Donald Trump’s sudden decision last week to sanction Russian oil producers suggested the US president has finally lost patience with Vladimir Putin after a series of fruitless talks over ending the war in Ukraine.
Could it break the deadlock? Oil sanctions have the potential to genuinely damage Moscow’s finances, as the Russian president himself admitted last week. It remains to be seen, though, whether economic pressure alone can bend Putin’s arm over a conflict he views as defining to his legacy.
In this week’s big story, Guardian Russia affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer asks whether sanctions could succeed where diplomacy has failed, while Christopher S Chivvis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace argues that a negotiated settlement remains the likeliest way to bring nearly four years of fighting to a halt.
In the frontline Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, senior reporter Peter Beaumont finds little hope of a quick resolution, with much of the population having left and the remaining soldiers stuck in a war they believe is “going nowhere for either side”.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | The populist leaders’ economic playbook
From Milei to Meloni, are the economics of populism always doomed to failure? This long read from economics editor Heather Stewart tries to bridge the gaps between populist aspiration and fiscal reality
Environment | The deadly migration routes of elephants
Human-wildlife conflict has overtaken poaching as a cause of fatalities among elephants – and is deadly for people too. Now some villages are finding new ways to live alongside the mammals, reports Patrick Greenfield
Interview | Is Jimmy Wales the good guy of the internet?
The Wikipedia founder stands out from his contemporaries for being driven by more than money. But can the people’s encyclopedia withstand attacks from AI and Elon Musk? By David Shariatmadari
Opinion | Without genuine truth and justice, the war in Gaza cannot end
A fragile ceasefire is in place, but what’s needed is an international tribunal for resolution and reparation. That’s the only route to lasting peace, argues Simon Tisdall
Culture | The electrifying genius of Gerhard Richter
He has painted everything from a candle to 9/11, walked his naked wife through photographic mist, and turned Titian into a sacred jumble. A new Paris show reveals the German artist in all his contradictory brilliance, says Adrian Searle
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What else we’ve been reading
• By scrutinising the objects left behind in her old family home, the author Anne Enright tried to make sense of the death of her parents as well as her complicated feelings around the passing of time, as she details in this remarkable and thought-provoking essay. Graham Snowdon, editor
• Donald Trump’s Asia tour this week comes at a pivotal moment, coinciding with the Asean summit in Malaysia and the Apec summit in South Korea. The trip underscores Washington’s renewed engagement across the region, focusing on trade, investment, and security – this useful explainer outlines what’s at stake. Hyunmu Lee, CRM executive
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Other highlights from the Guardian website
• Audio | The heist of the decade: an audacious burglary at the Louvre
• Video | Give me shelter: protecting trafficked children in the US – documentary
• Gallery | Colonial inversions and parliamentary takeovers: the strange, surreal photos of Michael Cook
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