S8 Ep1227: Serhii Plokhy, Part Two: The second part focuses on the 2022 full-scale invasion, defined by Putin's catastrophic miscalculation

Serhii Plokhy, Part Two: The second part focuses on the 2022 full-scale invasion, defined by Putin's catastrophic miscalculation that his troops would be welcomed as liberators. Instead, Ukraine demonstrated remarkable resilience under President Zelenskyy and military leaders like General Oleksandr Syrskyi. Plokhy highlights the "outright criminality" of Russian tactics, specifically the reckless use of nuclear sites like Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia as military shields and tools of international blackmail. He notes that the defense of sites like the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupolbecame global symbols of Ukrainian resistance. The war has triggered profound global shifts, including Germany's "Zeitenwende" and Japan's move toward providing military support. Former "interlocutors" like Emmanuel Macronhave shifted from seeking accommodation to joining the US-led coalition, while diplomatic mediation has fallen to leaders like President Erdoğan of Turkey. Furthermore, Ukraine's effective defense has likely contributed to stability in East Asia by discouraging a Chinese military adventure in Taiwan. While Putin views the war through an imperial lens, NATO has rediscovered its purpose in defending the international order. Plokhy concludes that while Putin is destroying Russia's future, the war may eventually force the nation to rethink itself as a modern state rather than an empire. (2)