Podcasts about crimean

This week we talk about Melilla, hybrid warfare, and migration.We also discuss Morocco, civil conflict, and immigration politics.Recommended Book: Playground by Richard PowersTranscriptCeuta is a Spanish-owned territory located in northwestern Africa, along the top of Morocco. It's small—about seven square miles—and is unusual because it is a city owned by a European Union member state that isn't located on the European continent; it's bordered by Morocco and the Mediterranean, and is located at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar, which is the strait that separates the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.Ceuta is one of two territories that Spain still holds in Africa, the other being a smaller, just 4.7 square mile city called Melilla, which is located further west but still along the Mediterranean coast, bordered by the sea on one side, and by Morocco on the other.Spain has held both of these territories for hundreds of years: Ceuta since 1580 and Melilla since 1497, so it's actually held them far longer than Morocco has been an independent state, in 1956. The populations of these territories, just over 85,000 people in each, also heavily identify as Spanish, despite many residents having Moroccan ancestry, so theres a cultural component here, too.That said, Morocco officially claims both areas as their own, considering them to be occupied territories, a bit like the Crimean peninsula has been militarily held by Russia since 2014, but it's still claimed by Ukraine as an occupied territory. So the Moroccan government isn't thrilled about having these small chunks of land, autonomous cities that are technically part of Spain, right there in the midst of their own territory. But these cities have been part of Spain for so long, and the residents are all Spanish citizens, with the same rights and sense of culture as the rest of Spain and Europe, that simply handing them over to Morocco has never seemed terribly feasible or desirable to the Spanish government, despite neither territory providing much strategic or economic value to Spain. So they remain a point of contention between these two governments.They've also served as migration hot-spots in recent decades, because they are the only two European territories that border an African country. And this is important because, in some cases, under some governments and in accordance with some laws, if you can make it across a border and into another country, you might be able to enter the system and eventually become a citizen, maybe claiming asylum or maybe getting slotted into some other path to citizenship. Or failing that, there's a chance you might be able to just fade into the background, working and living in that country, despite not legally being there.What I'd like to talk about today is a recent surge in migrants crossing the border from Morocco into Ceuta, and the larger state of play, migration-wise, globally right now.—On the last day of July, 2026, an estimated 50-60 thousand African migrants illegally crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, some of them swimming to bypass the 20-foot-high border fences, others climbing those fences, or piling into overflowing boats, arriving in Ceuta en masse and overwhelming the guards who tried to stop them, though generally just trying to run past them, not attacking the guards—this wasn't an attack, it was a rush to get into Spanish territory.Eventually the guards were reinforced by police and the Spanish military, and they started to push the waves of migrants back using water cannons and tear gas. But despite the less-lethal crowd control methods that were applied, at least 67 people, that's the number as of the day I'm recording this at least, it's been updated many times over the past few days, 67 people died as a result of stampedes, either headed inland or back into the sea, away from the gas and water cannons, or they drowned while trying to cross over the water.By the following day, the wave of migrants had become just a trickle, mostly a few stragglers who tried to swim to Ceuta, and who were swiftly returned to Morocco by local law enforcement. Almost everyone else who illegally crossed the border also returned to Morocco moved on by police or of their own volition, and though, again, this wasn't some kind of violent incursion, to get a sense of the scale of this wave of humanity, Ceuta only has about 85,000 people living there, and this wave of migrants was about 60,000 people strong. So the locals mostly closed up all their shops and locked their doors, the people who arrived found themselves unable to get food or water, and law enforcement told them they need to leave, so most did. As of the day I'm recording this there are still several hundred migrants hiding in the nearby hills and lounging on the beach, exhausted and still hopeful they'll be able to enter the asylum system—many of them saying they fled conflicts further south, like the ongoing civil war in Sudan, and so anything, even starving on the beach in Ceuda, is better than going back.This isn't the first time Ceuta has faced this kind of humanitarian crisis; back in 2021, the Moroccan government stopped enforcing its border controls and around 8000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta over the course of just two days. That was sparked by the Spanish government's decision to allow the head of a militant group in Western Sahara, a breakaway portion of Morocco that the Moroccan government claimed in 1975, but which itself still claims independence with some international support, they let that militant leader into Spain for medical treatment, and Morocco allowed thousands of migrants to flow across the border as punishment.This more recent crisis is much larger, and the cause isn't clear at this point. Spanish officials have said that Moroccan security forces were working alongside Spanish forces to keep people from crossing the border, so it seems unlikely this was stoked by the Moroccan government, and claims that this wave of people were motivated by an ongoing effort by the Spanish government to grant amnesty to immigrants who don't currently have residency permits, but who can prove they've been living in the country for at least 5 months and arrived before January 1 of 2026 also seems unlikely, as those arriving in this wave obviously wouldn't be part of that amnesty.There's a