Ukraine’s Victory Day drone swarm is dangerous for Putin
Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on 9 May should mark a triumphal double apotheosis for Vladimir Putin. Not only will it…
What does Putin want? Whatever he can get away with
The US general Mark Clark knew a thing or two about dealing with Russians. In the aftermath of the defeat…
How Rome copes with the Conclave
Ordinary Romans, famous for their cheerful working-class familiarity, loved Pope Francis for his common touch. For the first time in…
‘Vladimir, STOP!’ – Trump is being humiliated by Putin
Theodore Roosevelt was a believer in speaking softly but carrying a big stick. But where does that leave Donald Trump,…
Why London’s Ukraine ceasefire talks will fail
There’s one key thing that one should know about the Ukraine peace talks scheduled to begin in London today, and…
Why London’s Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks will fail
There’s one key thing that one should know about Ukraine peace talks scheduled to begin in London today, and that…
Has the Kremlin talked Trump out of sanctions?
After a two-hour phone call last month, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin announced that an improved bilateral relationship between the…
Putin has pushed Trump too far
Perhaps Donald Trump is not quite the chump the Kremlin has taken him for. Trump is ‘pissed off’ with Russia…
Erdogan’s latest power move could backfire
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has never been so weak – nor so strong. At home, he is facing the…
The EU’s ‘re-arming’ plan is unserious
Hark ye now, O despots of the world and enemies of freedom: as the American beacon of democracy fades, Europe…
Putin has played Trump like a fiddle
And so it begins. Welcome to the first episode of the latest season of Putin’s Theatre of Fugazi – the…
What Vladimir Putin really wants from Ukraine
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have very different negotiating styles. Trump lines up his offer in advance, browbeating all the…
Why Russia should agree to a ceasefire – and five reasons Putin might not
The main achievement of the US-Ukrainian talks in Jeddah was to produce a ceasefire document that Russia might actually want…
Russian spying has become a pathetic, amateurish business
Make no mistake: whatever higher moral authority they may have invoked in their defence, Soviet and Russian spies have never…
Trump’s Ukraine strategy is mad. But it might work
Will the real Volodymyr Zelensky please stand up? On Sunday, Ukraine’s president defiantly stated that ‘the final deal about ending…
‘Europe plus’ won’t save Ukraine
Days after the disastrous White House showdown between Volodymir Zelensky and Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer has done an undoubtedly…
Zelensky knew who he was dealing with. And he misstepped
Seldom in modern times has the fate of a whole nation been so dependent on a single meeting and on…
Trump won’t find a minerals bonanza in Ukraine
US President Donald Trump has announced that Ukraine is ready to sign a deal that gives US investors a share…
How the Ukraine conflict has changed the nature of war
Three years ago today, Russian tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border in a massive surprise attack. Russian unit commanders and…
The Trump-Zelensky train wreck will cost Ukraine dearly
Where did it all go wrong between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky? Just a week ago, Zelensky was speaking of…
Could Zelensky have made a deal to stop the war?
Is there any truth to Donald Trump’s extraordinary and, to many, highly offensive comments apparently blaming Volodymir Zelensky for starting…
British troops won’t help Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer’s proposal to put British troops on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force in Ukraine is…
Putin’s éminence grise: The Wizard of the Kremlin, by Giuliano da Empoli, reviewed
Modelled on Putinism’s founding father, Vladislav Surkov, the protagonist of this internationally acclaimed novel pales by comparison with the real-life ideologue
Trump might really be a ‘peacemaker’ in Ukraine
In a move likely to mark the beginning of the end of the Ukraine war, Donald Trump today announced that…
Why Trump hates USAID so much
The Trump administration’s takedown of federal spending has begun in earnest with the dismantling of the US Agency for International…
