— Vladimir Putin put on display his ability to rattle off facts about Russia’s success during his annual phone-in on Thursday. But just how impressed was his audience? We talk to Alexander Baunov of the Carnegie think tank.

— On Wednesday, Dutch prosecutors charged three Russians and one Ukranian with murder in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. The three Russian men have various links to their country’s intelligence services and all of them served in the military. Their trial, which they are unlikely to attend given that Russian law prohibits its citizens from being extradited, begins in March next year. Joining us on the line is Dutch journalist Gert-Jan Dennekamp a reporter at Nieuwsuur television program.