Checking off a major item on my professional bucket list today, with my first ever Lunch with the FT. Before the holidays, I grabbed lunch with former CIA Director Bill Burns to talk about Venezuela, what the US gets wrong about regime change — and why Putin badly misjudged Ukraine. as.ft.com/r/023a7077-ab30-48…

"The negotiation track has support from Ukraine but none so far from the aggressor, Russia. The Kremlin hasn’t even agreed to talk about talks. A real peace pact would be a symphony. But we have the sound of one hand clapping." washingtonpost.com/opinions/…

Seriously, this really is one of those "stop what you're doing and read" stories. Incredible reporting on an incredible story. It even has drone footage of the defection. Un-be-freakin-lievable work by @mjluxmoore @justmiel Annie Ng @ebrown725 Gift link: wsj.com/world/russian-defect…

Horrified by what happened to our dear friend Heidi Levine while she was on assignment today. “They just kept kicking me and kicking me,” she said. washingtonpost.com/world/202…

NEW: The US has proposed that European countries unfreeze some Russian sovereign assets immobilised after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and transfer them to a vehicle overseen by Washington in an attempt to revive peace talks. w/ @HenryJFoy @paolatamma @ak_mack ft.com/content/54353d3a-afed…

As news of her resignation spreads across Athens, her social cachet has plummeted. “The joke here is how quickly the photos on Instagram are coming down,” said one Greek official. as.ft.com/r/564b5784-9dbd-45… @ak_mack

New: Bosnia's Foreign Minister wrote to Sec. Rubio & other top US officials to raise concern about Republika Srpska’s lobbying in Washington, where it has hired several Trump allies. ft.com/content/31b02094-19db…

FT exclusive: before Trump suddenly announced an energy ceasefire between Russia & Ukraine today (catching Zelenskyy by surprise, & possibly also Putin…), US officials had spent the weekend calling European capitals & threatening to stop Europeans from purchasing U.S. weapons for Ukraine if Kyiv didn’t stop its attacks on Russian oil refineries, European & Ukrainian officials tell my colleagues @ChristopherJM & @HenryJFoy as.ft.com/r/bb0690f1-5690-45…

The US view: One person familiar with the talks said the US relationship with Ukraine had been improving but Kyiv’s resistance to stopping the strikes had left a bad taste in Trump’s mouth. Despite the tensions, the negotiators in Miami had worked on a peace proposal that could be sent to Russia before the winter, the person said. In Friday’s meeting, Witkoff and Kushner informed their Ukrainian counterparts that the US was poised to lift sanctions on Russian diesel and that Moscow intended to lift its export ban… And the Ukraine view: A senior Ukrainian official said the move had “ruin[ed] the trust completely” between the two sides. w/ @JamesPoliti @ak_mack ft.com/content/7fd4dffc-8adf…

Katie Wiles was pictured at RS police boss Budimir’s club range. @istragaba reports Wagner-led Russian operatives trained Moldovans there in 2024 for election disruption. Budimir also pictured with reported GRU colonel Davor Savičić in Moscow in 2025. istraga.ba/s-kim-je-pucala-k…

Continental, a Washington-based law and lobbying firm with close ties to Trump’s network, helped arrange LaCivita and Blair’s recent trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina. + That 48 hour trip was focused around voting equipment, and Blair and Trump have since spoken, multiple people confirmed. More w/ @Eleanor_Mueller: semafor.com/article/10/08/20…

New: The first US-bound shipment of Belarusian potash in four years is expected to arrive at a New Orleans port within weeks as Washington pursues a diplomatic opening with Minsk. W/@alicemhancock  ft.com/content/9cbc0aea-259a…

Tuesday evening in Washington DC! @antontroian There’ll be a live stream as well: politics-prose.com/hanna-not…