Roland Oliphant
@rolandoliphant.bsky.social
Chief Foreign Something @telegraph.co.uk
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
"You have to put a lot of effort into not going mad." - @rolandoliphant.bsky.social relaying a message from his friend in Kyiv
January 31, 2026 at 8:33 PM
"You have to put a lot of effort into not going mad." - @rolandoliphant.bsky.social relaying a message from his friend in Kyiv
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
Explosion in Kharkiv ‼️ our city is under russian drone attack right now ‼️
January 23, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Explosion in Kharkiv ‼️ our city is under russian drone attack right now ‼️
D Blair and I spent the week trying to understand how Europe could defend itself without America. Here's our answer: www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
What Europe must do to survive militarily without America
Trump has turned an unthinkable question into an urgent one. Can Nato still deter Russia without a superpower ally?
www.telegraph.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 11:23 AM
D Blair and I spent the week trying to understand how Europe could defend itself without America. Here's our answer: www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
New Battlelines on the Nato civil war, King Trump versus Carney Cromwell(?), James Rothwell on sunsets in Greenland, David Blair on how he saved the West www.youtube.com/watch?v=seHW...
Battle for the West: Trump, Greenland and Canada's fightback
YouTube video by The Telegraph
www.youtube.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:18 AM
New Battlelines on the Nato civil war, King Trump versus Carney Cromwell(?), James Rothwell on sunsets in Greenland, David Blair on how he saved the West www.youtube.com/watch?v=seHW...
Rest easy old friend. Adam Dobby, former SAS man who helped journalists cover the wars in Syria and Ukraine
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
Adam Dobby, former SAS man who helped journalists cover the wars in Syria and Ukraine
In Syria he slept with an AK on the roof of a house recently abandoned by ISIS to protect reporters under siege
www.telegraph.co.uk
December 23, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Rest easy old friend. Adam Dobby, former SAS man who helped journalists cover the wars in Syria and Ukraine
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
I enjoyed writing this for Foreign Affairs on why the US Military’s most serious Chinese capability problems in the Indo-Pacific cannot be solved with “cheap massed drones”:
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
America’s Drone Delusion
Why the lessons of Ukraine don’t apply to a conflict with China.
www.foreignaffairs.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:18 PM
I enjoyed writing this for Foreign Affairs on why the US Military’s most serious Chinese capability problems in the Indo-Pacific cannot be solved with “cheap massed drones”:
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
Former HMA Washington Kim Darroch on Trump's new national security strategy: a rejection of 70 years of foreign policy, but which should not surprise anyone. youtu.be/zXm8smIIrQw?...
More Russia, less China and no Europe: Trump’s new security strategy unveiled
YouTube video by The Telegraph
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Former HMA Washington Kim Darroch on Trump's new national security strategy: a rejection of 70 years of foreign policy, but which should not surprise anyone. youtu.be/zXm8smIIrQw?...
"It's not a tank!"
Very tank nerdy episode of Battlelines: if Britain can't fix Ajax, can it still fight. With the Tel's Dom Nicholls and Ben Barry of IISS. Yes I know I know when is a tank not a tank etc share.google/xrGNBbcExnNE...
Why can't Britain build a decent tank?
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
share.google
December 5, 2025 at 6:04 PM
"It's not a tank!"
Very tank nerdy episode of Battlelines: if Britain can't fix Ajax, can it still fight. With the Tel's Dom Nicholls and Ben Barry of IISS. Yes I know I know when is a tank not a tank etc share.google/xrGNBbcExnNE...
Why can't Britain build a decent tank?
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
share.google
December 5, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Very tank nerdy episode of Battlelines: if Britain can't fix Ajax, can it still fight. With the Tel's Dom Nicholls and Ben Barry of IISS. Yes I know I know when is a tank not a tank etc share.google/xrGNBbcExnNE...
I've met estate agents like this. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Allies worry US demands Ukraine deal before security guarantees
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told European allies that President Donald Trump will negotiate long-term assurances for Ukraine’s safety.
www.politico.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:34 AM
I've met estate agents like this. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Um..
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Um..
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
❗️Russian drone struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhia.
November 25, 2025 at 8:51 PM
❗️Russian drone struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhia.
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
"Europe’s problem is not that it lacks options. It is that it refuses to use them". Jade McGlynn skewers both the Dmitriev/Witkoff plan for Ukraine's destruction, & Europe's refusal to act decisively enough to prevent disaster. open.substack.com/pub/smalldee...
Circus
Amidst the absolute chaos of a Witkoff-stamped Russian psyop-as-peace plan, discussion is filled with anger at Washington and at Moscow.
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:43 AM
"Europe’s problem is not that it lacks options. It is that it refuses to use them". Jade McGlynn skewers both the Dmitriev/Witkoff plan for Ukraine's destruction, & Europe's refusal to act decisively enough to prevent disaster. open.substack.com/pub/smalldee...
Xi Jinping is purging the CCP leadership. So we spoke to
@josephtorigian.bsky.social about how the Xi family's own purge-trauma informs how he runs China - and covets Taiwan. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLxa...
