Ukraine
Starmer is the unlikely hero of the hour. Can it last?
When Donald Trump addressed Congress this week, he declared he was ‘just getting started’. His words will not have soothed…
The bully-boy tactics of Trump and J.D. Vance
Just before Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping announced a ‘friendship without limits’. The phrase seems…
My faux pas with Washington’s most eligible bachelorette
To the Queen Anne splendour of the British ambassador’s residence in Washington for Peter Mandelson’s welcome party as our man…
The weakness of Donald Trump
Forgive the mordant tone, but this article was written in a desolate post-industrial nightmare girdled by diversionary roads going nowhere…
Portrait of the week: Foreign aid cut, Pope in hospital and King pulls a pint
Home Before flying to Washington, Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: ‘We have to be ready to play our…
Ukraine wants its nuclear weapons back
Kyiv Had America and the Soviet Union ever fought the battle of Armageddon, it would have started from beneath a…
Donald Trump is utterly wrong about Ukraine’s leadership
The Anti-corruption Action Centre, the NGO I chair, is probably one of the loudest watchdogs in Ukraine that is monitoring…
Who lost Ukraine?
In the America of the 1950s, one question dominated foreign policy: ‘Who lost China?’ The Communist victory in the Chinese…
Portrait of the week: US and Russia talk, Chiltern Firehouse burns and Duchess of Sussex rebrands
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said that, to guarantee the security of Ukraine, he was ‘ready and willing’…
My Valentine’s Day car crash
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, is not a MAGA groupie, but a believer in the Nato alliance. He…
Modernisation has sent Russia spinning back to the Stone Age
Howard Amos portrays a once hopeful country now sweeping the past under the carpet as it alternates between pitying itself and pitting itself against the rest of the world
The US and Russia must not force Ukrainian elections
After four hours of talks in Saudi Arabia, Russian and American negotiators have reportedly come up with a three-stage plan to…
Europe cannot be surprised by Trump’s approach to Ukraine
There’s something about Donald Trump that sends Europeans mad. The President and Vladimir Putin agreed last week to commence talks…
Trump is like Shakespeare’s Fool
President Trump’s role in relation to other countries resembles that of the Fool in Shakespeare. He provides a sort of…
Portrait of the week: Shoplifting surges, Trump eyes Gaza Strip and Norway’s government collapses
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, flew to Brussels for an EU summit, sought a ‘reset’ of relations and…
There’s only one way to end the war in Ukraine
Donald Trump has told Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. ‘Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous war!’ he…
Where have Russia’s Zs gone?
A social media post on 30 December: photographs of admittedly-splendid new year decorations in Moscow, archly captioned ‘back to 2021.’…
Portrait of the year: Subpostmasters scandal, Rishi in the rain and Syrian rebels topple regime
January After an ITV drama, the government suddenly proposed to do something about the unjust prosecution of sub-postmasters. Junior doctors…
The joy of our village Christmas play
We are just recovering from the village play. This annual Christmas event was taken over last year by our son…
Steven Pinker: The inside story of my Covid ‘bio bet’
Betting men Sir: The bet between Martin Rees and me that Matt Ridley recounts pits two kinds of scruples of…
Why is Poland building a barrier with Ukraine?
A ceasefire in Ukraine is far from being agreed, yet Poland is already preparing for its collapse. In recent months,…
Is Ukraine heading towards a Korean-style demilitarised zone?
It is the strangest place, the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that separates South Korea from North Korea. It is simultaneously a…
The deepening unpopularity of Zelensky
Perhaps all political careers must end, inevitably, in failure. But few politicians have had careers as meteoric, as surprising, as…
Biden’s missiles will do Ukraine no favours
With just over 60 days left in office, Joe Biden’s White House has significantly escalated the Ukraine war it had…
Portrait of the week: Rising inflation, electric car targets and a tax on flatulent livestock
Home Thousands of farmers protested in Westminster against inheritance tax on farms. Tesco, Amazon, Greggs and 76 other chains belonging…
