This CSS code defines the “Guardian Headline Full” font family with various weights and styles, including light, regular, medium, and semibold, each in normal and italic versions. It specifies the font files in WOFF2, WOFF, and TrueType formats hosted on the Guardian’s servers.This CSS code defines several font faces for the “Guardian Headline Full” and “Guardian Titlepiece” font families. Each font face specifies different weights and styles (normal or italic) and provides multiple file formats (WOFF2, WOFF, and TrueType) for cross-browser compatibility. The weights range from light (300) to black (900), with corresponding italic versions where applicable.This CSS code defines several font styles for the “Guardian Headline Full” font family. It includes different weights and styles, such as regular, medium, semibold, bold, and black, each in normal and italic versions. For each style, it specifies the font files in WOFF2, WOFF, and TrueType formats from the Guardian’s asset server, along with the corresponding font weight and style properties.This text appears to be CSS code defining font styles and layout grids for a website, likely The Guardian’s. It specifies font files for different weights and styles, and sets up responsive grid layouts that change at various screen sizes. The code handles how content areas like titles, headlines, media, and body text are arranged across different device widths, from mobile to desktop views.For interactive grid figures with immersive captions in specific content areas, the caption padding is set to 4 pixels at the top and 0 elsewhere.
In various content sections, elements with data attributes for lines and meta are positioned in the grid from row 2 to 5 and column 1 to 2. Lines elements have a height that fits their content and a top margin of 5 pixels, while meta elements have an 18-pixel top margin.
On larger screens with a minimum width of 81.25em, the grid layout for these content areas uses columns of 219px, 1px, 620px, 80px, and 300px.
For iOS and Android devices, article headers use specific fonts and styling: the standfirst text employs Guardian Headline or similar serif fonts with medium weight, section kickers display as blocks with the first letter capitalized, keylines have 12 pixels of top padding, and bylines use a bold serif font. Images in articles adjust their height automatically, and paragraphs following atomic elements have no top margin.
Font faces are defined for Guardian Headline Full in light and light italic weights, sourced from woff2, woff, and ttf files.This text defines a custom font family called “Guardian Headline Full” with various styles and weights. It includes regular, medium, semibold, and bold versions, each in both normal and italic styles. The font files are provided in WOFF2, WOFF, and TrueType formats from the Guardian’s website.This CSS code defines font styles and layout adjustments for a website. It specifies custom fonts from the Guardian’s assets, including their weights and styles, and sets responsive design rules for different screen sizes. The layout rules control margins, widths, and positioning of various elements like columns, atoms, showcases, and immersive sections to ensure proper display across devices. It also includes color variables and padding adjustments for a consistent visual appearance.The first paragraph in various content sections, such as article bodies, interactive content, comments, and features, should have a top padding of 14 pixels. Additionally, the first letter of these paragraphs should be styled with a specific font, bold weight, large size, uppercase text, and a color that may vary, while floating to the left with a margin.
For paragraphs following a horizontal rule, no top padding is applied. Pullquotes within these sections are limited to a maximum width of 620 pixels.
In showcase elements, captions are positioned statically and also have a maximum width of 620 pixels. Immersive elements span the full viewport width, adjusted for scrollbars, and on screens smaller than 71.24em, they are capped at 978 pixels wide with appropriate caption padding.This appears to be CSS code for responsive web design, setting different styles for various screen sizes. It defines how page elements like headlines, images, and captions should appear and adjust across devices from mobile to desktop. The code uses media queries to apply specific layouts, spacing, borders, and grid structures when the viewport meets certain width conditions.The grid layout uses five equal-width columns for the title, headline, and standfirst sections, followed by eight equal-width columns for the portrait section. Rows are defined with specific heights for the title, headline, standfirst, and meta content areas.
For meta elements, a fixed width of 620px is set, while standfirst content is slightly offset to the left. Labels in the title area have a small top padding.
Headlines are bold with a maximum width of 620px and a font size of 32px, increasing to 50px with a narrower width on larger screens. On medium screens, right margins are removed for lines, and lines are hidden on wider displays, with their color matching the header border.
