The ball is now in Russia’s court. But Russia excels at grabbing the ball, pocketing it and debating the rules of the game before claiming the ball has in fact been stolen clean from them by the other team.

Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal put forward by the US, a move that could pause the three-year war with Russia if Moscow reciprocates. The agreement was reached during high-stakes negotiations in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukrainian officials,