Ukraine

A rare video aired on Ukrainian television on Sunday allegedly showing a Russian pilot who had defected and encouraging other Russian soldiers to do the same. His dramatic escape allegedly took six months to plan, and was carried out in cooperation with Ukraine’s intelligence services. Whether the video is authentic remains unclear, but one thing is certain: Ukraine is doing everything it can to fuel Russian defections. 

The Russian president said the West needs to facilitate Moscow’s own agricultural exports before he will join a pact that guaranteed security for Kyiv’s Black Sea exports.

• Russia's diplomats were once a key part of President Putin's foreign policy strategy. But that has all changed. 
• In the years leading up to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, diplomats lost their authority, their role reduced to echoing the Kremlin's aggressive rhetoric. 
• BBC Russian asks former Western diplomats, as well as ex-Kremlin and White House insiders, how Russian diplomacy broke down.