Beware quick translations. The transcript of Putin's remarks in Alaska have him talking about "the agreement that we’ve reached together" but he used the word ponimanie, which better translates as the much vaguer "understandings"...

What Putin said and what he meant, with a flash of sharp teeth My take in tomorrow's The Times and The Sunday Times on reading into his actual words, as well as the context Usually paywalled, but I *think* you can read this article for free. thetimes.com/world/russia-u…

Mark Galeotti is absolutely not to be missed on all these issues; his podcast — In Moscow’s Shadows — is always incredibly rich and nuanced.

Sadly, still paywalled. Apologies, all

In Moscow's Shadows 212: War and Peace and Alaska Where is the world after the Alaska summit? Putin won, but did Trump really lose? And if - if - we are any closer to a peace, what might that look like? A rather freeform, thoughts-in-progress episode buzzsprout.com/1026985/episod…

I have a piece out with the Spectator today looking at why the grim milestone of one million Russian killed and wounded passed unremarked in Russia. And why mounting Russian deaths will never deter Putin. It’s because of carrots and sticks, of ‘gingerbread and whips’. Short🧵

Russian security affairs expert Mark Galeotti says in Putin's mind there is no genuine sovereignty and agency for Ukraine. "As far as he's concerned, the only question for Ukraine is, who owns it? Does Russia own Ukraine, or does Nato?" jane mulkerrins | Mark Galeotti

This is total balls. The Budapest Memo remains the grassy knoll of international agreements, the subject of endless conspiracy theories.

Monday morning re-up: as Zelensky and his human shields head to DC, what seems to have happened in and since Alaska?

Why Putin wants Donetsk We still don't know the real terms of any proposed deal, but it's clear he wants Kyiv to surrender the rest of the Donetsk region. My thoughts for Coffee House spectator.co.uk/article/why-pu…

6:30pm, Thursday 4 September, I'll be talking about my latest book, HOMO CRIMINALIS, at the inimitable Waterstones Gower Street. Mafiosi as state-builders, how Marconi was hacked, what criminals can do with drones, and lots more criminality. Do come along!

Are We Any Closer To Peace In Ukraine? First and undigested thoughts on yesterday's White House conclave with Trump, Zelensky and European leaders. tldr: I'm not outright optimistic about the prospects... but closer to being optimistic than before youtu.be/DIHxxreHecc

.Mark Urban's Hard Truths About the Ukraine War is v well worth reading. For Ukraine to rely on the dream of regime change in Russia for its theory of victory (tho I don't think Prigozhin ever aimed for that) is a depressing but prob accurate assessment open.substack.com/pub/markurban/…

🎙️The Story podcast: Has Trump already handed Putin victory? Listen now: pod.fo/e/316cc1 🗣️ Manveen Rana | Mark Galeotti | Anthony Loyd

Thrilled that Nyhetsmagasinet Fokus called my book Rebel Russia anti-revolutionary. "A consequence of the state’s institutional weakness is its brutality. But that same weakness makes challenges possible, which, when successful, undermine attempts to correct the institutional problems"

It was a pleasure to interview Mark Galeotti again.

NEW PODCAST 🎤 This week on Stop the World, Mark Galeotti joins david wroe to unpack Donald Trump's meetings with Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders and whether the talks will advance the peace process between 🇷🇺 and 🇺🇦. 🎧 Listen 👉

Mark Galeotti interesting read never realised the biggest organised crime group was government. Obvious really!

The battle of the trolls. As Lavrov becomes more and more intransigent and belligerent in his statements (and that's saying something), one can't help but wonder if his new role is as the 'thinking man's Medvedev.'

A sharp summary and critique of an argument that does, IMO, start sensibly but veer into wishful thinking