Ruadhán Mac Cormaic

The image of mass graves in Bucha, discovered after the liberation of the town by Ukrainian forces, will define the year

The Russian leader’s next move will shape the outcome of the war in Ukraine

Gorbachev’s experience showed Chinese Communist Party leaders that if you gave people a taste of freedom they would look for more

Dispute over visas foreshadows wider EU fissures that threaten European unity on Ukraine this autumn

Zelinskiy rose astonishingly to meet a moment of grave crisis while Johnson proved himself to be a joker without substance

Just like Trump did with the Republican Party, Johnson has unleashed demons that will haunt the Conservatives – and Britain – for at least a generation.

Book review: Workmanlike telling of the Ukrainian president’s story suffers from a lack of analysis of the broad forces that shaped his life

World View: The loss of his majority leaves the French president facing the prospect of five years of gridlock

Under the Conservatives, the two neighbours’ economies and political cultures are diverging in lasting ways

If Ukrainian refugees stay in their new homes, the effect of this new diaspora will be profound for Europe and for Ukraine itself

Not knowing where his botched war on Ukraine goes next might force Putin to just dig in and wait

Runoff will reveal whether he broke the mould or facilitated far-right’s rise

World View: West overestimated leader’s global clout – and maybe also his domestic muscle

Soon the West will have to consider how the Russian president can be offered an off-ramp

World View: Europe’s major powers are bystanders in what is a straight fight between the US and Russia