PUNISHING PUTIN takes readers to the frontlines of the economic war to degrade Putin's war machine. But is it working? Here’s 90 seconds on one of the central questions in my new book 👇

On today’s Big Take, investigative reporter @StephaniBaker tells @sarahsholder about Storm-1516, a Russian group behind a new wave of online disinformation — and what AI-powered fakes and weakened social media guardrails mean for the 2026 US midterms link.podtrac.com/g8pndijt

We spent a year tracking a covert Russian disinformation operation called Storm-1516 to catalogue almost 200 fabricated stories spread by mostly anonymous influencers that have racked up hundreds of millions of views on X. They're seeding false stories about #Ukraine and Western politicians. #Russia bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-…

The new Great Game in Central Asia >>The Russian war machine’s scramble to secure an unlikely component for its ammunition – cotton pulp – may have found a potential supply in Uzbekistan, where a new plant has ties to an Uzbek tycoon, Rustam Muminov, recently sanctioned by the UK and EU. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Enjoyed talking to @AndrewMarr9 on @LBC tonight about the EU meeting on whether to use Russian assets to back a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine. Crunch time

Great to be on Ireland's most popular channel RTE Radio 1 with Katie Hannon to discuss sanctions against Russia as peace negotiations to end the Ukraine war continue. She interviewed me about my book, Punishing Putin, at the Dublin Literary Festival earlier this year: rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22…

Great to be on @CNN albeit very early this morning to talk about the latest on Russia and Ukraine. With @rosemaryCNN

EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

One of the craziest parts of this "peace" plan: "$100 billion in frozen Russian assets will be invested in US-led efforts to rebuild and invest in Ukraine. The US will receive 50% of the profits from this venture. Europe will add $100 billion to increase the amount of investment available for Ukraine’s reconstruction. Frozen European funds will be unfrozen. The remainder of the frozen Russian funds will be invested in a separate US-Russian investment vehicle that will implement joint projects in specific areas." bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

On @bbcworldservice Newshour I discuss Trump’s decision to give Hungary’s Viktor Orban a 1 year exemption from his recent Russian oil sanctions and why Hungary’s continued import of Russian oil is such a problem. With @OwenBennettJone clip below:

On today’s @BBCRadio4 I spoke to @JonnyDymond about EU efforts to use frozen Russian central bank assets to back up a 140 billion euro loan to Ukraine, and why it’s taken so long. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:b…

🇺🇦 New episode of Ukraine: The Latest As fierce fighting continues around Pokrovsk and Ukrainian forces strike energy facilities inside Russia, @DomNicholls and @FrancisDearnley report on a surge in American surveillance flights over the Black Sea. They also speak with sanctions expert @StephaniBaker, who explains why Donald Trump’s sanctions on Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft are so significant. 🎧 Listen 👇 telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03…