In Audacy's On Deadline Podcast, host Lauren Barry breaks down the latest situation in Ukraine and the controversy over its effort to join NATO. Staunch allies, including the United States, are hesitant to bring Ukraine into the alliance and risk provoking Russia, even as the former Soviet country struggles with its own internal conflict. Produced by Joe Hiti.

With a few remaining months of calm weather in Ukraine, there are talks of offensives on both sides of Russia's war. The Ukrainians are aiming to retake much of the southern, coastal areas seized by the Russians during their initial invasion. The Kremlin is talking about pushing forward with its campaign in the East, looking to control the entire Donbas region.But armies on both sides are more than a little exhausted, in terms of available fighters and weapons. And for the Ukrainians, that's where Western aid is absolutely critical.The Ukrainians are upping their requests for Western weapons, whether its more long-range precision missiles or fighter jets. They're reemphasizing that this is a fight for Ukraine's very survival ... as Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders make it clear their goal is still the destruction of Ukraine as a sovereign, independent country.Peter Mansoor is a retired U-S Army Colonel and former executive officer to General David Petraeus in Iraq. He's currently a professor of military history at THE Ohio State University.  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

Life goes on across much of Ukraine, in spite of Russia's ongoing war in the eastern and southern sections of the country. While Ukrainians attempt to adjust to life during a hostile invasion, Russia's war has undoubtedly upended just about every facet of society, including arts and culture.Before the invasion, the Pro English Theater Group in Kyiv was putting on regular performances, building up followers and audiences and trying to make a name for themselves. When war broke out in February it put their plans on pause.The troupe of actors took shelter in a basement theater in the capital for about a month to stay safe from bombings and attacks. They used the time to rehearse new shows and are now out of the basement, back performing again.  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

While Russia's war in Ukraine is being at least partially blamed for higher gas prices and surging inflation here in the U.S., in Europe the war could be tipping several countries into recessions. Germany and France's economies are showing signs of significant slowing, and countries across the continent are scrambling to make up for a loss of Russia oil and natural gas. In Italy, food banks are being forced to feed ever increasing numbers of people.While Europe struggles, however, Russia somehow seems to be holding steady.Russia's ruble is now considered one of the most valuable currencies in the world. And Russian leaders are bragging about how they've built up a fortress-like economy that can withstand harsh sanctions ... while their fossil fuel production remains at high levels.But those rosy predictions for the Russian economy are all short-term. How will its war in Ukraine effect Russia's long-term economic prospects? 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

Boris Johnson is prime minister of Great Britain ... not the president of Ukraine. So Johnson's resignation announcement today obviously shouldn't have any intense, direct impact on Ukraine or its war against Russia. However "BoJo" as the Ukrainians took to calling him, was one of the earliest and strongest supporters of Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion. He was also the first head of state to visit Kyiv while the war still raged.Ukraine might not have lost a leader today, but it lost a dedicated ally.Johnson's eventual departure as prime minister of the UK could impact relations with the US to a degree, especially when it comes to Russia and Ukraine.Even with changes in leadership and personalities, will the so-called "special relationship" between the U.S. and UK persist no matter what? 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

While the first part of Russia's invasion of Ukraine ended in failure, the Russians are starting to see results from their second act: the scaled down aim of controlling all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region is getting closer to reality for Russia.Russia is working to secure its gains in the Donbas. Its forces have taken complete control of one of the provinces and are now focusing on one city where the mayor has urged civilians to evacuate as quickly as possible. If Russia succeeds in controlling the Donbas, what does it do next in Ukraine?Both Vladimir Putin and several leading Russian politicians and generals have let on to the fact that they still have ambitions to control all of Ukraine and overthrow the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Even though Russia's first attempt to seize Kiev went nowhere, could they take another shot at it? 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

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

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 scattered across Eastern Europe; there could be just as many or more who are internally displaced. Their desperate situations have not changed ... nor has their need for help.We spoke to a woman who left Mariupol early just before Russia started to attack. Mila and her family went to Spain. If you remember, Mila's grandma was stuck in Mariupol and she and her family weren't able to contact grandma for a couple weeks. Grandma has since evacuated the city and is safe. Mila's life has taken a bit of a different path than she thought before the war. She's now in Vienna, Austria.   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

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 time since the end of the Cold War there will be significant, and in many cases permanent positioning of American combat power in Eastern Europe.Meanwhile Russia continues stepping up its missile attacks over much of Ukraine. Seemingly without the ability to win clear-cut victories even in their scaled down operations in Eastern Ukraine, Putin and Russia will seek to terrorize Ukrainians into submission. 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

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's invasion of Ukraine that the EU is moving so quickly to bring in these new countries. Ukraine's acceptance into the E-U is not guaranteed, and it's not without complications ... several EU member countries expressed reservations of admitting a large, war-torn country.Meanwhile Ukraine is still aspiring to be a member of NATO. 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

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 two Americans were fighting with a small group of foreign soldiers and went missing in action when their platoon came under heavy fire in a village near Kharkiv, which is about 25 miles from the Russian border.On Russian state television there have already been suggestions that the two men should be tried and executed for war crimes.Can and would the U-S try to help free them? 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

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 Western support during that time.This comes as Ukraine's deputy defense minister says Russia has ordered its military to overrun the entire eastern Donbas region by next Sunday. That territory could prove difficult for Ukraine to win back once the Russians have dug in with defenses.And yet the Ukrainian government and military stands by its goals in this war: win back every square inch of Ukrainian territory taken by Russian, including Crimea. 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

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 discussed and featured on Russian TV, where presenters are calling for their trials and executions. Would the fates of these two American fights in Ukraine potentially lead to further U.S. involvement in the war?Meanwhile today in Kyiv, another foreign leader dropped in to visit President Zelensky. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made his second trip to Ukraine, promising continued support of their war effort. 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

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 Donbas region. And Vladimir Putin now has his land bridge to Russian-occupied Crimea.Today the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania met with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy today in Kyiv. They're pledging support but there's concern that support could be cracking. 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

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 sanctions.  In fact, some members of the Biden administration are now acknowledging that sanctions might have caused just as much harm to the U.S. economy as the Russia's.Rising energy and food costs in the U.S., which at least in part can be directly tied to sanctions against Russia, have become two of the main drivers of inflation, which hit a 40-year high this month.Russia's recent oil profits due to rising prices have made up for a loss in exports from the sanctions. And Bloomberg News is reporting that some Biden administration officials also worry that sanctions on Russia aren't stopping the invasion of Ukraine and are instead exacerbating inflation, worsening food insecurity, and punishing ordinary Russians 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

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 country next month. Then we head back to Ukraine where the Russian offensive in the eastern part of the country is grinding on with devastating consequences, both for the local population there and the outgunned Ukrainian army, which has taken a lot of casualties over the last month. 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

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 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

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 crisis that could last for years.There has been some speculation that Putin is focused on disrupting Ukraine's grain and wheat production and exports for the precise purpose of causing food shortages ... in the hopes that will lead to the international community pressuring the Ukrainians to sue for peace.No matter the motivation, Russia's war is causing reverberations far beyond the borders of Ukraine. 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

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 Britain not to send longer-range rockets to Ukraine. Putin says that'll lead Russia to launch more bombing attacks.Of course all of Ukraine is already living under the threat of Russian attacks. Just this weekend several cruise missiles slammed into targets in Kyiv, the first time the capital city has been bombed in at least a month.Will western countries be intimidated by Putin's posturing ... or at this point in a war that's dragged on for nearly four months, is there not much fear of Russian retaliation? 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

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 Zelensky now says Russia controls about a fifth of the country's territory.Meanwhile Vladimir Putin seems to be digging in for a war of attrition, hoping to outlast both Ukraine's military and the resolve of Western countries and NATO. Putin is calculating that the financial and military support from the West will soon start to level off ... and even decline.What might happen in the next 100 days? 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