Ukraine
Pain passed down: a portrait of Russia and the war that dare not speak its name
Seierstad’s new book has an antihero as its central figure, whose story, and that of Russia itself, is above all about violence and its corollaries: pain, callousness, neglect and always, everywhere, alcohol. While the other heroic Russians are not ignored, this is essentially a salutary read
Peace in Ukraine – or more war in Eastern Europe?
“GREAT NEWS,” hollered @realDonaldTrump on Truth Social yesterday. “Thanks to the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of…
Zelensky’s strategy is national suicide
For Americans who follow the Russian-Ukrainian war, the past few months must look very strange. In the first half of…
Why is there so little protest about Russia’s brutality towards Ukraine?
Reporting of the war in Ukraine suffers from the tendency of journalism to exaggerate a trend. The most recent one…
Portrait of the week: Burnham heads to Kyiv, energy bills rise and Meghan and Harry return
Home Andy Burnham made his first foreign trip as Prime Minister, to Kyiv. ‘Despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country,’…
We must stop treating soil like dirt
Frank Ashwood’s illuminating guide to the hidden world beneath our feet convinces us of its complexity, vulnerability and supreme importance to all life
Are Ukraine’s deep strikes simply strengthening Putin’s hand?
Are Ukraine’s deep strikes against Russia helping Kyiv win the war or strengthening the hand of Kremlin hardliners? Since early…
The great whataboutery delusion
If you live near the frontiers of acceptable opinion, as any thinking person must surely do, you quickly find that…
When does killing the enemy become murder?
When is extrajudicial killing just war by other means, and when does it become a state-sponsored act of terror? ‘We…
The intrepid volunteers who risk all to preserve Ukraine’s cultural heritage
Among the many heroes Charlotte Higgins encounters in Ukraine are those who brave bombardment to retrieve artefacts from museums that would otherwise be lost forever
What will the successful cities of the future look like?
Gabriella Bennett visits 11 new architectural projects around the world to examine how war, climate change and an ageing population may be influencing urban planners
A grim turning point has been reached in Russia’s war on Ukraine
An important turning point has been reached in Russia’s war on Ukraine. But unfortunately for Kyiv, it’s not the “tide…
The West has become its own worst enemy
America’s post-Cold War decision to share its technological innovations with the rest of the world has spectacularly backfired, says Steve Feldstein
Will the wars in Ukraine and Iran merge?
This is a fraught moment, perhaps the most dangerous since the end of the Cold War. Two major wars are…
Who believes the latest version of the Nord Stream saga?
If you want to start a myth, make it a good one. Look at Odysseus. Imagine if the old liar…
How Poland and Ukraine can repair their broken relationship
Poland was once a staunch ally of Ukraine. But President Zelensky’s decision to name a unit of the Ukrainian Special…
‘No. 10 North’ won’t work
It would be dangerously premature to say that Ukraine is winning the war with Russia, but Russia is undoubtedly doing…
Putin has lost touch with reality
As dark clouds of burning oil billow like thunderheads on the skyline of Moscow and black rain falls across the…
The conspiracy of silence surrounding the Nord Stream bombings
It is now clear that western intelligence agencies were fully aware of the plan and tried to stop it – then covered up what they knew for fear of an anti-Ukraine backlash
Can the Kremlin afford to fix Russia’s oil crisis?
For a country that pumps roughly nine million barrels of oil a day – the third highest of any country…
The tragedy of Paul Celan – trapped in his own allusive poems
By his late thirties, the great poet of the Holocaust had succumbed to clinical paranoia, in which every aspect of daily life was saturated with evil significance
For J.D. Vance, Israel is the new Ukraine
J.D. Vance didn’t call Benjamin Netanyahu out by name, but in sternly reprimanding the “Cabinet of the Israeli government” from…
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…
Trump’s ballroom drone port is no joke
When Donald Trump unveiled plans for a counter-drone installation on the roof of the new White House ballroom, critics called…
Portrait of the week: Sturgeon speaks, Henry Nowak’s killer is jailed and Mandelson’s messages are released
Home Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years for the murder of Henry…