@josephtorigian.bsky.social about how the Xi family's own purge-trauma informs how he runs China - and covets Taiwan. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLxa...
China bosses vanishing as Xi Jinping’s childhood traumas trigger Mao style purge
YouTube video by The Telegraph
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Xi Jinping is purging the CCP leadership. So we spoke to
@josephtorigian.bsky.social about how the Xi family's own purge-trauma informs how he runs China - and covets Taiwan. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLxa...
@josephtorigian.bsky.social about how the Xi family's own purge-trauma informs how he runs China - and covets Taiwan. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLxa...
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
For the @telegraph.co.uk podcast Battle Lines, I talked to
@rolandoliphant.bsky.social about my book "The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping"
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
@rolandoliphant.bsky.social about my book "The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping"
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
China bosses vanishing as Xi Jinping’s childhood traumas trigger Mao style purge
Podcast Episode · Battle Lines · 24/11/2025 · 33m
podcasts.apple.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:28 AM
For the @telegraph.co.uk podcast Battle Lines, I talked to
@rolandoliphant.bsky.social about my book "The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping"
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
@rolandoliphant.bsky.social about my book "The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping"
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials, who will presumably tell him that Europe's revised 28-point plan is a nonstarter and it's the original Dmitriev–Witkoff document to get things moving or nothing. www.cbsnews.com/news/army-se...
Army Secretary Driscoll meeting with Russians in UAE as Trump administration presses for Ukraine peace deal
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials, two U.S. officials and two diplomatic sources who were not authorized to speak publicly told CBS News.
www.cbsnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:12 AM
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials, who will presumably tell him that Europe's revised 28-point plan is a nonstarter and it's the original Dmitriev–Witkoff document to get things moving or nothing. www.cbsnews.com/news/army-se...
The Witkoff-Dmitriev peace plan was lunacy. But the European/Ukrainian counter offer is very sensible: here's why. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
Access Restricted
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 6:11 AM
The Witkoff-Dmitriev peace plan was lunacy. But the European/Ukrainian counter offer is very sensible: here's why. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
Russia struck an apartment building in Ternopil with an X-101 missile, killing 16 people, including a child.
More than 60 people were injured, among them 14 children.
Rescuers are still searching through the debris.
More than 60 people were injured, among them 14 children.
Rescuers are still searching through the debris.
November 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Russia struck an apartment building in Ternopil with an X-101 missile, killing 16 people, including a child.
More than 60 people were injured, among them 14 children.
Rescuers are still searching through the debris.
More than 60 people were injured, among them 14 children.
Rescuers are still searching through the debris.
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
The death toll from the russian missile attack on Ternopil has risen to 19.
More than 65 people were injured, including 16 children.
More than 65 people were injured, including 16 children.
November 19, 2025 at 11:06 AM
The death toll from the russian missile attack on Ternopil has risen to 19.
More than 65 people were injured, including 16 children.
More than 65 people were injured, including 16 children.
Donald Trump's admin is full of War on Terror vets - and this week he welcomed one from the other side. Friday's battlelines looks at Ahmed al Sharaa: Why the West is betting on a millenial ex-Al Qaeda commander to fix Syria. youtube.com/watch?v=xf0x...
Trump and the ex-terrorist: why the West needs Syria to work
YouTube video by The Telegraph
youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Donald Trump's admin is full of War on Terror vets - and this week he welcomed one from the other side. Friday's battlelines looks at Ahmed al Sharaa: Why the West is betting on a millenial ex-Al Qaeda commander to fix Syria. youtube.com/watch?v=xf0x...
Here's our piece on Iran's drought. Really fascinating - and a lesson for everyone about ignoring the creeping crisis of climate change. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
Access Restricted
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Here's our piece on Iran's drought. Really fascinating - and a lesson for everyone about ignoring the creeping crisis of climate change. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Roland Oliphant
I've been lucky enough to report from Iran a couple of times over the years. Each time I was there, water was an issue on people's minds, including officials I spoke to. But if everyone knew there was a problem, how did Tehran end up on the brink of running dry? youtu.be/zlP2If9uzV4?...
'Worse than war with Israel': Why Iran's regime is on edge
YouTube video by The Telegraph
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 9:27 AM
I've been lucky enough to report from Iran a couple of times over the years. Each time I was there, water was an issue on people's minds, including officials I spoke to. But if everyone knew there was a problem, how did Tehran end up on the brink of running dry? youtu.be/zlP2If9uzV4?...
Fridays battlelines on El Fasher youtu.be/uPWsrH5XdDg?...
How a Middle Eastern superpower is fuelling the Sudan war
YouTube video by The Telegraph
youtu.be
November 3, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Fridays battlelines on El Fasher youtu.be/uPWsrH5XdDg?...
The Telegraph cannot keep its credibility if it is not transparently independent
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
Access Restricted
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 6:30 AM
The Telegraph cannot keep its credibility if it is not transparently independent
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...