Ukraine
Xi’s nuclear warnings are a coup for Scholz
Checks and balances on Vladimir Putin don’t come from inside Russia. The people around him supported forced mobilisation, pushed his…
No more Mr Nice Guy
Volodymyr Zelensky is one of the few leaders of modern times whose charisma, determination and sheer cojones can be said,…
What does Russia really want?
The question of ‘why’ Russia invaded Ukraine has been forgotten amid war’s fog. Greed and malice partially explains it. History, geopolitics…
The US knows the main threat is China
China’s President Xi Jinping opened the CCP’s 20th party congress by doubling down on four key issues: no let up…
Tsar Vladimir brings in martial law
Martial law can arrive with a bang: tanks on the streets, Swan Lake on the TV. It can also creep…
The Spectator’s Notes
Thought for the Day appears every morning on BBC Radio 4. This preachy slot is hallowed by longevity, if not…
Arms’ reach
Will guns from Ukraine end up on the streets of Britain?
Nuclear options
How should the West respond to Putin’s threats?
Portrait of the week
Home Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, came up with a message for the Conservative party conference: ‘Whenever there is change,…
What Elon Musk doesn’t get about peace
The power one person can hold should never be underestimated. They can take people’s lives, as Vladimir Putin does, or…
Putin at 70: How The Spectator has covered his life
Vladimir Putin turns 70 today. Since he became Prime Minister of Russia in 1999, some of The Spectator’s greatest contributors…
Does Ukrainian exist?
After six months of war in Ukraine, most observers agree that the roots of Russian aggression lie in the country’s…
Diary
Moscow A week of somewhat mixed messages from the Kremlin. One day Vladimir Putin opened Europe’s largest Ferris wheel…
Will Nato accept Ukraine?
Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky made an offer to Vladimir Putin. Ukraine would drop its ambition to…
Life among the Russian refuseniks
Yerevan, Armenia It was getting dark outside Yerevan Airport when I arrived, but there were still a dozen flights from Russia…
Make mine a triple
Good, better, best was the satisfying trajectory of Northern Ballet’s terrific programme of three original short works, which moves south…
What’s behind Putin’s no-show?
Has Vladimir Putin carried out a cynical stunt, or ducked out of a seismic decision? That’s the debate among Kremlinologists…
More mad than Vlad
Putin’s most dangerous opposition comes from Russia’s ultra-nationalists
I’ve become a war addict
It is an almost unquestioned orthodoxy that war is hell, and that every needless death in a needless war diminishes…
Why the Baltics fear Russia
In the historic heart of Riga, Latvia’s lively capital, there is a building that reveals why the Baltic States remain…
Caught in the Mittel
Joseph Roth’s writing about interwar Europe speaks to present-day Ukraine
Barometer
Of mice and Moon What did Nasa achieve last time it visited the Moon? Apollo 17, in December 1972, involved…
Ukraine stuns Russia with a counter-offensive in Kherson region
The southern city of Kherson, which fell to Russian forces in the first few days of the war, is one…
Why Crimea could be key to Ukraine winning the war
Over the six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the ambitions of President Zelensky and his compatriots have only grown. From…
Portrait of the week
Home Inflation would reach 18.6 per cent by January and the energy price cap £5,816 in April, according to a…
