As the conflict in the Middle East goes on, attention continues to be distracted from the war in Ukraine. With fuel prices sky-rocketing around the world the US has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil. Despite Iran being a Russian ally, this sanction lifting is a huge boost for Vladimir Putin.

Shane is joined by Professor of Politics at DCU and author of ‘Unfinished Empire: Russian Imperialism in Ukraine and the Near Abroad’ Donnacha Ó Beacháin to discuss what this means for Putin…