Vaughan Gething, the new First Minister of Wales (Getty)

In a 50-minute special, I joined Times Radio’s Darryl Morris early Sunday to review the week’s developments around the world.

Listen to Discussion from 2:06.17

We begin with Russia’s 24 1/2-month invasion of Ukraine, discussing the cancellation of a visit to Odesa by UK Defense Minister Grant Shapps because of the threat of a Russian missile attack.

I explain how Russia has regularly struck Ukraine’s cities when leading foreign politicians and diplomats are present. On March 6, a Russian missile landed about 500 meters from the convoy of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

It’s an act of intimidation. The Russians kill civilians on a daily basis. They do it to unsettle the population, and as Europe continues to step up to bolster Ukraine’s resistance, they do it to send a message: “We can hit you. You should think twice about supporting Kyiv.”

I also evaluate Ukraine’s latest strikes on targets deep inside Russia, including oil refineries, and cross-border raids by pro-Ukraine Russian militias.

We move to UK politics, discussing the embattled Sunak Government, problems for House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, and Vaughan Gething, the new First Minister in Wales and first Black leader of a European country.

I summarize the political tension in the US over Tik-Tok, with Trumpists among those passing a House bill to ban the Chinese-owned platform — but Donald Trump, for personal reasons, opposing it.

On the lighter side, I hail the pranking of hard-right demagogue Tucker Carlson by two UK YouTubers, and — marking St. Patrick’s Day and my imminent move to Ireland — talk about the place of rugby in Irish culture.