Has the Ukraine war reached a turning point?

Hello from London. We are in national mourning as the country bids goodbye to its Queen. Government is shut as the capital prepares for an influx of dignitaries coming to pay their respects at the funeral on Monday. Away from London, our biggest story this week had been the spectacular rout of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. Slowly first and then suddenly,?Ukrainian troops over the weekend won their biggest victory ?since forcing the Russians out of Kyiv.

They liberated 3,800 square kilometres of the country’s north-east in just six days with a co-ordinated attack of tanks, infantry and air cover that sent Russian troops fleeing. So the question now is whether this is a?turning point in the war. ?I would argue that while hugely significant, it is too early to tell. Will the Russians regroup and learn from their mistakes?

The prospect of a Russian defeat is real and exhilarating, but as Gideon Rachman, our chief international columnist, writes, Ukraine’s advances also open a?new and dangerous phase in the conflict .

On a separate note, last night I attended the premier of the Netflix documentary?Skandal!, featuring the FT’s investigation into the fraudulent German payments company Wirecard. I’m excited to say you can?watch it on Netflix ?from tomorrow. Do let me know what you think.

My choices this week

1.?The Mall in London came to a standstill yesterday as the Queen began her final journey from Buckingham Palace, with King Charles accompanying the coffin. Though the King’s first days have won admiration,?abolitionists sense their moment moving closer , writes Robert Shrimsley.

2.?Higher than expected consumer price inflation has sparked fears of a hard landing for the US economy. Economists and investors are braced for the Federal Reserve to?aggressively raise interest rates . Economics editor Colby Smith asks how high the central bank will go.

3.?Rock-bottom interest rates have long allowed companies to paper over cracks in their business models. But as rates rise, debt-laden companies now face higher bills with crimped cash flows.?Here’s our list of the “debt monsters” flashing warning signals .?(Free to read)

4.?Staff at the UN had to push the former human rights high commissioner Michelle Bachelet to release a landmark report concluding that the Chinese government had committed human rights violations in Xinjiang. The FT uncovers?the pressure Beijing placed on the UN to block the report .?(Free to read)

5.?As streaming resuscitated music industry revenues, the world’s biggest investors poured billions into buying the rights. Pop music royalty payments were transformed into a recognised asset class. In this brilliant read, we explore?how Wall Street stormed the music business .

6.?Since the death of the Queen, the disturbing response to anti-monarchy protesters by the police has triggered a consensus on the need to protect free speech, writes Jemima Kelly. But both?the political left and right are guilty of endorsing free speech only when it suits them .

Thanks for reading

Roula

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