Russia
It’s too late to break Europe’s gas reliance on Russia
So, Nord Stream 2 will not be plugged into Germany’s gas grid. A little surprisingly, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been…
Sanctions won’t stop Putin
The Lithuanian prime minister, Ingrida Šimonyte, put it well yesterday: ‘the way we respond will define us for the generations to…
Will Putin now roll on to Kiev?
The White House told us with absolute certainty that there would be an invasion of Ukraine this week — instead…
The seismic importance of Putin’s latest move
Vladimir Putin has tonight unilaterally recognised the two breakaway republics in Ukraine. In doing so, he has effectively ended the…
How the Ukraine crisis ends
Vladimir Putin does not think in the way the West does. Of course sanctions will hurt. But so what? He…
The Spectator’s Notes
When Sir Tony Brenton writes a letter to the Times, as he frequently does, it always says at the bottom…
What Russia really wants
You have the advantage over me. It may be that you are reading this now in your makeshift fallout shelter,…
Why should we save Putin from himself?
‘Never interrupt your enemy,’ said Napoleon, ‘when he is making a mistake.’ A Russian invasion and occupation of Ukraine would…
War games
Is Putin playing with the western press?
War and peace
How Putin bewilders the West
Alliance of disruptors
The growing bond between Moscow and Beijing
Barometer
Facing the music Police in New Zealand played Barry Manilow records to truck drivers in an attempt to persuade them…
Russian roulette
Is Moscow’s bluff backfiring?
True devotion
The 20th century was an amazing time for Russian pianists, and the worse things got, politically and militarily, the more…
Is Germany finally standing up to Russia and China?
When German chancellor Olaf Scholz met Russian president Vladimir Putin yesterday, the visuals said it all. As he had done…
The Ukraine crisis has united the West
There has been a subtle change of tone from Joe Biden and Boris Johnson about the likelihood of a Russian…
Putin may yet resist a full-on invasion
The west is still in the dark on what Vladimir Putin will do next. The Russian military build-up on the…
What really happens if Russia invades Ukraine?
Russia will pay an enormous price if it invades Ukraine, whether it goes for the whole country or only the…
Is Orbán serious about leaving the EU?
First the UK decided to leave the EU. Then in Poland, lawmakers started talking about it. Is Hungary now seriously…
Why Putin wins
Did Vladimir Putin ever intend to invade Ukraine? Or were his troop manoeuvres just a game — another test of…
Portrait of the week
Home In a message for the 70th anniversary of her accession, the Queen said it was her sincere wish that…
Ukraine’s plight paints a bleak vision of Europe’s future
It is tempting to view Vladimir Putin as a Cold War relic: a former KGB officer who hasn’t got over the…
Can Macron really lecture Putin about democracy?
A penny for the thoughts of Vladimir Putin on Monday as he stared at Emmanuel Macron from the end of…
Putin and Xi’s Potemkin alliance
Vladimir Putin very rarely travels abroad these days – and Xi Jinping has not met a foreign leader in person…
Could Viktor Orbán be a peacemaker in Ukraine?
For a politician whose calling card is the struggle for Hungarian national sovereignty, Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin’s press conference…
