Episode description

This week is crucial for the future of Ukraine. After promises of open-ended support, the US and the EU are now struggling to agree on new funding for the war effort. President Zelensky says Ukraine risks losing the war if new funding is not available.

So much so that President Zelensky is in Washington in an attempt to rescue a threatened US defence package to Kyiv worth billions of dollars. The aid has become embroiled in domestic, partisan politics.

Meanwhile in Europe, EU diplomats are locked in talks throughout the week in a bid to strike a deal on a financial package.

On the battleground, Ukraine's much-vaunted counter-offensive has stalled. Public support for Ukraine has declined sharply in the US since the invasion and a cost of living crisis is sweeping across Europe. The situation in the Middle East has only served to distract world leaders even more. Meanwhile in Russia, President Putin appears to be biding time. The Russian economy is holding together despite sanctions and he's standing for re-election next year.

So why is Western support wavering? Is time running out for Ukraine? What is Putin's plan? And what might victory look like for either side?

Shaun Ley is joined by:

Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation in Washington DC

Iuliia Osmolovska, a former Ukrainian diplomat who heads Globsec, a think-tank in Kyiv

Gustav Gressel from the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin

Also featuring:

Sergey Markov, former advisor to President Putin

Matt Rosendale, US Republican Congressman

Photo: US President Joe Biden hosts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Washington, USA - 12 Dec 2023 Credit: Photo by MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE

Produced by Pandita Lorenz and Ellen Otzen