Lisa Haseldine is The Spectator's online commissioning editor - foreign affairs.
A strange video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is currently circulating online. In it, he sits at his presidential table, dressed in his trademark khaki t-shirt. Staring straight down the camera, he addresses the Ukrainian people: ‘Dear citizens!’ At first glance, it could really be one of Zelensky’s nightly addresses. Except, almost immediately, you notice
Next week Putin is due to meet Alyaksandr Lukashenka, self-proclaimed president of Belarus, for the sixth time since the invasion of Ukraine. This will also be the first time in three years that they have met in Belarus. Much hooha is usually made by the Russian and Belarusian press of their meetings. There is always
This morning, the UK woke up to the largest rail strike in thirty years. As many as 50,000 workers are striking, with just one in five trains running across the country. Commuters have been told to work from home or travel by other means while stations are deserted. This scenario is one that Brits will
For countries bordering Russia, Putin’s war on Ukraine raises a disturbing question: might they be next? A bill put forward to the Duma’s lower house on June 8 suggests Lithuania is in the country’s sights. If passed, the proposal by MP Evgeniy Fedorov could see Russia potentially try to lay claim to Lithuania’s territory. Bonkers
Today is Russia Day. A muted affair compared to the pompous and bellicose displays seen on Victory Day, today is the day Russia commemorates no longer being a part of the Soviet Union and becoming the Russian Federation instead. Unlike other patriotic holidays in the country, most ordinary Russians pay little attention to its significance.
Two Brits and a Moroccan national captured while fighting for Ukraine have been sentenced to death by a court in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine. Accused of being ‘mercenaries’ committed to ‘carrying out acts of terrorism’ and ‘seizing power by force’, Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Brahim Saadoun have a month to appeal the sentence handed down
The Russian economy is headed for its deepest recession since 1991. That’s the British government’s latest assessment of whether sanctions are successfully, in the words of Liz Truss, ‘choking Putin’s war machine’. As the West’s most effective non-military tool for putting pressure on the Kremlin, sanctions have been under the microscope from the beginning: are
Russian disinformation has reached new levels of absurdity. According to the pro-Kremlin media, the UK is on the verge of cannibalism. The unlikely source of this terrifying rumour? None other than TV presenter, journalist and part-time farmer Jeremy Clarkson. Over the past few weeks, the British media has been awash with reports on the spiralling
Something strange is happening in Russia. Protest is banned, referring to ‘a war’ is punishable by up to 15 years in jail – but there are increasing signs of pushback. At least 12 military conscription offices appear to have been vandalised – some set on fire – since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. That’s
‘They are lying to you here,’ declared the placard held aloft by the journalist who stormed the set of one of Russia’s most popular news channels this week. Marina Ovsyannikova also recorded a video saying she was ashamed to work for what she called a Kremlin propaganda network. So what are Russians really being told about Putin’s war
What do Russians make of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine? The violence has been condemned around the world, and it seems that thousands of Russians who have taken to the streets on anti-war protests agree that Putin has gone too far. But some Russians continue to support their president, in spite of suggestions from abroad that he
