Ukraine

As Ukraine pushes forward its long-anticipated counteroffensive, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu seems more concerned with reeling in his institutional rivals, not least the wildcard Wagner group. But internecine institutional tensions are not the only affliction plaguing Russian occupation forces. As temperatures rise and the Ukrainians press the frontline, infectious diseases remain another challenge for Russian forces. In Wagner’s assault on Bakhmut, the self-proclaimed ‘most powerful army in the world’ made a slow, eight-month advance and suffered soaring casualties, of which 90 per cent were reportedly prisoner recruits. One in five of the 50,000 Wagner prisoner recruits who made up the bulk of their assault on Bakhmut were HIV positive – and a staggering 80 per cent

Lately Vladimir Putin has been strikingly unwilling to subject himself to any serious debate about his war in Ukraine. On Tuesday, he came the closest yet, spending more than two hours talking to war correspondents working for either the state media or nationalist social media channels. It was hardly an inquisition, but there were some interesting insights into his thinking to be gleaned. Despite the clear evidence of a steady contraction in the Kremlin’s aspirations and expectations from the original intent to conquer the whole of Ukraine, he refused to accept that the goals of the ‘special military operation’ had changed in any way. Rather, he asserted, that although they

As the second world war entered its final months, Anglo-American forces advanced into Nazi Germany to finish off Hitler’s Reich. In the East, the Red Army attacked up the Danube toward Vienna. Meanwhile, at the Yalta conference in February 1945, Stalin moved to cement his post-war political control over Eastern and central Europe. Germany’s defeat was imminent, but western leaders began to worry about how much Stalin’s forces would seize before the final surrender.  As Russia continues to endure heavy casualties in Ukraine, we’re in a similar predicament today. The war shows no signs of ending any time soon – and casualties continue to mount on both sides. But might

The Ukrainian counter-offensive has duly started and, needless to say, there is a rush to judgement. It is going to play out over the coming weeks, even months, though, and at present we are still working off partial and often deceptive information. But, while there is relatively little one can say about the events unfolding on the battlefield, there is more to be said about the way they are being spun. After weeks of diversionary actions and then days of feints and probes, the fighting has begun in earnest. It is focused on the rubbled ruins of what were once Bakhmut, the towns of Avdiivka and Marinka towards the city

How many memorable quotes has the Russia-Ukraine war produced so far? Along with Snake Island’s defiant ‘F*** you Russian warship’, we’ve had president Zelensky’s refusal to leave Kyiv at the beginning of the war with the words: ‘I need ammunition, not a ride.’ We also have his ‘Bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to lead you to victory’ and his ‘No one’s going to break us. We are strong. We are Ukrainians’, though these are perhaps less interesting; the first a bit like something from a Disney poster (two kittens find their way home across the desert), the second awkwardly conjuring up memories of the Rocky films. Better,

Russia fired more than 576 missiles and drones against Ukraine last month; Kyiv was shelled two days in three. Ukrainian air defence works smoothly, shooting down nearly 90 per cent of missiles – but even a successful intercept can lead to debris, causing death. This happened yesterday, in a case that is causing a national scandal. As the siren sounded over Kyiv, a man, his wife and his daughter headed with their neighbours to their shelter in Desnianskyi district – only to find it locked. The man, known as Yaroslav, ran to find someone to open it up. ‘People knocked and knocked again for a very long time. And no

It doesn’t take long for visitors to Prague to figure out how the locals feel about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Fifteen months since the war started, yellow and blue flags still seem to flutter in almost every city centre street.   The current Czech government – an ideologically varied five-party coalition united by its pro-EU and pro-western outlook – has played its part in supporting Ukraine’s successful war effort. As a proportion of GDP, Czech military aid to Ukraine has been among the most generous in the world. And when I meet Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, who is set to meet UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly this week, he is unequivocal