Headlines tell you what happened today. These stories explain the war itself. Stories marked Opinion argue a point of view; everything else sticks to what has been established by courts, investigators and reporters on the ground.
Background
NATO, “Nazis”, Russian speakers: Russia’s excuses, and why they don’t hold
The Kremlin has offered a different reason for the invasion every few months. Hold each one against the facts and they fall apart. What remains is a war of conquest.
Background
MH17: what the investigation proved
298 people, 196 of them Dutch, were killed by a Russian army missile on 17 July 2014. Investigators, a Dutch court and international bodies all reached the same conclusion. Russia still lies about it.
Background
War crimes: the evidence
Murdered civilians in Bucha, a bombed theatre in Mariupol, tortured prisoners, deported children, a power grid targeted to freeze people. None of it is rumour. It is documented by the UN, international courts and journalists.
Opinion
Why this is Europe’s war too
Ukraine is not a faraway quarrel. Russia already wages a hidden war against the rest of Europe, and what happens in Ukraine decides whether the open war comes closer.
Background
Putin: from KGB officer to war president
Twenty-five years of power, built on a war in Chechnya and kept with poison, prison and rigged votes. Ukraine is not an exception in Putin’s record. It is the pattern.
Background
Trump and the war: what he said, what he did
Ending the war “in 24 hours”, calling Zelensky a dictator, red carpet for Putin, then sanctions on Russian oil. The record of Donald Trump and Ukraine, in his own words and actions.
Background
NATO: myths and facts
“NATO promised not to expand.” “NATO surrounded Russia.” Moscow’s favourite claims about the alliance, checked against the record.