Russia is making gains in eastern Ukraine but at what cost? WNBA star Brittney Griner is now asking President Biden directly to help get her out of Russia where she's been detained since February. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jul 05, 2022•11 min
A lot of attention was paid in the early days of Russia's invasion to the plight of millions of Ukrainians who had to flea their hometowns in advance of Russian forces descending on Kyiv. But once Russia's initial offensive flopped and the focus of the war shifted to the East, the world shifted much of its focus away from Ukrainian refugees. But there are still an estimated 5-million Ukrainians living outside of the country right now, as the war grinds on ... most of them set up temporarily scat...
Jun 30, 2022•8 min
If Vladimir Putin thought his invasion of Ukraine might cower Eastern European countries and intimidate NATO to stay away from the Russian sphere of influence .... he badly miscalculated. As NATO wraps up its high-level meetings today in Madrid, they have formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance ... while the Biden administration is announcing dramatically scaled-up deployments of American troops to countries like Poland and the Baltics, right on Russia's doorstep. For the first ...
Jun 29, 2022•7 min
While Ukraine's defense of the eastern region of its country against Russia's onslaught of artillery and missiles isn't going great, there was one promising development for the beleaguered nation: Ukraine is now one step closer to becoming a member of the European Union. EU leaders granted the country "candidate status," which it also gave to Moldova, another Eastern European country living under the thumb of Russia. This move is likely to anger the Russians. But it's precisely because of Russia...
Jun 23, 2022•7 min
As Russia's war grinds on in Eastern Ukraine, we're learning a bit more about the fates of two Americans who were volunteers fighting for the Ukrainian army when they were captured by Russians. A Kremlin spokeperson has acknowledged that the two Americans ... both military vets ... were in Russian custody. He called them "soldiers of fortune" and said the Geneva conventions and the wartime protections they provide fighters do not apply in their case, since Russia considers them mercenaries. The ...
Jun 21, 2022•8 min
The Russians hoped to pull off a lightening strike on Kyiv and rule most of Ukraine within weeks, when it launched the invasion of its neighbor back in February. And in the weeks afterwards when Russian forces were forced to retreat from the capital, Ukrainians hoped they had Russians on the run. Four months later and the war in Ukraine could last well beyond anyone's expectations. NATO's Secretary General says Russia's war in Ukraine could go on for years and the effort requires sustained Weste...
Jun 20, 2022•6 min
Hundreds, and possibly thousands, of foreign fighters flocked to Ukraine in February and March, eager to take up arms to beat back Russia's invasion. Among those fighters were several Americans, most of them with military experience eager to help out the Ukrainian cause ... so the deaths or captures of American fighters there was probably inevitable. And indeed it has happened, two Americans--both military vets--were captured by Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine ... and already they're being dis...
Jun 17, 2022•6 min
All of that enthusiasm and optimism from the early days of Russia's war in Ukraine, when Ukrainians were able to beat back the Russian offensive on Kyiv, has turned to pessimism in recent weeks. That's because Russia's brutal, grinding campaign in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine is paying dividends. Out-gunned and out-manned, the Ukrainian military continues to take horrible losses in the East; and the Russians continue to advance in their land grab. Russian forces now control most of the D...
Jun 16, 2022•7 min
When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine back in February, the United States and most Western immediately launched what they claimed would be crippling sanctions against Russia and Vladimir Putin. There would be little to no loopholes or exceptions, leaders like President Biden promised, and the sanctions would be unrelenting with the goal of severely degrading Russia's ability to fight in Ukraine. Fast forward four months later and the jury remains very much out on the impact of those sanct...
Jun 15, 2022•8 min
Saudi Arabia plays no direct role in Russia's war against Ukraine. The Persian Gulf kingdom isn't providing weapons to Ukrainians nor are they siding with the Russians. And yet the oil producing giant is one key factor in energy prices that have shot through the roof since Russian forces first entered Ukraine back in February. So we're going to take a closer look at record high gas prices forcing President Biden to play nice with Saudi Arabia ... the president has confirmed he'll visit the count...
