The Sunday Subject — September 11, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, aged 96, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

The longest reigning monarch of the UK, Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952 and led Britain and the Commonwealth through a period of intense change. Her son, Charles III, was formally proclaimed king on Saturday morning.

Liz Truss replaced Boris Johnson as Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday.

The former foreign secretary was elected leader of the Conservative Party after Johnson was forced to step down amidst numerous scandals. Truss has inherited a severe energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She has stated one of her top priorities is to freeze energy prices for British households, which are expected to rise by 80% in October.

Ukrainian armed forces have reclaimed 1,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory and dozens of settlements from Russian forces since September 1st.

After months of deadlock, a Russian-appointed official admitted on state television that Ukrainians had achieved a “substantial victory” in breaching Russian defenses, mostly in the country’s east. Russia’s defense ministry has unconvincingly claimed the retreat by Russian forces was an attempt to “regroup.”