All Episodes
War in Ukraine: Update from Kyiv — 100 episodes
141. ANALYSIS: Marlene Laruelle on the ideology of Russia’s regime, connection to far-right movements in Europe and why Putin’s maintains popularity in Russia
140. PERSPECTIVE: Former US soldier Carl ”Grinch” Larson on fighting in the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine
139. UPDATE: Maksym Yali on life in Kyiv and possible gains for the counteroffensive before winter
138. ANALYSIS: Miriam Hess on Ramzan Kadyrov’s place in Russian politics; Chechen fighters on both sides in the war in Ukraine; and the future of the Republic of Chechnya
137. ANALYSIS: Mark McNamee on Ukraine’s economic opportunities and challenges
136. ANALYSIS: Catrina Doxsee on Wagner mutiny, Prigozhin’s relationship to Putin, and the future of the Wagner group
135. ANALYSIS: James Acuna on intelligence drones, open source intelligence, the information domain and the war in Ukraine
134. ANALYSIS: Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria on forced deportations of Ukrainian children, allegations of genocide, and implications of the ICC arrest warrant for President Putin
133. ANALYSIS: Edward Price evaluates on-going risks, Ukraine’s financial strategy, and global economic implications of the war in Ukraine
132. ANALYSIS: Alexander Titov on Russian imperialism, and mechanisms of territorial appropriation, in light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
131. UPDATE: Maksym Yali on expected Ukrainian counteroffensive - when, where and what’s at stake
130. ANALYSIS: Daria Isachenko on Turkey-Russia relations, Nagorno-Karabach, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and trajectory of relations in 2023
129. ANALYSIS: Oleksa Drachewych on echoes of history in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - implications of Bolshevik revolution; use of WWII narratives & brutal historical echoes in Russia’s invasion
128. DEEP DIVE: Jenny Mathers on heroism, gender and war - in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
127. ANALYSIS: Luca Anceschi on Central Asia and Russia’s invasion - recalibration of relations with Moscow, role of China in the region & view of the invasion from the region
126. ANALYSIS: Pavel Slunkin on Belarus’ position vis-a-vis Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenka’s relationship to Putin, and whether Belarus would participate in a direct invasion of Ukraine
125. ANALYSIS: Benjamin Herscovitch on China and Russia - China’s position vis-a-vis Russia’s invasion, how this position might change in 2023 & shape China’s approach to Taiwan
124. ANALYSIS: Catrina Doxsee with a deep dive into Wagner’s relationship to the Russian state, changes in Prigozhin’s behavior and global security implications
123. PERSPECTIVE: Kanykei Tursunbaeva and Mark Neville on operating under conditions of war, photography in conflict zones, and the project ’Stop Tanks with Books’
122. ANALYSIS: Niklas Masuhr on the Wagner group - activities, involvement in Ukraine, military and political implications
121. ANALYSIS: Bastian Brinkmann on Germany, weapon supplies to Ukraine, and Russia’s invasion
120. ANALYSIS: Lucan Way on Revolution and Dictatorship: durablility of the Soviety Union, legacies for Putn’s regime, & trajectory of the war in Ukraine
119. ANALYSIS: Keir Giles on Russia’s War on Everybody and the war in Ukraine
118. UPDATE: Maksym Yali forecasts trajectory of Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2023
117. UPDATE: Maksym Yali on attacks on Kyiv & Putin’s ’ceasefire’ declaration
116. ANALYSIS: Greta Uehling on ’Everyday War’ in Ukraine - how Russia’s war in Ukraine has impacted civilian lives since 2014
115. ANALYSIS: James Rodgers on Russia’s media environment: foreign reporting from Moscow, changes from the 1990s to today, and the sharp turn since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
114. ANALYSIS: Paul Goode on Russian nationalism and the war in Ukraine
113. UPDATE: Maksym Yali on life in Kyiv after infrastructure attacks, Ukrainian resilience and resolve & what to expect on the battlefront over the winter