Jun 14, 2022•17 min
Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine is making slow and steady progress. Russian troops are getting closer to fully taking over a key strategic city that might enable it to completely control the Donbas region which is the industrial heartland of the country. Hope isn't lost for Ukraine but is Russia bolstered by the decreasing focus on Ukraine by the West? Aaron David Miller is a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a CNN Global Affairs Analyst. To learn more abo...
Jun 13, 2022•7 min
As Russia's war in Ukraine grinds on, the Russian economy faces increasing isolation from months of tough sanctions. Trying to offset the consequences at home, Vladimir Putin is doing his best to cozy up to China ... one of the few remaining countries in the world that is openly friendly toward Russia. The two countries announced a new bridge of "special symbolic meaning" in hopes of boosting trade. This comes as the World Trade Organization is warning that the war could lead to a global food cr...
Jun 10, 2022•7 min
As Russia's campaign in Eastern Ukraine grinds on, the United Kingdom is the latest country to commit to sending heavier weapons to the Ukrainian side. After the Biden administration announced it's sending multiple launch rocket systems, the UK said it's sending similar missile launches capable of matching the Russian artillery barrages that now rain down on Ukraine cities in the Donbas on an hourly basis. This has clearly caught the attention of Vladimir Putin. The Russian warned the U-S and Br...
Jun 06, 2022•6 min
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reached it's 100th day, and even after thousands of deaths, billions of dollars worth of destruction and repeated Russian failures to achieve their goals ... the war rages on. With the focus of the fight in Eastern Ukraine, Russia seems to be increasingly confident it can occupy and hold Ukrainian territories for the long term. And to that point, the Russians have been making progress in capturing some key towns in Ukraine's Donbas region. Ukraine's president Zel...
Jun 03, 2022•8 min
There has been grim news coming out of Eastern Ukraine over the last few days, as the Russian military has picked up its pace of seizing more territory in Ukraine's Donbas region. Its troops are close to completely taking over a key city that would further a Russian foothold ... and Ukrainian president Zelensky has spoken ominously about mounting casualties among his forces. This comes as Ukraine is waiting for more weapons and aid from the U-S and other Western countries. Among the next cache o...
Jun 01, 2022•10 min
As the war in Ukraine rages into its fourth month, there is intense fighting underway in the eastern part of the country as Russia looks to extend its land grab. And even with international sanctions aimed at Russia that have been described as some of the toughest ever initiated in the modern era, the Kremlin continues to sell oil and gas that helps to bankroll its war effort in Ukraine. Well the European Union has taken a big step against Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine ... It's agreed t...
May 31, 2022•5 min
The war in Ukraine is raging on, and Russian forces are slowly gaining ground in the east. There are concerns that the Donbas region could soon look like the besieged port city of Mariupol. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
May 27, 2022•6 min
The first war crimes trial out of the Russia-Ukraine war is over. A captured Russian tank commander pleaded guilty to killing a Ukrainian civilian and today inside of a Kyiv courtroom was sentenced to life in prison. But Russian officials today hinted that they'll be conducting their own trials of Ukrainian soldiers, with the recently surrendered defenders from Mariupol the primary targets for tribunals. Will this be the first of many war crimes trials to come out of this conflict? Then we're go...
May 23, 2022•12 min
Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 3 months ago, and there's no end in sight to the fighting. Putin appears focused now on the Donbas region in Ukraine's east, which is home to a number of Russian-backed separatist groups. But as has been the case for much of the war, things aren't going well for Russia. Ukrainian authorities say they recently repelled a Russian attack in the region. Still, things have been extremely difficult for Ukrainians. Journalists are trying to work while covering a war fought...
May 20, 2022•16 min
After failing to capture the capital city of Kyiv, the Russian army has shifted it's focus to Eastern Ukraine. Russia now controls much of Southern Ukraine, including the port city of Mariupol. And it's in the middle of a battle for the Donbas region in Ukraine's east, which is known as the country's "industrial heartland." But what is it exactly that Vladimir Putin is trying to achieve now? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-poli...
May 19, 2022•5 min
Mariupol has fallen. The port city in the southeastern corner of Ukraine had arguably received the worst of shelling, bombing and attacks in this war, with much of the city reduced to ruble. A group of several hundred Ukrainian soldiers had been holding out inside of a massive steel plant, refusing to surrender. But now there's word that the last remaining Ukrainians have been evacuated ... and Mariupol is in Russian hands. So that's one setback on the battlefield for Ukraine; but one doesn't ha...
