This report attempts to provide a maximally sleek strategic overview to inform Labour policy and thinking on the UK-Ukraine (UK-UA) relationship and on Russia’s war against Ukraine. In so doing, it draws on interviews with a wide range of senior Ukrainian, British, American, EU, and Russian officials and foreign policy elites as well as close to a decade of academic research on Russian foreign policy, propaganda, and public attitudes towards Ukraine and the West.

The growing assertiveness of authoritarian actors means the UK has a key role to play in promoting democracy and human rights globally. It is vital that this is done through concrete action, not merely by speechifying about democratic values.

The current crisis in Ukraine is not about Ukraine, but about Russia’s longstanding desire and attempt to redraw the entire European security architecture.

2021 was disastrous for Franco-British relations, with mistrust on both sides. What Charles de Gaulle once lamented as the UK’s lack of “community spirit'' has been seen on both sides over the last 11 months.

When dealing with the Kremlin, the Conservative Government is tough in rhetoric and weak in action – the worst possible combination.

There is substantial evidence that the Lukashenko government has sought to capitalise on current regional instability by creating false promises of a simple journey into the EU, using Belarus as a point of access.

Rising populist movements across the world have not only rewritten the rules of domestic politics, but increasingly influence foreign policy as well.