Frontline: The War in Ukraine and Global Security

Former army officer and military analyst Major General Mick Ryan speaks with Kate Gerbeau about the 'most uncomfortable' moment of Zelenksy's presidency and why Europe must take serious action against Russian drone incursions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“For four years, the Russian people were insulated from this war, but over the past six months, the war has been brought home to them.”Ukraine is putting “the feet of the Russian people… to the fire” through its campaign against Russian oil refineries and Wildberries logistics centres, says Cormac Smith, a former British diplomat and adviser to Ukraine’s foreign minister. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s quite imaginative, the things they’ve [Ukraine] managed to carry out.”Russia’s failure to learn and adapt its special operations tactics has put Putin on the back foot, says academic and global security expert Dr Aaron Edwards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“That would’ve really hit public opinion. It’s like saying you can’t get anything from Amazon.”Putin is under pressure as Ukraine’s largest attack on Moscow, combined with hints of full mobilisation, leads to dwindling public support, says Robert Fox, defence editor at the Evening Standard and writer for the i paper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The only way to keep this system afloat is to construct it in a manual way and replace the old guys with the new generation.”Putin must replace his management system to survive, as his inner circle is now “of his age or older”, says political scientist and analyst Nikolai Petrov. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Drafting troops from St Petersburg and Moscow would be a massive gamble.”The strikes on St Petersburg and Moscow are making Putin’s grip on power “more tenuous”, as the cities are home to the Russian leader’s largest support base: the oligarchs, says Cormac Smith, a former British diplomat to Ukraine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Crimea is becoming a burden for Russia.”Ukraine has paralysed life in Crimea with its recent attacks on energy grids and infrastructure, increasing the burden on Putin, says former Major General Chip Chapman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“These longer to medium range strike drones are able to pick off the Russian trucks and trains.”Ukraine isolates Crimea through a thoughtout campaign which denies Russian land forces freedom of movement and freedom of manoeuvre, says The ISW’s George Barros. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of Frontline, Kate Gerbeau speaks to Major General Richard Shirreff about Ukraine’s “Darwinian innovation” and he reacts to the breaking news of the UK defence minister’s resignation.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I understand Putin hasn’t been outside, as it were, for weeks, if not months now.”Putin is “terrified” of venturing outside of his “highly defended palaces or the Kremlin” as he fears being taken out by Ukraine, says Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the author of ‘Tank Command.’  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Scott Lucas & Maddie Hale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Every authoritarian regime has an internet kill switch which they can employ, but the population do get generally quite disturbed when those things happen and it can exacerbate your economic model.”Putin’s paranoia is “elevated” as outrage from internet blackouts in Russia sparks fears of assassination for its president, says former Major General Chip Chapman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We could walk back into the occupied territories without a shot being fired.”Ukraine has “clawed back the battlefield” by targeting Putin’s “achilles heel” with its strikes on Russia’s oil refineries, says former British Army soldier and journalist Shaun Pinner. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If you were to get shooting Putin, if it were…if we have that in the channel or the Danish narrows, we could very quickly be in a chapter five Nato confrontation.”Putin could quickly find himself in a sticky situation if someone “gets fed up with him”, says The Standard’s defence editor and writer for The Independent and the i Robert Fox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s got an arm like the Mossad that can hunt down Russian generals and anyone else who is responsible for war crimes.”Putin's commanders will “spend the rest of their lives looking under their cars and checking over their shoulders” as the GUR will make their lives miserable, says Lieutenant General Ben Hodges. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin ally Viktor Orban has stepped down after losing the Hungarian election, Michael Bociurkiw, Ukraine based journalist and former diplomat discusses what it means for Ukraine, Russia and European security on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon on how Ukrainian deep strikes are putting pressure on the Kremlin while Putin’s forces fail to advanceOlesia Horianinova, Co-Founder of The Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center discusses Ukraine’s reforms appearing to solve the problem of recruitment in the military and  a similar crisis emerging in Russia’s theatre destabilising the Kremlin's power. And Scott Lucas tells us that Putin's spring offensive has begun reports show Russia is making gains needed to make up for losses in early 2026 