lake?
Two of Ukraine’s most famous ballet dancers face dismissal, cancellation and possible mobilisation into the army. Their crime? They dared…
The Kremlin’s plan to create a new wave of Ukrainian refugees
What is the limit of Ukrainian civilians’ endurance? In nearly four years of relentless war, Ukraine’s people have faced summary…
Europe has left Ukraine living on borrowed time
Russia started the war on Ukraine, so Russia should pay for the damage it has wrought. Such was Volodymyr Zelensky’s…
Europe has left Ukraine living on borrowed time
Russia started the war on Ukraine, so Russia should pay for the damage it has wrought. Such was Volodymyr Zelensky’s…
Only the US is taking peace seriously in Ukraine
What exactly is the ‘platinum security guarantee’ that Donald Trump is pushing Volodimir Zelensky to accept? While the full details…
The war in Ukraine is reaching its endgame
Painfully and chaotically, the outline of the peace deal that will eventually end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is emerging as…