Meta sections also lose their right margin on medium screens, and social and comment elements share the header border color. Some meta components are hidden.
Standfirst content is indented and positioned relatively, with top padding added on medium screens. Paragraphs within are normal weight, 20px in size, and have bottom padding.
Main media is positioned in the portrait grid area, spans the full width without side margins, and has no bottom margin on larger screens. On smaller screens, it adjusts its width and left margin.
Captions are positioned at the bottom with a background color and text color, full width, and a minimum height. The first span is hidden, while the second is visible and limited to 90% width, with padding increasing on larger screens. Hidden captions are transparent.
A caption button appears in the bottom right with a circular background, no border, and scaled icon, positioned further right on larger screens.
For interactive content, a pseudo-element is adjusted in position and height on the largest screens.The main column’s interactive headings have a maximum width of 620 pixels. For iOS and Android devices, the color scheme uses dark backgrounds and specific accent colors, which adjust in dark mode. On these mobile platforms, the first letter of the first paragraph after certain elements in article containers is styled with a secondary color, and article headers are hidden. Furniture wrappers receive minimal padding, with labels in a bold, capitalized font using the designated pillar color, and headlines are large, bold, and dark for emphasis.For iOS and Android devices, the following styles apply to article containers (feature, standard, and comment):
– Image elements within the furniture wrapper are positioned relatively, with a top margin of 14px, a left margin of -10px, and a width that spans the full viewport minus the scrollbar width. Their height adjusts automatically.
– The inner figure, image, and link elements have a transparent background, match the full viewport width minus the scrollbar, and maintain an auto height.
– Standfirst sections have top padding of 4px, bottom padding of 24px, and a right margin of -10px.
– Paragraphs inside the standfirst use the Guardian Headline or similar serif font family.
– Links within the standfirst, including those in list items, are styled accordingly.For comment article containers, links in the standfirst are styled with a specific color, underlined with an offset, and no background image or border. On iOS and Android devices, hovering over these links in feature, standard, or comment articles changes the underline color to match the pillar color. Additionally, the meta section in these articles has no margin, and elements like bylines and author links use the pillar color for text. The meta miscellaneous section has no padding.For iOS and Android devices, the following styles apply to feature, standard, and comment article containers:
– SVG icons in the meta miscellaneous section use the new pillar color for strokes.
– The caption button in showcase elements is displayed as a flex container, centered with 5px padding, 28px dimensions, and positioned 14px from the right.
– The article body has 12px horizontal padding.
– Non-thumbnail, non-immersive images in the article body have no margin, a width calculated as the viewport width minus 24px and scrollbar width, and auto height, with no padding in their captions.
– Immersive images span the full viewport width minus the scrollbar width.
– Quoted blockquotes in the prose section have a before pseudo-element styled accordingly.For iOS and Android devices, the styling of quoted text and links in articles is adjusted. Quoted text uses a specific color, while links are underlined with a particular color and change when hovered over.
In dark mode, the background of article headers becomes dark gray, and text elements like labels, headlines, and standfirst paragraphs adopt contrasting colors for better readability. Links and author names within these sections also follow this color scheme to maintain consistency.This CSS code defines styles for different article containers on Android and iOS devices. It sets the color of author bylines and quoted text to a specific pillar color, applies the same color to SVG strokes, and uses a dateline color for image captions. Additionally, it ensures that the background of various body elements is set to a dark background with high importance.This appears to be a CSS selector targeting the first letter of paragraphs that follow specific elements within various article containers on iOS and Android devices. The selector applies to different sections like feature articles, standard articles, and comment sections, focusing on paragraphs that come after elements with classes like “element-atom” or IDs like “sign-in-gate.”For Android and iOS devices, the first letter of paragraphs following specific elements in various article containers will be styled with a custom color variable, defaulting to white.For comment articles on both Android and iOS, the standfirst section has a top padding of 24 pixels and no top margin. Headings at level 2 in the prose are set to 24 pixels in size.
Caption buttons in feature, standard, and comment articles have different padding on iOS (6px top, 5px sides, 0 bottom) and Android (4px top and sides, 0 bottom).
