Explainer-in-brief: Kyiv on the brink
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden announced he would send 2,000 more troops to Europe to countenance Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Britain has pledged £88m following a meeting between Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday. But the UK is struggling to get itself taken seriously by Russia after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss mixed up the Black Sea and Baltic Sea, sparking a mocking message from the Kremlin’s foreign ministry.
Europe is still dragging its heels and leaving the heavy-lifting to Nato. But given Biden’s vocal distaste for military involvement overseas following the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Putin might be ready to call his bluff.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, there are ferocious negotiations happening between the US, alongside Nato, with Russia, including offers to cut back on nuclear weaponry in exchange for calmer seas in Ukraine.