Deciphering Planet Ukraine will be key to understanding the next US presidential elections

With the prospect of Ukrainian politics being used and abused in the heat of an American election campaign, the media has a responsibility to be on its toes to filter the facts from fiction

Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani dramatically abandoned a trip to Ukraine on the weekend (Getty)

Landing on Planet Ukraine can be a tricky business. If you’re going to avoid a hard and embarrassing thud, you need descent thrusters, several shock-absorber legs and probably a parachute on reserve.

Rudy Giuliani probably understands that now.

On Friday, it was reported that Donald Trump’s lawyer had decided to travel to Kiev for an extraordinary scouting mission. His apparent aim was to “put pressure” on local authorities to investigate an alleged anti-Trump conspiracy involving Joe Biden – a man who just happens to be Trump's most prominent rival in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.