Germany is eroding Western resolve
Vladimir Putin continues to keep the world guessing as to his true intentions in Ukraine. The government in Kyiv fears an invasion, a perfectly legitimate conclusion to…
I’m not Vladimir Putin’s patsy, says media magnate and ‘Ukrainian patriot’
A Ukrainian politician on Saturday denied that the Kremlin was considering installing him as a pro-Kremlin puppet leader in Kyiv, dismissing the UK’s accusation as “stupidity and…
The EU’s deafening silence on Russian aggression makes war more likely
In the past few weeks Britain has sent light anti-tank weapons to Kyiv, the US javelin tank-busting missiles and stingers that can bring down aircraft, and Turkey…
‘The revolution was stolen from us’: How humble Kazakh fuel demo turned into a deadly power struggle
Zhanaozen: Where Almaty feels like a galaxy away Perhaps informed by official media which has discredited the protests, the other half a dozen or so people that…
Russia Q&A: Is an invasion of Ukraine imminent?
Ukraine has its own very extensive defence industry, inherited from Soviet times. They already produce their own anti-tank rockets of that type. The British weapons are not…
Ukraine crisis: Vladimir Putin is sabre-rattling at the West’s moment of maximum weakness
Nato military assistance thus far – even the short-range anti-tank missiles delivered by the UK this week – does not seriously challenge Russia’s military dominance. But the…
Vladimir Putin is sabre-rattling at the West’s moment of maximum weakness
Nato military assistance thus far – even the short-range anti-tank missiles delivered by the UK this week – does not seriously challenge Russia’s military dominance. But the…
Vladimir Putin will be all too happy to exploit the West’s dangerous distraction
Trying to work out Vladimir Putin’s intentions in Ukraine has now become the critical task of western diplomacy, and one made harder by the distractions faced by…
The greatest Russian writer the West forgot
In January 1965, when Roy Plomley asked Marlene Dietrich for her book to take with her on Desert Island Discs, he must have been baffled by her…
Standing up to Putin
Talks in Geneva today between officials from the United States and Russia mark the start of a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at reducing tensions over Ukraine….
Kazakhstan leader thanks Russia for help putting down ‘coup’ and fighting off ‘terrorists’
Mr Tokayev ordered Kazakh soldiers to shoot people carrying weapons without warning to subdue attacks on government buildings and to fight what he said were terrorists speaking…
Nato must not give an inch to Vladimir Putin’s demands, says former secretary general
“This is not a serious proposal from a man who wants peace,” he wrote. “When I met Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time as Nato…
Britain must lead from the front on Russia
President Putin has conjured up a crisis in Ukraine which presents the West with only bad choices. Thus far we’ve avoided the worst outcomes, but the British…
Russia shuts down its oldest human rights group in Kremlin’s battle against Soviet past
He has also frequently referred to Josef Stalin, whose regime is believed to have killed 1.2 million in the Great Purge of 1937-1938 alone, as a leader…
Britain’s USSR sympathisers are ignoring the regime’s horrors
On Christmas Day, thirty years ago, a fabulous present was given to the people of Russia. Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics declared:…
Will Putin turn on the taps? Europe faces bleak winter and ‘astronomical’ gas prices
Gazprom, the state energy giant, has been fulfilling its contractual obligations but little else, according to researchers, with the amount it sells on the European spot market…
European energy policy makes the rich richer
A summit of the European Council will be held on Thursday. This time there will be an important debate on energy policy as part of a discussion…
Russia warns of nuclear deployment in Europe amid escalating tensions over Ukraine
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister, added on Monday ahead of a meeting with her EU counterparts in Brussels: “We are convinced that Russia is actually preparing for…
Russia’s richest man opens mammoth modern art centre despite Putin’s crackdown on artists
The 225,000 sq ft space, sheltered by a soaring glass roof, houses a vast exhibition space, a cinema, a concert hall, workshops for artists with hi-tech equipment,…
Russians have been planning a coup in Ukraine for next week, says Kyiv
‘Threat of war tomorrow’ A respected Russian open-sourced data group earlier this week produced more evidence that Moscow had been shipping tanks and ammunition close to the…
Putin and Xi’s dangerous miscalculations offer a slim ray of hope
Alexander Lukashenko was out to cause trouble for Europe. Earlier this year, the Belarusian government began shipping migrants from the Middle East to Minsk. Then, it transported…
Putin is ready to gamble on war with the West
Bosnia may be about to collapse into civil war. Belarus is throwing Middle Eastern refugees at the Polish border. Russia is building up forces on Ukraine’s eastern…