Ukraine
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…
How the media helped drive the Ukraine crisis
Western warnings of an ‘imminent’ Russian invasion of Ukraine have grown more insistent in recent weeks with different voices, from…
Oh ambassador, you’re spoiling us
I know the following sentence is going to get me into trouble. Still, there are times when you wonder whether…
Barometer
Borderland Few countries can have passed through as many kingdoms and empires as Ukraine — the ‘borderlands’. These are just…
Portrait of the week
Home Sue Gray, the second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office, in a 12-page ‘update’ on her investigation into 16…
Germany’s diplomatic game doesn’t make sense
Amidst the heavy criticism of Germany’s lack of commitment in the Ukraine crisis, the German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock argued…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, told the Commons that Britain was prepared to send troops to protect Nato allies…
Letter from Odessa
‘God Save the Queen’ trended on Ukrainian social media over the weekend. ‘As a Brit in Kiev I have never…
Their phoney war
It suits both Boris and Putin to pretend that Russia may invade Ukraine
The dangerous alliance between Russia and China
The growing alliance between Russia and China is something we shouldn’t lose sleep over, their long history of mutual suspicion…
Read: Tucker Carlson on Ukraine, ethno-nationalism and M&Ms
This week, Tucker Carlson spoke to Freddy Gray on the latest episode of Spectator TV. You can watch their conversation…
No one should celebrate the decline of America
Where is America? Like an old friend who hasn’t been in touch for years, you wonder if its silence is…
In the pipeline
Germany’s curious alliance with Russia
All human life is here
When is a life worth telling? The Soviet writer Konstantin Paustovsky’s six-volume autobiography The Story of a Life combines high…
Is Vladimir Putin really willing to invade Ukraine?
Is Putin preparing to invade Ukraine? It certainly looks that way, with western intelligence agencies estimating this week that around…
The battle for Ukraine has already been lost
Forget the ‘commitment‘ of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ukraine’s sovereignty, the EU’s ‘firm and decisive’ support, and…
Britain’s duty to the Black Sea
With Russian troops massing on Ukraine’s borders, the Black Sea is looking choppy. While that may seem to have little…
Ukrainian annexation is already happening
Nato and the EU are fearing a Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine. They have reason to be concerned, given that Russia…
Is Russia preparing to invade Ukraine?
I can still hear the battlefields of eastern Ukraine. Just a mile or so from us, thousands of Russian troops…
Putin’s plan for Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s message was as clear — and familiar — as his method. The Kremlin has begun another major build-up of troops…
Low life
Catriona and I were late for lunch at Vernon’s because I couldn’t get out of bed. The four of them…
Letters
Parish problems Sir: Emma Thompson draws attention to a serious problem in the Church of England (‘Power to the parish’,…
The battle for Eastern Europe’s energy sector
The fight to power eastern Europe is heating up. As Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to meet Joe Biden at the…
The EU is failing to stand up for eastern Europe
Will the EU stand up for eastern Europe? This question is now being asked by Ukraine following the announcement of…
Inside a dictator’s playground
Armed soldiers guard the barbed-wire compound. Helicopters buzz around the parameter, drifting above families on tandem bicycles. Groups of giggling…
