Dr. Marlene Laruelle, Research Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at George Washington University, discusses the ideology of Putin's regime, why Putin maintains domestic support despite the on-going costs of Russia's war in Ukraine, and Russia's relationship to far-right political elements in Europe and the United States.  More about Marlene's work: marlene-laruelle.com Marlene Laruelle: Is Russia Fascist? Unravelling Propaganda East and West Marlene Laruelle and Margarita Karnysheva: Memory Politics and the Russian Civil War More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Carl "Grinch" Larson, a former US soldier who served in Iraq, and then spent 6 months in 2022 fighting in the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine, discusses fighting as a foreign national in Ukraine; differences between fighting in Ukraine and fighting for the US army in Iraq; challenges and lack of equipment for Ukrainian troops; and the work of the Ukraine Defense Support group in providing equipment - primarily to the International Legion and to the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces.  More about Ukraine Defense Support initiative: ukrainedefensesupport.org Overview of the Ukraine Defense Support group: Our mission - Ukraine Defense Support Contact the Ukraine Defense Support group: victory@ukrainedefensesupport.org   Carl Larson on Twitter (X): @UALegionnaire Jessica Genauer on Twitter (X): @jessicagenauer

Maksym Yali, Head of a Center for New World Order and Professor of International Relations at the National Aviation University in Kyiv, discusses the mood in Kyiv and possible gaind for Ukraine's counteroffensive before winter.  Maksym Yali on X (twitter): @maksymyali  Jessica Genauer on X (twitter): @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Miriam Hess, Associate Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations, discusses Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's place in the domestic Russian political landscape and relationship to Putin, Chechens fighting on both sides in the war in Ukraine, and the possible future of the Republic of Chechnya if Putin were to no longer be in power. More about Miriam's work: Miriam Hess Miriam Hess on: background to the relationship between Chechnya and Russia for The Hundred  Miriam Hess on Ramzan Kadyrov: The Controversial Chechen Leader who Supports Putin in Ukraine  Miriam Hess on: how Ramzan Kadyrov leverages Islam and internal conflict  Miriam Hess on X(Twitter): @miriamka_hess More about the host: Jessica Genauer Jessica on X(twitter): @jessicagenauer

Mark McNamee, Europe Director at Frontier View, discusses the economic opportunities and challenges in Ukraine, the mood in Kyiv, the on-going counteroffensive, and political and economic pressures in Russia.  Mark McNamee in Frontier View Insights on Implications of Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal, August 2023  Mark McNamee in Frontier View Insights on How Prigozhin's mutiny reveals Putin's weakness, June 2023  Mark McNamee in Frontier View Insights on How the war has damaged Russian labor markets, June 2023  Mark McNamee on X/Twitter: @mmcnameefsg More about Fontier View: frontierview.com More about the host: Jessica Genauer  Jessica on X/Twitter: @jessicagenauer

Catrina Doxsee, associate director and associate fellow for the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), discusses the Wagner mutiny, Wagner's relationship to the Russian state, the relationship between Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin, and the future of Wagner activities in Africa and elsewhere.  More about Catrina Doxsee's work: CatrinaDoxsee.com Previous episode with Catrina on background and activities of the Wagner group: Episode 124. ANALYSIS: Catrina Doxsee on the Wagner group Catrina on twitter / X: @catrinadoxsee Jessica Genauer on twitter / X: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

James Acuna, founder of Frontier Vectors security and business consultancy and former CIA officer, discusses the use of intelligence drones in Ukraine, the way in which open source intelligence has impacted the war, and the information domain.    More on James Acuna: Founder of Frontier Vectors security and business consultancy based in Tallinn, Estonia. Prior to this James worked for over 27 years in both defense and security in the United States including 20 years with the Directorate of Operations at the CIA and 8 years supporting the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. More on Frontier Vectors More about the host: Jessica Genauer  Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer

Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria, PhD candidate at the T.C. Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland, discusses the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia, atroctiy crimes, allegations of genocide and the implications of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for President Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova.  Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria on Are Russian transfers of Ukrainian children to re-education and adoption facilities a form of genocide? Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria on twitter @YBFLaw Jessica Genauer on twitter @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Edward Price, former British Trade Official, Principal for Geopolitical Forecasting at Ergo Intelligence and non-resident Senior Fellow at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, discusses Ukraine's financial strategy, on-going risks and global economic implications of the war in Ukraine.  More about Edward Price  Edward Price on The Man Financing Ukraine's Fight for Freedom  Edward Price on Global Implications of the war in Ukraine Edward Price on twitter: @ed_s_price Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Alexander Titov, Lecturer in Modern European History at Queen's University Belfast, discusses imperialism in the Northeast Asian region, Russian imperialism, common mechanisms of appropriation of former imperial territories, and possible echoes of patterns of imperial territorial conquest in Russia's current full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  Alexander Titov on Ukraine: Putin isn't mad - he's following a long-established great power playbook for conquest Alexander Titov on National appropriation of imperial lands in Northeast Asia in forthcoming edited volume Competing Imperialisms in Northeast Asia  Alexander Titov on twitter: @titovalexander Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Maksym Yali, Head of a Center for New World Order and Professor of International Relations at the National Aviation University in Kyiv, comments on when we are likely to see the Ukrainian counteroffensive commence, what's at stake and where it might take place.   Maksym Yali on twitter: @maksymyali  Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Daria Isachenko, Associate at the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), discusses Turkey's relations with Russia in light of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine: Turkey-Russia relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, war in Ukraine, Presidential elections in Turkey this year, and how relations might change this year.   More about Daria Isachenko's work Daria Isachenko on Turkey's Stakes in the Russia-NATO Rivalry Daria Isachenko on Turkey-Russia Partnership in the War over Nagorno-Karabakh  Daria Isachenko on Turkey and Russia: The Logic of Conflictual Cooperation More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Oleksa Drachewych, Assistant Professor in History at Western University, discusses the echoes of history in Russia's invasion of Ukraine: implications of the Bolshevik revolution and its aftermath, the use of narrative and symbols from World War II, and the brutal echoes of history in the way in which Russia has been carrying out the current invasion of Ukraine.  The current Russian regime "by conflating the Soviet experience [in World War II] to being Russian - they are essentially removing the Ukrainian experience from the broader narrative."  "The Russian rhetoric that tends to dehumanise Ukrainians very much mimics a lot of the way that the Soviet Union aimed to dehumanise the Germans, Romanians and others... during the Second World War... and that... dehumanisation then turned into violence and anger against civilians". Oleksa Drachewych on Calls for peace in Ukraine a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion are unrealistic Oleksa Drachewych on How Russia’s fixation on the Second World War helps explain its Ukraine invasion Oleksa Drachewych on Putin's War on Ukraine and on History  Oleksa Drachewych on twitter:  @ODrachewych Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Jenny Mathers, Senior Lecturer in International Politics at Aberystwyth University discusses the intersection of gender, heroism, security and war - in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine: types of heroism, different trajectories of the Ukrainian armed forces and the Russian military, and how the war might play out this year.  Jenny Mathers on Ukraine war: attitudes to women in the military are changing as thousands serve on front lines Jenny Mathers on Women and the War in Ukraine Jenny Mathers on Ukraine war: why Russian soldiers’ mothers aren’t demonstrating the strong opposition they have in previous conflicts Jenny Mathers on Ukraine war 12 months on: how Volodymyr Zelensky became the nation’s unlikely hero Jenny Mathers on Ukraine war: what the last 12 months has meant for the ordinary Russian soldier Jenny Mathers and Veronica Kitchen on Heroism and Global Politics  Jenny Mathers on twitter: @jgmaber Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Luca Anceschi, Professor of Central and East European Studies at Glasgow University, discusses the way in which Russia's invasion of Ukraine has impacted the Central Asian region: recalibration of relations with Moscow, how the region will navigate relations with both China and Moscow, and how the invasion is being viewed from the region.  