112. ANALYSIS: Alexander Lanoszka on military alliances, NATO’s response to war in Ukraine, and how the Ukraine war will shape military alliances in the twenty-first century
111. ANALYSIS: Una Bergmane on Baltic states’ independence; Soviet echoes in invasion of Ukraine; possiblity of Russian military clash with Baltic states & performative insanity in Russian rhetoric
110. ANALYSIS: Collin Koh on maritime security concerns in SEA - China / India maritime power; lessons learnt from maritime conflict in Ukraine war; and likelihood of a clash between China & Taiwan
109. ANALYSIS: Mack Tubridy reflects on Russian response to full-scale invasion, mobilization & the impact on Georgia of influx of Russian emigres
108. ANALYSIS: Botakoz Kassymbekova on the Soviet project as settler colonialism, legacies, & implications for the war in Ukraine
107. ANALYSIS: US Army Lieutenant Col. Paul Lushenko on drone warfare, legitimacy and the war in Ukraine
106. ANALYSIS: Stephan Fruehling on Russia’s nuclear threats, deterrence, China’s strategic interests and the war in Ukraine
105. DEEP DIVE: Ian Garner on the Battle of Stalingrad, national identity, war narratives, and echoes of these narratives in Putin’s rhetoric on Russia’s war in Ukraine
104. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali comments on who likely bombed the Kerch Bridge & atmosphere in Kyiv following missile strikes
103. ANALYSIS: Denis Kazakiewicz on Belarus, the war in Ukraine, recent joint Russia-Belarus military group, how the war affects the Belarusian population & impacts Lukashenko’s grip on power
102. ANALYSIS: Azamat Junisbai reflects on Kazakh identity, Russian dominance, the war in Ukraine, and the process of decolonizing one’s own mind
101: ANALYSIS: Lisa Gaufman on Putin’s incoherent ideology, and mobilization as a tipping point for Putin’s legitimacy
100. ANALYSIS: Temur Umarov on Kazakhstan, relations with Russia and the war in Ukraine
99. ANALYSIS: Janis Kluge on the impact of sanctions on Russian economy, EU decoupling from Russian energy imports, Germany and the end of Nord Stream
98. ANALYSIS: Ivan Klyszcz on Russia’s mobilization and the North Caucasus - Dagestan, Chechnya, protests and mobilization
97. ANALYSIS: Marnie Howlett on Ukranian public opinion research - perspectives on territory, sovereignty and the war with Russia
96. ANALYSIS: Oleksandr Seredyuk on Russian colonialism, the war in Ukraine, and Russian disunity as Ukraine retakes captured territory
95. ANALYSIS: Maxim Alyukov and Andrei Semenov on Russian propaganda and the war in Ukraine - setbacks, changes & representations of the war in Russian state media versus social media
94. KYIV UPDATE: Oleksandr Kraiev with a view of the counteroffensive from Ukraine - restoring Ukraine’s 1991 borders, Russia’s logistical challenges, and comparing Ukrainian and Russian combat styles
93. ANALYSIS: Oxana Shevel on Ukraine’s pluralism, national identity, impact of Russian invasion and Ukraine’s future
92. ANALYSIS: Nona Shahnazarian on impacts of the war in Yerevan, Armenia - and the trauma of loss as fallout from conflict
91. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali updates on counteroffensive, cracks in Russian morale and IAEA visit to Zaporizhzhia power plant
90. ANALYSIS: Alasdair McCallum on Russian opposition, mobilisation, passivity and the Ukraine war
89. ANALYSIS: Marek Menkiszak analyzes Russia’s miscalculations, misperceptions and strategic failures in the war in Ukraine
88. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali on Ukraine Independence Day, hits in Crimea and exptected mock trial of Azov defenders in Mariupol
87. ANALYSIS: Maria Popova on Ukraine, accession to the European Union, reforms, & Russia’s aspirations of imperial restoration
86. ANALYSIS: James Farwell on Ukraine, Turkey, Syria and - and broader lessons for leadership
85. VIEW FROM UKRAINE: Tymofii Brik on Ukrainian society, pluralism, the place of religion, and why the narrative of Ukraine as a divided society does not hold up
84. ANALYSIS: Christopher Faulkner on the Wagner Group - Who are they? What are their areas of operation? And what is the impact of their involvement in Ukraine?
