On Sunday, a cameraman for the private outlet “TV Pirveli” Aleksandre Lashkarava, who had been badly beaten and hospitalised, died at home.

Though an armistice is largely holding, border disputes remain common, and a final peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia is elusive.

From the very beginning, Ukraine’s post-Soviet nation-building journey has been defined by competition between rival narratives that have sought to place the country within Russia itself. Conversely, the Western world has never quite managed to make up its mind about Ukraine and has generally adopted a cautious approach.