Predicting Russian behaviour is a fool’s errand. As a young ‘stringer’ in Kyiv during the dying months of the Soviet Union, I was bemused by the analysis of Western journalists from their elite compounds in Moscow, who saw a very different world to that experienced by those of us in the ‘sticks’.

This deal is little more than a sophisticated Kremlin disinformation campaign

It is with some trepidation then that I write this. While I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the peace deal Ukraine has reportedly agreed to, I fear any ‘agreement’ will prove to be little more than a sophisticated Kremlin disinformation operation, designed to hurt Volodymyr Zelensky when his popularity and battlefield morale are at a particularly low point.

Let’s look at the timing. The Ukrainian President is under pressure from an alleged kickback and embezzlement scandal in the country’s energy sector. Members of his government have been forced to resign. His former business partner Timur Mindich fled Ukraine shortly before........

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