Luca Anceschi on Russia - Central Asian Relations in the Aftermath of the Invasion of Ukraine Luca Anceschi on Analysing Kazakhstan's Foreign Policy: Regime Neo-Eurasianism in the Nazarbaev Era  Luca Anceschi on Turkmenistan and the Virtual Politics of Eurasian Energy  Luca Anceschi on twitter: @anceschitan  Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer  More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Pavel Slunkin, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, discusses Belarus' position vis-a-vis Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including what Pavel learnt from being present at the Minsk negotiations summit in February 2015, how Lukashenka's relationship with Putin has changed from Russia's territorial incursions into Ukraine in 2014 to Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, how the invasion is viewed from Belarus, and whether Lukashenka would commit Belarus to participate directly in Russia's war in Ukraine.    More about Pavel Slunkin's work: Pavel Slunkin - European Council on Foreign Relations   Pavel Slunkin on Why the Belarusian army cannot help Russia in Ukraine  Pavel Slunkin on Why the Belarusian regime and its people are not one and the same Pavel Slunkin on Why the West should keep a close eye on Lukashenka Pavel Slunkin on twitter: @PavelSlunkin Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Ben Herscovitch, Research Fellow at the School of Regulation and Global Governance, on China's position vis-a-vis Russia and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, how this position might evolve in 2023, and how lessons China is learning from Russia's invasion of Ukraine are likely to shape its approach towards Taiwan in coming years.  Ben Herscovitch's substack: Beijing to Canberra and back  Ben Herscovitch on twitter: @B_Herscovitch Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Catrina Doxsee, Associate Director and Associate Fellow for the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), outlines the relationship between Wagner and the Russian state, why PMCs are not likely to be legalized in Russia, founding and evolution of Wagner, changes in Prigozhin's behavior, and global security implications of Wagner actiivty beyond Russia.  'The fact that PMCs are not legal in Russia... gives Putin a tremendous amount of leverage over those PMCs...'  'You have dissent within the ranks... as [Wagner] brings in populations out of prisons there's an intense social stigma between non-prisoners and prisoners in the ranks - as well as between the prisoners themselves given the very strict hierarchy socially in Russian prisons...'  Catrina Doxsee on Putin's Proxies: Examining Russia's Use of Private Military Companies Catrina Doxsee and Jared Thompson on The Wagner Group's Mounting Humanitarian Cost in Mali  Jared Thompson, Catrina Doxsee and Joseph Bermudez on Tracking the Arrival of Russia's Wagner Group in Mali More on the Transnational Threats Project Catrina Doxsee on twitter: @catrinadoxsee Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Kanykei Tursunbaeva, journalist, translator and Research Associate at the European Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Mark Neville, award-winning photo journalist working in Ukraine since 2015, discuss operating under conditions of war, taking photos in conflict zones, being a 'war artist' and the project Stop Tanks with Books.  More about the European Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (EUASU) Special issue of American Behavioral Scientist with EUASU scholars: Special Issue: War in Ukraine   EUASU fund to support their work: Keep Scholars and Journalists Safe Postcode Ukraine Charity - mentioned in the epside: Postcode Ukraine  More about Mark's work: markneville.com Kanykei Tursunbaeva on twitter: @k_tursunbaeva Mark Neville on twitter: @NevilleStudio More about the host: Jessica Genauer

Niklas Masuhr, Senior Researcher and Military Analyst at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich University, discusses activities of the Wagner group; comparison of Russian and Chinese PMC activity; the role of the Wagner group in Ukraine and implications for the Russian domestic context.  Charlotte Hirsbrunner and Niklas Masuhr on: Russia's Footprint in Africa Allard Duursma and Niklas Masuhr on: Russia’s return to Africa in a historical and global context: Anti-imperialism, patronage, and opportunism Julia Friedrich and Niklas Masuhr on: Why is Russia Being So Brutal in Ukraine?  Niklas Masuhr and Benno Zogg on: The War in Ukraine: First Lessons  Julia Friedrich and Niklas Masuhr on: Mercenaries in the Service of Authoritarian States Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer