Ukraine war: drone ‘attack’ on Kremlin – logic suggests a false flag to distract Russians ahead of Victory Day on May 9: Whether the alleged drone assassination attempt on the Russian president in the Kremlin was an audacious attack by Ukraine or a clumsy attempt at a false flag operation by Moscow may never be …
Ukraine war: what China gains from acting as peacemaker: President Xi is positioning himself as the leader who could bring the Ukraine war to an end. Kaliva/Shutterstock After more than a year of no direct communication, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, had a phone conversation on April 26 2023. According …
Ukraine war: Russia scales back May 9 Victory Day celebrations amid fear of popular protests: Russians celebrate the end of the “great patriotic war” on May 9 each year. Victory Day, which commemorates the defeat of Nazism in Europe is the most important holiday in Russia. The public and the state come together in a …
Ukraine recap: diplomatic manoeuvres intensify in advance of a possible spring offensive: A quick check of the Met office forecasts for Ukraine suggests that over the next week or so the weather is going to get steadily warmer. The rising mercury has fuelled speculation that Ukraine’s much discussed spring offensive is just around the corner, …
Ukraine war: as Kyiv prepares counteroffensive it needs to convince allies it is up for the fight: After a long campaign of attritional warfare in the east of Ukraine over the winter months, things appear to be stirring in the south where there have been multiple reports of preparations for the long-awaited Ukrainian spring offensive. …
Western anger over China’s ambiguity on Ukraine cannot hide growing divisions in EU over support for Kyiv: Much like Washington’s stance on Taiwan, China’s position on the invasion of Ukraine has been one of “strategic ambiguity”. China has consistently emphasised the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity while failing to condemn the invasion and reassuring …
Ukraine war: why WWI comparisons can lead to underestimates of Russia’s strengths: The current conflict in Ukraine frequently elicits parallels with the first world war. It’s a comparison being made by politicians, journalists, analysts and military personnel. Coverage over the past winter months, for example, has focused on how Ukrainians are fighting in WWI-like muddy …
Pentagon leak of US intelligence on Ukraine and other allies shows failure to learn from Chelsea Manning affair: The world’s media was predictably alive last weekend with speculation about Jack Teixeira, the young US guardsman who was charged in a case involving leaked confidential US defence and intelligence documents. The actual charge levelled against the …
Why democratic countries around the world are not prepared to support Ukraine – and some are shifting closer to Russia: After over a year of the Ukraine war, efforts at building a global consensus against Russia seem to have stalled, with many countries opting for neutrality. The number of countries condemning Russia has declined, according …
Ukraine recap: downbeat US intelligence leak suggests no end in sight for the misery of this war: What we know – or think we know – about the progress of the war in Ukraine over the past few days has come courtesy of leaked Pentagon documents which appear to cover, in some detail, a wide …
Ukraine war: Pentagon leaks paint gloomy picture of long war that can’t be won but must not be lost: Classified Pentagon documents leaked last week paint a grim picture of the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. While it may well be the most significant national security breach since the Snowden leaks of US National …
Ukraine war: the devastating effects of conflict on infant mortality rates – new research: The brutal war in Ukraine is now over a year old. While estimates of the numbers of civilians killed and injured vary, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has estimated that 8,317 civilians have been killed and a …
Ukraine war: the lessons from the Northern Ireland peace process: As the French and Chinese presidents, Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping, were discussing the need for more constructive international engagement to end the war in Ukraine, it emerged this week that Ukraine, too, was open to reconsidering its options. A top adviser to Ukraine’s president, …
Ukraine recap: as spring arrives in Ukraine an offensive against Crimea could be on the cards: Over the past few weeks there have been a growing number of reports that Russia is recruiting workers and – according to some sources, using forced labour – to dig trenches and build fortifications in Crimea across areas they …
Ukraine war: US issues Nato weapons playing cards to help Ukraine avoid friendly fire: Nato members and other western countries are stepping up their supply of weapons to Ukraine. The UK recently pledged to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks, while the US has promised 31 Abrams tanks, and is sending older models to get them …
Ukraine: Kremlin warning of ‘forever war’ reflects shifting Russian rhetoric about ‘special military operation’: Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, warned Russians that they must prepare for a “forever war”. “Things will get much harder,” Peskov told a gathering of the country’s political elite. “This will take a very, very long time.” It’s a far cry …
Ukraine: reporter’s notes from WWII shows how Russia used claims of fascism to stem independence: Alongside the horrors of the war in Ukraine, many in the west have been confused by the insistence from Russian president Vladimir Putin that he is trying to free the country from “Nazi control”, accusing his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, …
Ukraine war: tensions rise in Crimea as Russia prepares for a likely spring offensive: To paraphrase the words of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, everything began with Crimea, and everything will end there as well. When Russia first occupied Crimea in 2014, it was a major win for Putin, who successfully called the west’s bluff …