The damage being done to Ukraine by Vladimir Putin is harrowingly clear: a bombed maternity hospital, civilians killed during broken cease fires, city streets transformed to smoking rubble. The response from the west, aside from humanitarian aid and some military fire power, has largely been economic. Unprecedented sanctions have been enforced to punish Putin and put his leadership under pressure.

This will inflict major harm on Russia’s long-term prospects according to Renaud Foucart, who says the country’s finances are fragile and particularly ill-suited to prolonged conflict and international isolation. Even if Ukraine eventually falls, he suggests, occupation would be ruinous for Russian society in the decades to come. Whether Putin cares about the impact on his fellow citizens is another question entirely.

Of course, it’s not just Russia that will suffer economic consequences from the war. One of the knock-on effects is likely to be a global fertiliser shortage that will fuel a growing food crisis.

Plus, we hear how pronouncing the word “ask” as “aks” had its origins in Old English over 1,000 years ago. Treating it as a modern mispronunciation is a form of linguistic prejudice.

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