This week saw the controversial move by RBS to freeze the bank accounts of the broadcaster Russia Today. The decision has subsequently been reversed, but the relationship between NATO and Vladimir Putin remains tense. This is the subject that Paul Wood and Rod Liddle tackle in this week’s cover piece, and which is addressed on the podcast by Dmitri Linnik and Ben Judah. Linnik, a former BBC and Voice of Russia journalist, says:

“This is completely out of this world. This is completely irrational. Anybody with any indication of an idea of what’s going on in Russia, any understanding of what Russia’s about and what Russia’s thinking is, cannot think that Russia is about to invade the Baltic states.”
But Ben Judah doesn’t quite agree, saying:

“I travel regularly to the Baltic states and I have the chance to speak to the leadership of those countries. And I can tell you that before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, there was a real worry in Estonia and Latvia that something was being planned, that troops were being moved, and that a shock force might try something.”