In dark mode, specific colors are applied to follow text, icons, standfirst text, links, and bylines for better visibility.
When the furniture wrapper includes a Guardian organization logo, the branding element is always displayed. Content labels and headlines in various article types on iOS and Android, as well as standfirst paragraphs, use a medium font weight.
The page background for weekend essays is a light pink shade (#fff4f2), which also applies to article sections and sub-meta backgrounds. Lines are hidden by default.
The furniture wrapper is positioned relatively and uses a grid layout on larger screens with defined rows for title, headline, standfirst, and meta sections.
The article header or title area has a fixed height of 70 pixels and contains content labels that span the full height. A decorative book GIF (70×70 pixels) appears in the bottom-right corner, enlarging to 110×110 pixels on wider screens. A horizontal line spans the bottom of the content labels, extending to the viewport width minus scrollbar on small screens and fixed at 738 pixels on medium screens, with left indentation.For screens wider than 71.25em, the furniture wrapper’s article header and title element will have a height of 80px, increasing to 125px for screens over 81.25em. On these larger screens, the headline, its data attribute counterpart, and headline class will have a top margin of -2px.
Within the furniture wrapper, the headline, its data attribute version, and headline class all have inner divs with no bottom padding. Their portrait main media headline wrapper is set to full height, relatively positioned, hidden overflow, and 24px bottom padding. Headlines and links inside these wrappers have no maximum width and display a 2px thick underline with a 6px offset on hover.
Text elements including h1, links, and byline spans in the portrait main media headline wrapper share a 115% line height, medium font weight, and 36px font size, which increases to 50px on screens wider than 71.25em.
The standfirst section and its equivalents are relatively positioned with 4px top padding, removed on screens over 61.25em and reduced to 2px on those over 71.25em.
In the meta section, branding elements within the content meta container are displayed as blocks.
Additionally, for screens wider than 46.25em, content labels after divs in the article header and title are hidden.The furniture-wrapper positions media elements relatively. On larger screens (over 61.25em), the main media and media elements are placed in the portrait grid area.
Within the main media and media elements, divs are positioned relatively, and spans following divs are displayed as blocks. Figures take full height with a left margin of 10px.
Images and captions within figures adjust their width based on the viewport, accounting for scrollbars, with auto height and specific margins and padding. Captions have additional bottom margin and padding.
A decorative frame is added before each figure using a background image, sized to fit the container and positioned absolutely.
For medium screens (over 46.25em), figures lose their left margin. Images and the frame adjust to fixed widths, with modified margins and padding. Captions also resize and reposition.
On larger breakpoints (61.25em, 71.25em, 81.25em), the frame, images, and captions adapt their widths, margins, and padding to suit different screen sizes.
The caption button is positioned at the bottom right, with its placement shifting at various breakpoints for optimal placement.For the main media caption button and furniture wrapper with media data attribute, the caption button is positioned 30px from the bottom. In the furniture wrapper, when there’s no media, the container centers its content both horizontally and vertically, taking up the full width. The text inside has a 24px font size, bold weight, 115% line height, uses a specific color variable, is underlined, and displayed as a block.
On screens wider than 71.25em, the interactive main column aligns to the left without any preceding element, and its supporting aside with a blockquote has a background color defined by a variable, defaulting to a light pink. The first letter of the first paragraph is light in weight, while in specific contexts like after a horizontal rule or progress bar, or with a drop-cap class, it appears in a large, uppercase, serif font with a color from a variable, floating to the left with some spacing.
Headings at level 2 are colored dark orange, 28px in size (32px on larger screens), light weight, and have normal line height with a bottom margin. If they contain strong text, the weight increases to medium. Figures with iframes share the same background as the aside.
In app environments (iOS, Android, or specific rendering targets), the byline’s follow wrapper is displayed with a top margin and its span text is set to 14px. Media elements in the main content adjust their width to fit their content.
In dark mode, the body’s background variables for article sections and weekend essays change to a dark gray, and certain decorative lines after article headers or labels are hidden.For Android devices, specific elements in the furniture-wrapper will display a white book icon as their background image.