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There are people saying one of the lessons the Kremlin has reiterated to it is the strength of American air power with what happened against the Ayatollah in Tehran and what happened to Maduro in Venezuela…maybe that fed Putin’s own paranoia.”Putin’s disappearance from the political stage after Iran war ruins his last-ditch attempt to sort Russia-Ukraine negotiations, says former UK defence attache to Moscow and Kyiv John Foreman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“These are the acts of a scared little man.”Vladimir Putin has switched off wifi access in Moscow and is avoiding the Kremlin by “hiding in a bunker somewhere” over fears to the risk to his own life, says financier and political activist Sir William Browder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel Tkiie, Ukrainian news anchor and TV host, on how rising RUssian casualties are making putin’s war less and less popular among his people Scott Lucas Professor of International Politics, University College Dublin gives us insight into the American perspective of the war. And why Trump’s concession to Iran over the Straits of Hormuz hurt him, could be a big win for Putin and a big loss for the Republicans in the midterms?Diane Francis a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center tells us how the Ukrainian army has created digital killing zones and is creating a staggering amount of Russian casualties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Russian territory is so large that Ukrainian drones can evade Russian air defences.”Putin’s full-scale war against Ukraine has “backfired against Russia” as Ukraine ability to produce millions of drones can stop his offensive, says Ukrainian news anchor and TV host Daniel Tkiie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This is about the fifth person in his inner circle who was about to be arrested for corruption.”Putin’s problems amount as his éminence grise, Vladislav Surkov, “suddenly disappeared”, says Kremlinologist and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Diane Francis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The weaknesses they have shown are very serious indeed…the quality of troops and fighting spirit, despite all their deprivations, the Ukrainian side is beginning to expose what a dreadful mess the Russian units are in .”Ukraine have been taking advantage of Putin’s weaknesses on the battlefield as Russian troops turn on each other, says The Standard’s defence editor Robert Fox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“In terms of ability, competence, sophistication, Ukraine is streaks ahead.”Ukraine’s ability to develop sophisticated strategies with their drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and airfields is making “Putin and his advisers think”, says former clerk in House of Commons for the defence committee Eliot Wilson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s bringing the fight a lot closer to the Russian military inside Russia.”Ukraine’s newly developed long-range missile packages have breached Putin’s walls and are targeting oil refineries and infrastructure inside Russia, says former US special envoy to Ukraine, Ambassador Kurt Volker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia continues to lose Ukrainian territory omn the southern fronts after Starlink bans sent Russian logistics and comms into crisis says Prof. Scott Lucas on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Now we’re seeing Ukrainian cruise missiles come online...there’s the possibility they can get the upper hand again.”Ukraine is developing their capabilities when it comes to cruise missiles as they are more accurate, says director of military sciences at RUSI Mathew Savill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin will be worried about his survival as talks and military offensives fail to hand the Donbas to Russia, warns John Lough from the New Eurasian Strategies centre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Putin’s generals or his elites around him may see that enough is enough and he could be forced out.”Targeting Russia’s oil supply will bring Putin “to his knees” as it will hit the war economy where it hurts, says analyst at the Atlantic Council Michael Bociurkiw.[3:13 PM] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“They have been able to sink the Russian navy in the Black Sea, without a navy, but with sea drones.”Russia expert Diane Francis and Chatham House’s Orysia Lutsevych discuss the last four years of the Ukraine war and how the Ukrainians have “reinvented warfare” by striking Putin’s navy and key infrastructure with it's innovative drone warfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Let the Russians brag about their inexorable advance all they want while Ukrainians figure out how to slaughter them to the tune of 40-50,000 a month.”Former commander of the US army in Europe General Ben Hodges, The Times’s Maxim Tucker and former advisor to the Ukrainian ministry of defence Yuriy Sak join Philip Ingram to reflect on the last four years of the Ukraine war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“That’s a huge figure which is, at the moment, more than Russia’s recruitment rate.”Putin could be forced into difficult decisions that could threaten his regime after Ukraine’s commander-in-chief reports that Ukraine killed 32,000 Russian troops last month alone, says The Times’s Maxim Tucker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It really caused a breakdown in