May 17, 2022•14 min
Here's how deeply Russia's invasion of Ukraine could be changing the security environment in Europe: even Switzerland, famous for its commitment to neutrality that's been in place through many, many wars .... is considering joining NATO. With Finland and Sweden, two long time NATO-holdouts now taking formal steps to join the Alliance, Switzerland's defense ministry is calling for closer ties to NATO; and they're pointing to the security threat posed to all of Europe by the Russians. The invasion...
May 16, 2022•6 min
Ukraine's military says it recently did major damage to Russian units looking to cross a key river in the northeastern part of the country, inflicting what it says were hundreds of casualties among Russian soldiers ... and a significant loss of armor and equipment. And yet the situation on the ground in both Eastern and Southern Ukraine hasn't changed much in recent days. The war has ground into a stalemate that neither side seems totally capable of winning ... and yet neither side is ready to m...
May 13, 2022•7 min
Finland is a country that knows a thing or two about Russian aggression. After all, the Finns fought a war against Russia in 1940, as Joseph Stalin tried to pull off a land grab in Finland, in the midst of World War II raging in Europe. And yet, up until this year Finland has maintained a more-or-less neutral position in international affairs and had resisted joining NATO. Russia's war in Ukraine quickly changed all of that, with the Finns looking set to formally apply for NATO membership in the...
May 12, 2022•5 min
One almost instant reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the rush of countries looking to either join NATO or strengthen their ties to the military alliance. Finland and Sweden, two Scandinavian countries that have long preferred to keep an independent stance on their strategic partnerships, reversed course in a hurry after Russia launched its war. Both countries are now on pace to join NATO by the end of this year. But the United Kingdom is jumping the gun a bit, which could complicate a...
May 11, 2022•5 min
Digging in for the long haul -- that's how the U.S. Director of National Intelligence characterized Vladimir Putin's strategy as his invasion of Ukraine enters its 3rd month. DNI Avril Haines, in testimony before a Senate committee, described Russia's effort in Eastern Ukraine as a slow moving slog ... it's the U.S. intelligence assessment that Putin is hoping the attention of NATO and the West on Ukraine starts to wane over time. So what's the latest from the Donbas region, where the majority o...
May 10, 2022•13 min
It was Victory Day in Moscow, usually cause for swelling Russian patriotism and a display of military might with parading soldiers, thanks and fighter jets marching through Red Square. While there were the requisite soldiers and tanks, it was a subdued Victory Day event for Vladimir Putin and Russia's elite ... Putin didn't call for mass mobilization of hundreds of thousands more Russian soldiers, nor did he declare any kind of victory in his war in Ukraine. Instead Putin presented a list of the...
May 09, 2022•18 min
May 9th is a date that has long been circled on the calendar for all observers of Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. That is the day that Russia marks its victory over Nazi Germany in World War II; a day usually filled with patriotic bravado about Russia's military strength and power. With May 9th coming up on Monday, there are growing fears that Russia and Vladimir Putin ... desperate for any kind of at least symbolic victory to prove their invasion of Ukraine is going as planned ... will signifi...
May 06, 2022•14 min
The battle for the southern Ukrainian port town of Mariupol may be coming to its final stages as the last defenders hold off Russian forces. At the same time, heavy fighting reported all along the eastern front. And there are even reports that the Ukrainian military is on the counterattack, pushing back Russian forces in several areas in the Donbas region. One of the biggest bombshells to drop involving this war didn't actually land in Ukraine--it landed on the pages of the New York Times, where...
May 05, 2022•6 min
Even while most of the fighting remains in Eastern Ukraine, Russia continues to remind Kyiv that it can strike in any part of the country, at any time. More missile strikes over the last 24 hours were aimed at Lviv in Western Ukraine, as the Russians were reportedly aiming for railroad links. That's key because those rail lines are being used to send western weapons toward the front lines in the Donbas region. At the same time, the European Union says it's planning a ban on all its member nation...
May 04, 2022•5 min
