max seddon

As their yacht bobbed on the Mediterranean, the microchip executive snapped a picture of his Russian partner asleep on the deck. He only knew the Russian by his first name, Maxim. But he knew Maxim was using a shadowy network to get the chips for the Russian defense industry.

Latest: Zelensky has signed law stripping powers of Ukraine’s independent anticorruption agencies, according to two sources close to the president. It has not yet been published on the presidential site.

Six years ago, Zelensky urged citizens to call the hotline of Ukraine's anti-corruption agency if they were offered bribes. Now it's at the center of the biggest political crisis of his wartime presidency. How his power grab sparked a massive backlash: ft.com/content/c98f2c…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s controversial move to take control of his country’s anti-corruption bodies poses a risk to European funding and Kyiv’s path to EU accession, top European officials have warned. Story w/ @paolatamma @HenryJFoy ft.com/content/ef23be…

“He’s not the first politician to sacrifice principle to political ambition. But he has certainly taken it to the next level.” ⁦@GuyChazan⁩ on how Rubio went MAGA: on.ft.com/44HAcAo

Notably, in one of his invasion speeches in February 2022, Putin directly criticized and attacked the existence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies, including NABU and SAPO.

Instead of replying to each question, I decided to put together a thread that better explains the context of the recent protest, and why this particular law triggered such an unexpected reaction, especially for those, who don’t follow internal Ukrainian politics. 🧵Thread:

This did not just happen overnight, even if it feels that way. This is a shift months in the making. I wrote last week about it coming to a head – and got a lot of criticism from many of the same people now condemning Zelensky. Read this for context: ft.com/content/22f4d5…

"Shame!" shouted many Ukrainian lawmakers as a majority formed from Zelensky's ruling party, pro-Russian oppo bloc & Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna voted to, in effect, dismantle Ukraine's independent anticorruption institutions. My story on a grim day: ft.com/content/21cf3d…

Russia’s “swarm” tactics against Ukraine are increasingly cutting through Ukraine’s defences, with drones striking targets at three times the typical rate in recent months. @charles_clover and @ChristopherJM report: ft.com/content/1a19df…

Armed raids & appointments of loyalists in Ukraine have sparked claims Zelenskyy is drifting into authoritarianism, using martial law powers to silence perceived enemies & tighten control. Critics include his own party, Ukrainian media, western officials. ft.com/content/22f4d5…

“Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? . . . Can you hit St Petersburg too?” Trump asked on the call, according to the people. They said Zelenskyy replied: “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.”  New, with @ChristopherJM @HenryJFoy: ft.com/content/b66f03…

“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 per cent, you’d call them secondary tariffs,” Trump said. The tariffs would be “biting” and “very, very powerful”, he added. ft.com/content/05009e…

What online Russian dictionaries are folks using? I was a Multitran guy for years, but the site and app have become so enshittified that it's not worth the bother most of the time

Ukraine hit back in its shadow war with Russia this weekend by “eliminating” two operatives allegedly responsible for the most prominent targeted killing in Kyiv since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began. ft.com/content/1903dd… via @FT

Our second edition is out! The main story focuses on an extraordinary event for post-Soviet Russia—the suicide of a government minister. We have spoken to our sources in the Russian elite to gauge their response 👇

Tony Blair’s institute flack straight up lying and caught by receipts good reminder that folks are often full of shit, or at the most generous paid to be an ignorant channel for the client’s lies incredible FT reporting on this Boston Consulting group fiasco

I reviewed Thane Gustafson's new book on three decades of failed efforts to bring Russia closer to the west. It's a solid, thorough analysis of why sanctions haven't stopped Putin's war, though I don't share his optimism for a brighter future... ft.com/content/4e67a3…

Russia's transport minister died on Monday in a suspected suicide, hours after Vladimir Putin fired him, @NastyaStognei reports. Initial details of Roman Starovoyt's death remain murky, but it seems he was facing charges in a major corruption case. ft.com/content/98e201…

Trump and Zelenskyy are expected to discuss the abrupt halt in some key US weapons deliveries to Kyiv in a call on Friday, according to people familiar with the planning, who said the Ukrainian president will also raise potential future arms sales. ft.com/content/edac80… v @FT

How Russia grooms Ukrainian teens as spies and saboteurs Since last spring, Ukraine has arrested more than 700 people implicated in espionage, arson & bomb plots orchestrated remotely by Russian intel. Of those, around 175 (~25%) were under 18 years old. ft.com/content/5cb5eb…