As Vladimir Putin’s war effort in Ukraine falters badly, the Russian president is turning decisively away from any hope of peace. A sudden mass mobilisation of Russian men has led to rare instances of protest across the country and long queues of would-be conscripts at the borders. Simultaneously, Russia has sought to legitimise its territorial gains in Ukraine with hastily arranged “referendums” and nuclear threats against the west.
Putin appears to be staking everything on triumph or disaster, as depicted by Pete Reynolds’s cover artwork this week. “With Putin it seems to become all about the eyes,” he says. “His nose, mouth, the arrangement of the features all seem to be the obvious descriptors of his face but his eyes always end up being the focus and challenge. And they insist on looking straight at you.”
