Ph. Does the nation stand behind him? Vyacheslav Prokofyev/AFP via Getty Images Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University and Elizaveta Gaufman, University of Groningen Perceived wisdom has it that the longer a war goes on, the less enthusiastic a public becomes for continuing the conflict. After all, it is ordinary citizens who tend to bear
Ph. Russian army special forces inspect vehicles at a checkpoint in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, in February 2024. Sergey Nikonov/Shutterstock Christo Atanasov Kostov, IE University The scenes have become grimly familiar: Russian tanks rolling into Georgia in 2008, the seizure of Crimea in 2014, the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian military jets violating European
Jennifer Mathers, Aberystwyth University Protests have erupted in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities against a new law that threatens the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions. The legislation was hastily passed on July 22 by parliament and signed by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that same day. It places Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau and
Yerzhan Tokbolat, Queen’s University Belfast and Moldir Mukan, Queen’s University Belfast The UK and the EU have agreed to hit Russia with a raft of new economic sanctions after hopes of a ceasefire with Ukraine came to nothing. One French minister commented that it is time to “suffocate” the Russian economy. Since the
Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex Over three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the countries are finally meeting for direct peace talks in Istanbul. Vladimir Putin will be not be attending. Ironically, given his no-show, it was Putin who suggested the peace talks instead of immediately agreeing to a proposed 30-day ceasefire. But like
Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex After Donald Trump’s “very good and productive” phone call with Vladimir Putin earlier this week, all eyes were on his subsequent call with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Would it, as it did when they last met in the flesh on February 28 at the White House, descend into
Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham and Tetyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy Less than a fortnight after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky had their now-notorious row in the Oval Office and US-Ukrainian relations appeared irretrievably damaged, the two countries have reached an agreement. After nine hours of negotiations behind closed doors in
Patrick E. Shea, University of Glasgow The US vice-president, J.D. Vance, recently told Fox News that “the very best security guarantee” to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine again was “to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine”. The implication is that the much-debated minerals deal, in which an investment fund managed
Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham and Tetyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy The visit of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House has not gone to plan – at least not to his plan. There were extraordinary scenes as a press conference between Zelensky and Trump descended into acrimony, with the
Jennifer Mathers, Aberystwyth University North Korea is believed to be preparing to send another group of soldiers to come to Vladimir Putin’s aid in the war in Ukraine, despite heavy combat losses already suffered by troops from the east Asian country. When Ukrainian forces crossed the border into the Kursk region of Russia