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Hello and welcome to Spectator Out Loud. Each week we choose three pieces from the magazine

and ask their writers to read them aloud.

On the podcast this week, Svetlana Mornets explains why Ukrainians can't trust Putin's hollow promises.

James Heel reads his politics column on Rishi's January blues, and Theo Hobson talks about the joys of middle-aged football.

Up first, Svitlana Monez.

Ukraine's parliament will soon vote on much-needed conscription regulations which would draft an extra half a million recruits into the army. The categories of eligible men will be expanded,

the draft age will be lowered from 27 to 25, and any man

caught attempting to evade it, will face harsh sanctions or imprisonment.

Volodym Rizolensky has stopped talking about victory coming anytime soon.

His new year message was grim.

Everyone must either fight or help through work.

Ukrainians are braced for another year of war.

But talk of peace or compromise is still seen as code for a surrender

which would reward rather than punish Vladimir's Putin atrocities,

sit ground and give him the opportunity to come back for the rest later.

There is

negligible public support for any type of deal. How can we tell? While it is unusual for

opposition voices to be heard on TV, which Zelensky effectively controls, there is still free

expression on social media, and it's rare to see Ukrainians saying they should sit the occupied

...