Politics (Page 536)

Missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough. Here is everything you need to know: Explosions and gunfire have been heard in Kyiv asContinue Reading

Vladimir Putin has long insisted Ukraine is part of the country he rules. This was painted more starkly than ever as he announced that Russian troops were undertaking a “special military operation” in its western neighbour. But to the rest of the world, what Russia is undertaking is simply anContinue Reading

It’s ironic that Russia holds the presidency of the Security Council, the UN’s body delegated to make peace, just as Russia is perceived by many to be the greatest threat to that peace. Ukraine’s ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, has even suggested that Russia should be removed from the Security Council. ButContinue Reading

With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has overstepped an important line. The west sat by and did little when Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and annexed Crimea in 2014. But the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that is currently underway is impossible to ignore. Putin’s actions and his justificationsContinue Reading

In response to Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, announced that Germany has suspended certification of the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between his country and that of Vladimir Putin. The fast-moving crisis in Ukraine throws into sharp relief the fissures that threaten European andContinue Reading

Vladimir Putin’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent has escalated Russia’s slow annexation of Ukrainian territories. This is a violation of international law, according to Marija Pejčinović Burić, secretary general of the Council of Europe, the continent’s top organisation to promote human rights and democracy. Since Russia is aContinue Reading

When allegations arose some years ago that former prime minister David Cameron had behaved obscenely with a pig’s head during a Bullingdon Club event while at the University of Oxford, he distanced himself from the controversial group, saying: These were the years after the ITV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited, whenContinue Reading

Lenin may still have statues in Ukraine but he didn't invent the country, despite what Putin may say. Ferran Cornellà via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC Vladimir Putin has long insisted Ukraine is part of the country he rules. “Kiev is the mother of Russian cities. Ancient Rus is our commonContinue Reading