Duga radar

Known by NATO as “Steel yard”, the massive Duga complex near Chernobyl was a Soviet over-the-horizon radar used for early-warning missile defence. Back in 2016, as Jon and I were walking around the rusting radar facility, we came across a group of Ukrainian officers. Far from romanticizing war, these officers were crystal clear that the only possible solution was political. Hearing the news that the Chernobyl area has been taken over by the Russian military, I was reminded of our conversation.

Hundreds of thousands of Russians are signing protests against the war as the air sirens wail over Kyiv. Talking to a friend in St Petersburg last night, people are simply speechless about what is going on. Among those who read foreign news and have travelled to the West in the past, there is genuine disbelief as to why Putin has decided to launch a full-out unprovoked attack on their neighbouring country.