Intro

Day 1,441.

Today, as Donald Trump claims Vladimir Putin has “kept his word” by not striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, we report on the resumption of trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi involving the US, Ukraine, and Russia. We examine whether French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for Europeans to “restore their own channels of communication” with Moscow will deliver any tangible results, and assess whether the recent drop in the price of gold could weaken Putin’s war economy. And later, we speak to Sir Bill Browder about Europe’s continued failure to seize and use frozen Russian state assets to fund Ukraine’s war effort, the significance of the €90 billion loan agreed in Brussels instead. Is it enough?

Contributors

Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.

Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Journalist and Producer). @adeliepjz on X.

With thanks to Sir Bill Browder. @Billbrowder on X.

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Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It’s free for everyone, including non-subscribers.

CONTENT REFERENCED:

The gold bubble has financed Putin’s war machine – but that may be over (Ambrose Evans Pritchard in The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/02/03/gold-bubble-financed-vladimir-putins-war-machine-over/

German warships ‘sabotaged by workers’ (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/03/german-warships-sabotaged-workers-hamburg-port/

For Peace, More Ukrainians Consider the Once Unthinkable: Surrendering Land

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-donbas-region.html

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