On apps, iOS, and Android, figures within the furniture-wrapper’s main media or media sections will use a white frame image as their background.
Both iOS and Android devices have a white background and apply a medium font weight to labels and headlines in article containers.
In light mode, the background color for iOS and Android is set to a custom weekend essay background or a light pink shade.
For iOS and Android, primary opinion colors are defined as orange, and in light mode, the background uses the weekend essay color.
In dark mode, the background becomes dark gray, and the opinion primary color changes to a brighter orange, with some elements having their background removed.
Article containers on iOS and Android use the weekend essay background color.
On larger screens, the furniture-wrapper in article containers uses a specific grid layout with defined columns, rows, and gaps.
Title and GIF wrappers in article containers on iOS and Android are styled similarly.For iOS and Android devices, the title and GIF wrapper in article containers is set to display as a flexible row, positioned relatively, with space distributed between elements.
Labels within this wrapper use a bold 17px font with 115% line height. Links in these labels appear in a specific orange color and do not transform text.
GIF containers and their images are sized at 70×70 pixels. However, any container or image with the class “book-gif-white” remains hidden.
These styles adjust based on user color preference settings.For iOS and Android devices, when the theme is set to dark, hide the regular book GIFs in feature, standard, and comment article containers, and show the white version instead. Additionally, add a horizontal line at the bottom of the title and GIF wrapper in these containers. On larger screens (61.25em and above), assign the title and GIF wrapper to the grid area named “title.”For screens with a minimum width of 61.25em, the title and GIF wrapper in furniture wrappers for feature, standard, and comment articles on iOS and Android will have a width of 50vw.
In dark mode, the same elements will have a background color of #606060.
On larger screens (min-width: 61.25em), the portrait main media headline wrapper in furniture wrappers for these article types on iOS and Android will be assigned to the grid area named “headline.”
Headlines and bylines (including links) in furniture wrappers for feature, standard, and comment articles on both iOS and Android will have a font size of 36px, normal style, medium weight (500), and a line height of 115%.This CSS code sets the color of bylines and links in article containers to a specific red shade (#c70000) for Android devices, and adjusts it to a different shade (#c74600) in dark mode. It also hides avatars in bylines, removes bottom margin and padding from headlines, and makes bylines italic while keeping the author’s name in normal font style. Additionally, it applies these styles consistently across feature, standard, and comment article containers on both iOS and Android platforms.For feature, standard, and comment articles on Android devices, the main media container adjusts its height automatically with a 4:5 aspect ratio and a transparent background.
On both iOS and Android devices, figures within these containers are set to full height with no left margin. Their inner components are positioned at the top-left corner without any offset.
The content area of these elements remains transparent, with no padding and visible overflow. Images inside them span the viewport width minus 40 pixels, centered with 20-pixel left and right margins, and have a top margin of 25 pixels (reduced to 13 pixels for specific nested images).
Figure captions maintain their default styling without additional adjustments.For iOS and Android devices, the caption height for figures in feature, standard, and comment articles is set to auto. The text within these captions, including paragraphs and spans, is displayed as blocks with no maximum height, positioned relatively, and colored using a custom property for caption text (defaulting to #999).
On screens wider than 46.25em, figures in these articles have their maximum width removed. A pseudo-element before each figure spans almost the full viewport width with 10px margins. Images inside these figures also stretch to nearly the full viewport width.This CSS code adjusts the layout and appearance of images and elements within articles for iOS and Android devices across different screen sizes and color schemes. It sets specific widths, margins, and background images, ensuring proper display and responsiveness.For the first image in articles on iOS and Android devices, the image and its pseudo-element are styled to span the full viewport width minus 20 pixels and the scrollbar width, with no left margin.
On larger screens (over 61.25em wide), the image width adjusts to half the viewport minus 30 pixels and the scrollbar width, gains a small left margin, auto height, and top padding. The container’s height becomes full with a maximum width of 620 pixels.