83: ANALYSIS: Aleksandar Matovski on Popular Dictatorships - electoral authoritarianism, Putin’s popularity, the utility of crisis, & domestic legitimation as a driver of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
82 ANALYSIS: Four-star Gen. of US Air Force Phillip Breedlove (ret.) on NATO, weapons for Ukraine, and what Ukraine requires for success
81:KYIV UPDATE: Oleksandr Kraiev on the bombing of Olenivka prison, treatment of Ukrainian POWs and reaction to these events in Ukraine
80. ANALYSIS: Brian Taylor on ’The code of Putinism’ - Key ideas that drive Putin and those around him; was Putin’s rise to power inevitable; and the war in Ukraine as ’Putin’s war’
79. VIEW FROM UKRAINE: Ivan Shmatko and Dafna Rachok on Ukrainian society, politics & identity - treatment of vulnerable groups, & divergence of Ukrainian and Russian identity, society and politics
78. ANALYSIS: Zofia Stemplowska on the ’NATO enlargement’ argument - why this argument is problematic and an alternate perspective
77. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali on day of Ukrainian statehood, Ukrainian identity since the full-scale invasion, Russian propoganda & conditions in occupied Mariupol
76. ANALYSIS: Volodymyr Dubovyk on Ukraine-Russia recent grain export deal, Russian missile strikes on Odessa’s port, Ukraine’s motivations for the deal and chances of success
75. DEEP DIVE: Michael Mandelbaum on The Four Ages of US Foreign Policy - continuities in US foreign policy; entry into and exit from wars; unique aspect of US support for Ukraine in the current war
74. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali on Ukraine counteroffensive: importance of Kherson, possible timeline & significance of 11 September election in Russia
73. ANALYSIS: Paul Poast on realism and the war in Ukraine - questioning the ’NATO expansion’ explanation and providing an alternate view
72. ANALYSIS: Mart Kuldkepp on Estonia, Baltic states, Baltic Sea security and the war in Ukraine
71. ANALYSIS: Political theorists Avia Pasternak and Zofia Stemplowska discuss sanctions on Russia, population-costs, avoiding harm, and when sanctions are justified
70. ANALYSIS: Amb. Steven Pifer on Ukraine-US relations - implications of Ukraine giving up nukes in the 1990s; Ukraine’s economy and reconstruction; and US support since Feb 24
69. ANALYSIS: Michael Doyle on liberal peace theory and the Ukraine conflict - restraint, regime type, economic integration, national self-determination and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
68. ANALYSIS: John Blaxland on the Ukraine conflict & the Asia-Pacific region - China, India, Australia, the QUAD security dialogue, and the AUKUS deal
67. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali responds to Russian occupation of Lysychansk & Russian withdrawal from Snake Island
66. VIEW FROM UKRAINE: Ivan Shmatko and Dafna Rachok on war, invasion, civil society mobilization and Ukraine’s resolve
65. LEADERSHIP: Toby Newstead and Suze Wilson on character, virtues and Zelensky’s leadership
64. ANALYSIS: Jamie Shea - former NATO official - responds to NATO 2022 Strategic Concept, Russia’s invasion, NATO’s response, and what Swedish and Finnish membership means for the alliance.
63. ANALYSIS: Volodymyr Dubovyk on US-Ukraine relations - a view from Ukraine
62. ANALYSIS: Matthew Light on post-Soviet states and the Ukraine conflict - trajectories of post-Soviet states, the Baltics, Kazhakstan, Russian-speaking populations, NATO’s role and more
61. KYIV UPDATE: Oleksandr Kraiev on the Russian invasion, life in Kyiv, and expected developments in coming months
60. DEEP DIVE: Matthew Ford and Andrew Hoskins on Radical War - data, digitization, smartphones and war - the new war ecology of the 21st Century
59. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali on EU leaders visting Kyiv and mounting costs on Russian forces
58. DEEP DIVE: Mark Galeotti on The Weaponisation of Everything - new ways of warfare, responses, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and... the Gerasimov Doctrine (spoiler alert: Mark coined the term!)
57: ANALYSIS: British Maj. Gen. Chip Chapman (ret.) analyses the Ukraine conflict - strategy, misperceptions, possible outcomes & leadership lessons
56.ANALYSIS: US Army Maj. John Spencer (ret.) on the Mini-Manual for the Urban Defender - how a twitter thread turned into an authoritative manual on urban warfare distributed to Ukrainian forces
55. DEEP DIVE: Rory Cormac on ’How to Stage a Coup’ - Covert action, disinformation and conditions for a successful coup
54. ANALYSIS: Greg Carleton on Russia’s identity of perpetual war and how fractures in Russia’s national story might shape the trajectory of Ukraine conflict
53. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali discusses Putin’s ’rebranding’ of the war and Ukrainians’ readiness to fight til the end
52. ANALYSIS: Ulrike Franke on Germany & the Ukraine conflict - Germany’s approach to defence, military capability and war in Ukraine
50. ANALYSIS: Frank Ledwidge on air power and the war in Ukraine - use of air power in Ukraine & implications for the future of aerial warfare
49. ANALYSIS: Miroslav Mares on disinformation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict - with a view from the Czech Republic - drivers, mechanisms & responses
48. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali discusses missiles in Kyiv and situation in Donbas (6 June)
47. DEEP DIVE: Julie Diamond on power and conflict - types of power & how they intersect with conflict situations
46. ANALYSIS: Joshua Rovner on intelligence sharing, information control, cyber attacks, & the war in Ukraine
45. ANALYSIS: Darren Lim on China and the Ukraine conflict - China’s response to Ukraine, implications for decoupling and Taiwan
44. DEEP DIVE: Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan, AM (ret.) on War Transformed - fourth industrial revolution, key challenges, advice for future leaders & importance of culture and curiosity
43. ANALYSIS: Sascha Dov Bachmann on global security threats; NATO’s preparedness; and lessons learnt for militaries outside Ukraine
42. KYIV UPDATE: Maksym Yali updates on situation in Donbas and current mood in Ukraine
41. ANALYSIS: Mikael Wigell on geoeconomics & the Ukraine conflict - the EU’s economic statecraft, Russia’s isolation and Finland’s economic hedging