Who ate all the Minsk pies?

Ukraine's military is being forced to fight with one hand behind its back. Is it time to relax restrictions on its use of donated weapons?

There were examples of Russian heavy-handedness and Chinese subtlety last week. Has Xi Jinping been learning from Napoleon?

Georgian protests, Lord Cameron in Ukraine, a scathing US view of the UK army, Belarusian informants... What caught my attention this week.

A few notes on the Washington–Beijing–Moscow strategic triangle of today.

Why I changed my mind about the relationship between sport and politics, and (reluctantly) support a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

A new investigation pins a series of mysterious 'attacks' against US diplomatic staff on Russia's military intelligence. A few comments.

Some are lobbying for the UK government to label China as a 'threat' in its official documents. How worried should we really be about China?

A few remarks on last month's terrorist attack in Moscow. The treatment of the four suspects is part of the brutalisation of Russia.

Russia's election had added significance against the backdrop of war. But why does Russia bother with such an obviously undemocratic vote?

Both Ukraine and Belarus have long-standing population worries, which the crises of recent years have exacerbated.

Vladimir Putin, warning NATO against deploying troops to Ukraine, says Russia is prepared for nuclear war. Is NATO ready?

A few notes on last weekend's elections in Belarus, and some Belarus-related events I've been involved in this past week.

Would a second Trump presidency actually be of much use to Putin? I'm not so sure that it would.

Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin was a missed chance for us to learn something new.

Donald Trump is wrong to assert America's NATO allies 'free-ride'; his rhetoric damages the alliance more than inadequate spending.

Recent talk of a rift between Ukraine's president and the commander–in–chief of the armed forces was not scuttlebutt.

Claims that Boris Johnson scuppered a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine last year aren't new, and probably aren't true.

Thomas Graham's new book on the United States' Russia policy will rile many readers, but it's a well-informed appraisal. Here's my review.

Vladimir Putin appears confident the war in Ukraine is turning in his favour: he could yet be hoisted with his own petard, however.

The death of Henry Kissinger came at a watershed moment for political realism in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war.