At even larger breakpoints (over 81.25em), the image width reduces further to half the viewport minus 70 pixels and the scrollbar width, while maintaining the other styles and adding a negative top margin.This CSS code defines styles for article containers on iOS and Android devices. It adjusts the layout and appearance of images and captions within different article types (feature, standard, comment) across various screen sizes.
For larger screens (over 81.25em), it positions first images with specific width calculations and left alignment. On medium screens (over 46.25em), it places caption buttons 45px from the bottom. For wider screens (over 61.25em), it sets main media areas to portrait orientation with a maximum width of 620px.
The code positions figure elements relatively with no top margin, and places inner figure content absolutely positioned 15px from the top and 20px from the left, spanning the viewport width minus 40px. Images within these figures are set to cover their containers completely. Caption buttons are positioned in the bottom-right corner of figures.For screens with a minimum width of 46.25em, the inner figure elements in feature, standard, and comment articles on iOS and Android devices will have a width of 680px, auto height, and be positioned 10px from the top and left. The caption button in these articles will be placed 25px from the bottom.
On screens at least 61.25em wide, the figure elements in the same contexts will adjust their width to half the viewport width minus 20px and the scrollbar width.
Additionally, the standfirst sections in these articles on iOS and Android will have no top margin, 8px top padding, and 10px right padding, with any preceding content hidden. The text within the standfirst, including paragraphs, links, and list items, will use a 20px font size, normal style, medium weight, and 115% line height.This CSS code adjusts the layout and styling for article components on iOS and Android devices. It modifies padding, grid areas, and adds decorative lines under published dates. For larger screens, it changes the width of these lines and adjusts margins. In dark mode, it updates the line color to a darker shade.For iOS and Android devices, hide certain elements in feature, standard, and comment article containers:
– Remove the meta and keyline decorations before furniture-wrapper sections.
– Conceal rich-link aside elements.
– Eliminate the cutout container in comment headers.
Set the article and feature body backgrounds to a weekend essay color (defaulting to #fff4f2) with a 6px top margin.
Style horizontal rules as 1px high, gray lines, 150px wide, with 48px top and 3px bottom margins.
Format the first letter of the initial paragraph (or after a horizontal rule) as a large, uppercase drop cap using specific fonts, 111px size, 92px line height, floated left with right margin and colored based on variables.
Make strong or bold text within h2 headings and prose have a medium font weight.
In dark mode:
– Change horizontal rule color to #606060.
– Adjust drop cap color to a new pillar shade.
– Remove underlines from paragraph links.
Also, apply the drop cap style to the first paragraph following an initial atom element in article and feature bodies.For iOS and Android devices, the first letter of the first paragraph after specific elements in article, feature, and comment sections is styled with a medium font weight. In comment sections, the first letter after certain elements is set to a lighter font weight and has no top padding.
Headings (h2) on both iOS and Android are displayed in a dark orange color (#8d2700), with a font size of 28 pixels, normal style, light weight, standard line height, and margins of 28 pixels on top, 0 on the sides, and 8 pixels at the bottom. On Android, the cutout container is hidden.
In dark mode, the headline wrapper has a subtle gradient background, and the first letter of non-initial paragraphs in comments appears white. Comment section headings adopt a custom orange color (–byline, defaulting to #c74600).
When scripting is enabled, interactive content and headers start invisible and fade in smoothly once the page has loaded.
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In recent years, Britain has become Moscow’s preferred antagonist. It stands accused of orchestrating drone attacks on Russian airfields, sabotaging the Nord Stream pipeline, leading “terrorist” incursions within Russia, and even complicity in last year’s horrific Islamic State assault on a Moscow concert.
This week brought another allegation: Russian officials asserted that British intelligence attempted, unsuccessfully, to persuade Russian pilots to defect to the West.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, detailed the alleged scheme to reporters in Moscow, claiming British operatives tried to coax a pilot of a Kinzhal missile-equipped jet to fly to Romania, where NATO forces would allegedly shoot it down. “The FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] exposed all this in great detail,” Lavrov stated.