the cohesion of many units, which meant they couldn’t coordinate either the attacks against the Ukrainians or defence against Ukrainian attacks.”Elon Musk’s decision to cut off Starlink access to Putin's forces “took them by surprise” and has halted Russian attacks on the frontline, says Major General Mick Ryan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"If he sits down with Zelensky and Trump, then it becomes obvious who the person is who doesn't want peace, and that's Vladimir Putin,"Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's comments on peace in Ukraine show Putin is still under pressure not to accept any US/Ukraine peace terms or be pushed into a trilateral meeting, says Sir Bill Browder on Frontline Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Once Putin takes a step back, that's it he's done."Putin is facing "internal divisions" after Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov voiced concerns that agreements made with Trump in Alaska had collapsed while Kremlin hardliners push for Russia not to sign any agreement, says Prof. Scott Lucas on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“A small number of cheap, AI-guided attack and interceptor drones … can knock down Shahed systems.”Putin’s Shahed systems are being wiped out by innovative Ukrainian and European drone systems, says former Major General Chip Chapman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“He is wagering the Russian economy in this war, not the army any more.”Putin’s army is “flagging and failing, and getting degraded by the day”, which is consequently dragging down the Russian economy, says the Atlantic Council’s senior fellow, Diane Francis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Why didn’t we do this two or three years ago?”The Kremlin is “rattled” as Europe signs an agreement stating that vessels which change their flag will be deemed flagless and liable to boarding after a Russian oil tanker was found in the Atlantic, says former British Army colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“There is a slight issue that there may be a restricted flow of information to Putin.”As Putin has grown older and “more autocratic”, the intelligence reaching the Russian leader has thinned out, says former Defence Committee clerk and secretary to the UK delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Eliot Wilson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This is existential.”Putin’s insistence that the Donbas be signed over to Russia in peace negotiations highlights his inability to take the “heavily fortified fortress”, says former British diplomat Cormac Smith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We’re getting closer to autonomy at the end, so if the Russians try to break the connection between the pilot and the drone, the drone can continue on.”Ukraine is “winning the drone war” as it moves closer to finishing “autonomous drones”, says military historian and professor Phillips O’Brien. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“He’s recognising desperately that he’s not winning on the battlefield.”Putin’s recent attacks on Lviv show his desperation, as his battlefield failures have forced the Russian leader into a “dilemma”, says former US ambassador to Ukraine William B Taylor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia's failures at Kupiansk will have Putin questioning his generals capability as Trump's more aggressive stance on the world stage could threaten the Kremlin regime, says The Times' Michael Binyon on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“This is bread and butter operations for the US coastguard and the US military forces involved, they can do this in their sleep.”US military forces managed to seize the Russian-flagged oil tanker in a “simple takeover”, says former royal marine James Glancy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It demonstrates that the Russians really are powerless to really do anything about this.”Trump is “finally enforcing sanctions” as he seizes a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic, says Lieutenant General Ben Hodges. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Is anything really unravelling at a speed on the Ukrainian side, with such significance on the Russian side that we’re likely to get to some point where either Ukraine collapses or Russia collapses. The answer to that is no.”Putin’s belief that he is “operating at pace” is far fetched as the small Russian advances fail to make any major breakthroughs, says Major General Chip Chapman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin's claims of taking Kupiansk resulted in Russian humiliation as a Ukrainian counter offensive has left one hundred of Kremlin's troops trapped in the centre, says Jimmy Rushton on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The Russian people have a high degree of apathy when it comes to Putin.”Putin’s grip on the Russian people is vulnerable to just “snapping” as they wake up to impacts of oil shortages, says former US special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“One by one we can take you out.”Ukraine is “causing Putin pain” by taking out Russia’s oil infrastructure and strategic bomber fleet, says former Air Vice Marshal Sean Bell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“They’re time limited.”Putin has failed to gain more than 0.9 per cent of Ukrainian territory this year, but has lost 400,000 Russians in the process, says Scott Lucas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.