OPINION - Evening Standard Comment: Zelensky and Putin — a tale of two speeches

There were giant signs spelled out in Russian for any pilot to see: “children”. Yet a Mariupol theatre, in which more than 1,000 women and children were sheltering, was bombed anyway. Now it is mere rubble.

In the aftermath of yesterday’s atrocity, US president Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a war criminal. As Russia’s advance in Ukraine stalls and it loses both generals and conscripts, the fear is that civilian attacks will intensify.

Yesterday was also a tale of two speeches. The first, Putin’s, was a chilling, hateful address threatening more repression at home and aggression abroad, sprinkled with liberal use of the language of the Thirties.

President Volodymyr Zelenksy’s speech to the US Congress, by contrast, was statesmanlike and effective. Subsequently, Biden announced that the US would be sending a further $800 million of defensive weaponry to Ukraine. While Putin is isolated, his army bogged down and economy in tatters, Ukraine, its president and people demonstrate not only astonishing resolve but effective diplomacy.

Beavering back

George W Bush once remarked his sincere belief that “the human being and fish can coexist peacefully”. But what about Londoners and beavers?

The dam-building, wood-gnawing, semi-aquatic creatures are being brought back to the capital for the first time in more than 400 years to help restore nature and river habitats and reduce the risk of flooding. Their first port of call is a specially designed enclosure in Enfield.

Let’s hope that, unlike badgers, the beavers are not tempted to move the goalposts.