He added, “I don’t know how the British will cleanse themselves of this, though their knack for emerging unscathed, like a goose from water, is well-known,” using a Russian saying to imply Britain often avoids blame.
London denies any involvement in these plots.
[Image: A Kinzhal missile-equipped jet, similar to the one NATO allegedly planned to target over Romania, according to Sergei Lavrov. Photo: Pavel Golovkin/AP]
As Moscow seeks to reestablish relations with the Donald Trump administration, Brit…Britain has taken on the role that was once held by the United States—becoming the Kremlin’s main adversary and favorite target in its propaganda campaign.
“Russia sees itself as equal to the United States,” said Captain John Foreman, the UK’s former defense attaché to Moscow. “Now they can’t criticize Trump directly, so who do they blame for their troubles—for the losses in Ukraine, for a million casualties? They blame the closest alternative, the British. It’s easy to paint us as the source of all Russia’s problems.”
This year, Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR) stated: “London today, just as before both world wars, is acting as the main warmonger in the world.”
From Russia’s perspective, Britain has played this role on and off for more than two centuries.
Professor Michael Clarke noted, “From Moscow’s point of view, the UK is more isolated than at any time since 1914 and can be targeted.”
During the Cold War, the US was referred to by the KGB as the “main enemy,” with Britain a distant second. Although rivalry and espionage between the two never ceased, the Kremlin viewed the threat from Britain as secondary to the main conflict with Washington.
The rivalry between Russia and Britain has deep historical roots, going back to the 19th-century “Great Game,” when imperial Russia and Britain competed for influence in Central Asia, where their empires came within 20 miles of each other in some areas.
There was a brief period when the empires were allies, but after the 1917 October Revolution, Britain again became the primary foe in the eyes of the Marxist Bolsheviks, who saw it as the leading power of the old capitalist and imperialist order.
At that time, the US was an afterthought. As defected intelligence officer Georges Agabekov explained, the early Soviet foreign intelligence service handled the US from its British department “since it was an Anglo-Saxon country and didn’t concern us much anyway.”
However, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has driven relations to a new low.
Although Britain’s budget and capabilities are much smaller than those of the US, the British have often been more willing to take risks and push boundaries in providing military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine.
“The Brits have been one step ahead from the very beginning,” a Ukrainian intelligence source said.
Boris Johnson was one of the first Western leaders to visit Kyiv after the invasion, arriving in early April 2022, just 10 days after Russian forces withdrew from positions around the capital. Joe Biden did not visit until February 2023. While US officials approved significant support for Ukraine, they were cautious about escalation, whereas Johnson frequently used bold language about defeating Russia, which Moscow took note of.
Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly claimed that Johnson sabotaged a potential peace deal in the spring of 2022. According to Moscow, Kyiv was ready to agree to terms early in the war but withdrew under British pressure—a version of events denied by President Volodymyr Zelensky but now firmly established in Russian state media.
“Pockets of Anglophobia really do exist within the security services, among people like [Nikolai] Patrushev, [Alexander] Bortnikov, and [Sergei] Naryshkin,” Foreman said, referring to three of Russia’s most powerful security figures.
Among Russia’s ruling elite, the once-innocuous term “Anglo-Saxons” has been revived to represent the Kremlin’s deepest fears about the West. In official language, it no longer refers to an ancient people but to a geopolitical conspiracy, this time led by London, accused of scheming to contain, humiliate, and ultimately dismantle Russia.The animosity has spread from the top down. Russian television propagandists now vie to issue increasingly alarming threats, with one of Putin’s favorite hosts frequently boasting that Britain could be “sunk underwater” by Russia’s new nuclear torpedo.
Public opinion has followed this trend. A Levada Centre poll this summer found that 49% of Russians consider Britain one of their country’s main enemies, second only to Germany.
However, according to Foreman, this hostility seems to have largely escaped notice in Britain itself. “They care about us much more than we care about them,” he said. “It’s not a mutual feeling; the average British person has no idea this hatred exists.”
Adding to the confusion, Moscow’s messaging is often inconsistent, portraying Britain both as a fading colonial relic and as a power with disproportionate influence over global affairs.
