Putin and Xi: ‘Colonial’ world order has failed & British PM accused of ‘killing of Ukrainian soldiers’

2026-05-20

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Day 1,546.Today, as the British government suggests their pledge to ‘stand with Ukraine as long as it takes’ should actually say ‘as long as it doesn’t upset my summer holiday’ we examine the reaction to London’s decision to relax some Russian sanctions. We report how Russian jets flew so close to an RAF aircraft over the Black Sea it triggered onboard emergency systems, and we look at how Vladimir Putin's trip to Beijing is being reported in Moscow. Plus, we take our regular look at how brilliantly the Russian economy is performing and talk about magic...

Day 1,546.

Today, as the British government suggests their pledge to ‘stand with Ukraine as long as it takes’ should actually say ‘as long as it doesn’t upset my summer holiday’ we examine the reaction to London’s decision to relax some Russian sanctions. We report how Russian jets flew so close to an RAF aircraft over the Black Sea it triggered onboard emergency systems, and we look at how Vladimir Putin's trip to Beijing is being reported in Moscow. Plus, we take our regular look at how brilliantly the Russian economy is performing and talk about magic mushrooms in Armenia.

Contributors:

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

Alexander Nichol (Telegraph Journalist).

James Kilner (Russia Analyst). @JkJourno on X.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

PM’s sanctions U-turn ‘will fund killing of Ukrainian soldiers’ (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/05/20/starmer-eases-sanctions-on-russian-oil/

Xi and Putin: ‘Colonial’ world order has failed (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/20/xi-putin-beijing-meeting-russia-china/

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

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