Tuesday briefing: The long and winding road of war in Ukraine, as the human cost mounts

<p>In today’s newsletter: how the war looks from inside the country four years on – and what the west’s audience and leaders still misunderstand</p><p>Good morning. Today marks four years since Russian tanks first rolled towards Kyiv as Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine – a war he insisted on calling a “special military operation”. The initial assault was repelled, almost certainly to his surprise, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government remained intact to marshal the nation’s defences.</p><p>What followed has been widely perceived as a grinding war of attrition. While Russia has made incremental advances across territory it had already destabilised through Moscow-backed separatist republics, Ukraine has been subjected to a relentless aerial assault on its infrastructure – one that western support, from sanctions to air-defence systems and fighter jets, has not been able to halt. Peace initiatives – with varying degrees of sincerity – have come and gone.</p><p><em><strong>Peter Mandelson</strong></em>| <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/23/peter-mandelson-arrested-on-suspicion-of-misconduct-in-public-office">Peter Mandelson has been arrested</a> and released on bail by detectives investigating claims he committed misconduct in public office during his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.</p><p><em><strong>Education</strong></em> | Hundreds of thousands fewer children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) will be given education, health and care plans (EHCPs) as a result of long-awaited changes <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/feb/23/fewer-children-england-ehcp-care-plans-send-overhaul">announced by the education secretary</a>.</p><p><em><strong>UK politics </strong></em>| Reform UK’s plan to create an ICE-style deportation agency <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/23/reform-uk-ice-style-deportation-plan-condemned-as-sadistic">has been condemned</a> as “sadistic”, after the party’s home affairs spokesperson vowed to face down “progressive outrage”.</p><p><em><strong>Media</strong></em> | The BBC <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/23/bbc-new-apology-bafta-n-word-controversy-iplayer">has issued a new apology</a> for its handling of an incident at the Bafta film awards which saw the N-word broadcast during BBC One coverage of the ceremony and remain overnight on BBC iPlayer.</p><p><em><strong>Iran</strong></em> | Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/23/trump-iran-airstrikes-nuclear-deal">decision to order airstrikes against Iran</a> will hinge in part on the judgment of Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/24/tuesday-briefing-long-and-winding-road-of-war-in-ukraine">Continue reading...</a>

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