Michael Clarke, a visiting professor of defence studies at King’s College London, wrote in a recent issue of the British Army Review that Soviet and Russian leaders have long paid Britain an “inverted compliment” by claiming London is behind every conspiracy against them. He added, “British intelligence remains a favorite scapegoat for analysts in Russia.”
Simultaneously, as a recent paper by the New Eurasian Strategies Research thinktank noted, Moscow depicts Britain as “a weakened power, a puppet of the United States, and a society in moral and social decline.”
Britain is not alone in the Kremlin’s gallery of adversaries. Since Trump’s election, Europe as a whole has joined the ranks—no longer seen as a loyal follower of Washington but, in Moscow’s narrative, the true source of Western aggression and instability.
Yet, the UK appears to hold a special place. A senior European diplomat in Moscow, speaking anonymously, said, “They don’t like Europe, but they really hate the Brits—that’s the message that comes through when talking to the Russians.”
It’s difficult to gauge what Britain’s enemy status means for actual Russian policy toward the UK. The UK is not unique in accusing Moscow of conducting extensive hybrid campaigns on its soil. Across Europe, intelligence services have blamed Russia for sabotage, arson, and disinformation operations, part of what they describe as a coordinated campaign against the continent.
Diplomatically, however, Moscow seems particularly unwilling to engage with London, even through private channels. The Financial Times reported this week that London has unsuccessfully tried to establish discreet communication, while the Kremlin has been more open to dialogue with Berlin and Paris.
Pavel Baev, a research professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, suggested this may be because military support for Ukraine enjoys broad public and cross-party support in Britain, whereas it is more contentious in other European countries. “As a result,” Baev said, “Moscow is focusing more on Germany and France as potential channels for derailing European rearmament plans.”
Clarke noted that Moscow’s hostility is intensified by what it perceives as Britain’s strategic vulnerability: a country aligned with Europe yet outside it, and increasingly isolated. “Moscow perceives that the UK isolated itself from its European partners in the Brexit process and will take some time to recover the political ground it lost among the major European powers,” he said.
At the same time, Clarke wrote, Britain has struggled to maintain a renewed strategic partnership with the US, finding it challenging to sustain close ties under both the Trump and Biden administrations. “So from Moscow’s perspective, the UK is more isolated than at any time since 1914 and can be picked off.”ff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Britain taking over from the US as Russias primary adversary with clear and concise answers
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What does it mean that Britain is now Russias primary adversary
It means that in the current geopolitical situation the UK is seen by Russia as its main and most active opponent taking over that role from the United States
2 Why is this happening now
This shift is largely due to the UKs very strong and vocal support for Ukraine its leadership in supplying military aid and imposing some of the toughest sanctions on Russia often going further and faster than other allies
3 Has the United States stopped being an adversary to Russia
No the US is still a major adversary The change is one of focus and intensity Russia currently perceives Britains actions as more immediately confrontational and central to its current challenges
4 What are some examples of Britains actions against Russia
Examples include providing longrange missiles and training to Ukrainian forces being a key architect of international sanctions and publicly exposing Russian intelligence operations and disinformation campaigns
Advanced Strategic Questions
5 Is this a formal title or just a perception
Its a perception and a strategic assessment not a formal title Its based on observed actions rhetoric from both governments and analysis by political and intelligence experts
6 What are the strategic benefits for the UK in taking this role
It positions the UK as a major global leader postBrexit strengthens its influence within NATO and solidifies its special relationship with the US by taking a strong proactive stance on a key security issue
7 What are the potential risks for Britain
The risks include becoming a primary target for Russian cyberattacks espionage and disinformation campaigns It could also lead to economic repercussions and increased threats to critical national infrastructure
8 How does this affect the broader NATO alliance
It can be a source of both strength and tension It strengthens NATO by having a powerful member actively countering Russia but it could also create friction if other allies feel the UKs approach is too aggressive or undermines unified strategy
9 Is this a temporary or longterm shift
It is likely a mediumterm shift tied directly to the war in Ukraine The longterm dynamic will depend