chance that this surge was triggered by a Spanish court ruling that was intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers in order to gin up more business. A bunch of social media posts claimed that this ruling said migrants who arrived via sea couldn't be immediately deported, not without due process, but those who arrived via land or by climbing border fences, could—crossing a physical barrier was the big no-no, according to this misinformation, so people who swam or crossed in boats would stand a better chance of being able to stick around and eventually become Spanish citizens.This was pure misinformation, but there's a chance it played a role in sparking this large migrant wave. And many of the people who were interviewed, those who tried to cross and were sent back, have echoed the sentiments of other migrants who have attempted these sorts of crossings at borders elsewhere around the world: essentially, things are very bad, worse than you can possibly imagine, in the country they've left, and the only option seems to be getting away as fast as possible, even taking chances that might kill them, because that's still better than staying.These waves of mass migration often result in humanitarian crises because people are hurt or killed by border security forces, are hurt or killed by being trampled or drowning, or they're hurt or killed while making the journey through dangerous areas, like the infamous Darién Gap that stretches through mountains and rainforests along the border between Colombia and Panama, and which spans the only gap in the Pan-American Highway, which connects Central and South America.Spanish authorities have said they'll be building even higher fences in Ceuta following this recent mass incursion, will string a floating buoy fence along the waters where people are crossing, and will be upping security, though like in most other popular border areas, security is already significant: tall fences, barbed wire, security cameras everywhere—these are not vulnerable spots, they're just not capable of handling 60,000 motivated people all at once.This episode in Ceuta is not happening in a vacuum.The Spanish prime minister has established a pro-immigration stance, positioning the country as a modern melting pot, which is part of why that aforementioned effort to give about half a million undocumented legal immigrants legal status is happening to begin with. Many countries right now are adopting anti-immigration stances as new technologies and changing demographics ripple through the economy, and mostly conservative, in some cases far-right conservative political movements frame those changes as the consequence of allowing too many foreigners into the country; these bad things aren't happening because of technology or economics or demographics, they claim, it's happening because there are too many people who are different from us crossing our borders and living here. Which for some, is a compelling rallying cry.Consequently, migrants are positioned as big bad enemies in many parts of the world, used to flog support for anti-immigrant parties, and to decry opposing governments. That has forced many pro-immigration governments to temper their stances, even to the point that formerly pro-immigration Europe has become a lot less so in recent years.Migrants are also used as pawns in hybrid warfare efforts. Morocco's previous decision to allow thousands of migrants to surge across the Spanish border in response to Spain's government doing something they didn't like is a tame version of this. More aggressive versions have been conducted by Russia against Finland and other neighboring NATO nations, the Russian military bussing migrants from elsewhere to their opponents' borders, intentionally creating a humanitarian and security crisis, while also putting pressure on centrist and left-leaning governments by providing ammunition for far-right and other more authoritarian governments throughout the region, who can then cry foul on how that migrant surge is handled. This tends to create more allies for Russia in the region, but it also keeps these neighboring countries busy, forcing them to tighten their borders and become more insular, which then leaves Russia freer to exercise its will throughout the region.It's also worth remember here that most migrants are leaving horrible situations at home, meaning war, famine, severe and persistent drought, in some cases they're trying to avoid having their children kidnapped and made into child soldiers while all of the women are sexually assaulted as part of the ongoing war.The number of people fleeing such conditions, who are currently on the run, their homes no longer safely habitable, is massive. There are an estimated 304 million migrants globally right now, which, if that population of people were their own country, would be the fourth most populous in the world, just after the United States.And this population is expected to just keep growing as global climate change continues to mess with previous water cycle and weather norms, and as all those earlier mentioned variables continue to mess with economics and technology and leadership and everything else, creating more violence and fear and famine and so on.This was a significant migrant wave in Ceuta, in other words, but it's just one example of something that's happening all over the place right now, and which will likely continue to happen, perhaps at even greater scales and with more regularity.Show Noteshttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-to-know-about-the-spanish-enclave-of-ceuta-as-migrant-arrivals-from-morocco-spikehttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/30/spanish-enclave-of-ceuta-raises-alarm-as-thousands-cross-morocco-borderhttps://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/7/31/spain-deploys-military-to-ceuta-after-migrant-surge-what-we-knowhttps://abcnews.com/International/57-dead-after-thousands-migrants-cross-ceuta-officials/story?id=135254045https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/31/europe/spain-ceuta-migrants-intlhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2026/07/31/most-migrants-who-crossed-into-ceuta-have-returned-to-morocco-as-death-toll-rises-to-34/https://www.npr.org/2026/07/31/g-s1-136507/morocco-spain-migrationhttps://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/world-africa-14114627https://www.britannica.com/place/Ceutahttps://edition.cnn.com/travel/ceuta-spain-north-africahttps://theconversation.com/ceuta-claves-para-entender-el-laberinto-de-una-crisis-migratoria-permanente-288843https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/2/western-sahara-independence-leader-brahim-ghali-back-in-algeriahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Morocco%E2%80%93Spain_border_incidenthttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/world/europe/ceuta-spain-morocco-migrants.htmlhttps://apnews.com/article/migration-spain-ceuta-morocco-d76c6dc9d2da828907a1c04e1d482bbehttps://apnews.com/article/migrants-spain-ceuta-morocco-d564354dd54e92debf43ce5fe22299f9https://apnews.com/article/spain-migration-ceuta-morocco-facts-50baa964ecfb07a2d19223d7ec375b91https://apnews.com/article/spain-morocco-immigration-european-union-8f023984a310276c619929102b4f909ahttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/world/europe/europe-migrants-ceuta.htmlhttp://nytimes.com/2026/08/02/world/europe/ceuta-spain-morocco-migrant-holdouts-beach.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/world/europe/spain-ceuta-far-right.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/world/europe/spain-ceuta-migrants-morocco-border.html This is a public episode. 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The situation in Ontario is critical, and recent revelations from the Ford MPP expense scandal have only deepened the crisis. With the Ontario PC Party polling in the low 30s and Ford's popularity sinking into the 20s, we have an unprecedented opportunity to challenge his corrupt government. The upcoming by-election in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek is not just another election; it's a chance to send a resounding message that we demand accountability and transparency from our leaders. We must unite to prevent the progressive left from fragmenting the vote, allowing a Ford candidate to slip through the cracks and win by default. In a thought-provoking conversation, Laura Babcock sits down with Heino Doessing, the Liberal candidate, to ask how to stop vote splitting on the left and how he plans to tackle the pressing issues facing Ontario. Subscribe, comment, and share this important dialogue! Together, we can create a brighter future and ensure that our voices are heard loud and clear. Let's stand together and make a difference!#canada #Ontario #ontariopolitics #canadianpolitics #canadiannews #onpoli #Ford #housing #education #crimeAn independent podcast, the best way to support our work is by subscribing. Let's build our pro democracy community! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1347 Genoese merchants were holed up in Kaffa, in the Crimean peninsula as Mongols and Turks besieged the city. The invading army of Khan Djanibeg had been resisted for 2 years and so surely an end was in sight, especially as disease had ripped through the besiegers. But, in a final throw of the dice, the great King, using engines of war, hurled dead bodies, swollen from sickness and blackened from corruption, into Kaffa. A terrible plague ripped through the populace within, and the Genoese decided to leave by ship. They escaped, but so did the bacteria, and it would spread throughout the medieval world killing 100 million. Joining today is Thomas Asbridge, author of The Black Death: A Global History as he discusses the terrible pestilence that had massive ramifications, and which still kills people today. Thomas Asbridge Links The Black Death: A Global History ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Book Club Shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Oliver Webb-Carter Links ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Who Cares Who Wins? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paean to Patrick Leigh Fermor⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email me: owcpods@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Day 1,567.As Ukraine intensifies its campaign against Crimea by striking key bridges and transport links in an effort to isolate the peninsula, we examine potentially seismic political developments in London. Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey – one of Kyiv's strongest allies and a leading advocate for military rearmament – has dramatically resigned in protest over defence spending and the country's preparedness for a future conflict, triggering a crisis that could topple the Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Francis and Dom comb through Healey's damning resignation letter and consider how Kyiv will react to the news. Later, Francis explores a major new report on the risks of a sudden ceasefire in Ukraine with some of the world's leading experts.Thumbnail image shows Crimean bridge ablaze in 2022.Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.With thanks to:Orysia Lutsevych OBE (head of the Ukraine Forum, Chatham House)Simon Smith (chair of the steering committee, Ukraine Forum, Chatham House, and British ambassador 2012 to 2015)Keir Giles (senior consulting fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, and author Who Will Defend Europe?)John Lough (associate fellow, Chatham House, and head of foreign policy, New Eurasian Strategies Centre)Producer: Phil AtkinsSenior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: James EnglandSocial Producer: Tom SteedStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest CONTENT REFERENCED:John Healey resigns over Starmer's defence spending plan (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/06/11/john-healey-resigns-as-defence-secretary-labour-starmer/ Russia is creating launch sites for combat drones near the borders of Belarus. We show you where (Radio Liberty, in Belarusian):https://www.svaboda.org/a/33777451.html How a Russia–Ukraine ceasefire could imperil Ukrainian and European security (Chatham House):https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/05/how-russia-ukraine-ceasefire-could-imperil-ukrainian-and-european-securityEMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.HIGHLIGHTS:Putin arms up summer palace as Ukraine deep strikes tear through Russian defencesIs the election of a pro-Europe party in Armenia actually a win for Putin? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Hodges is a retired United States Army officer, who became commander of United States Army Europe in November 2014, and held that position for three years until retiring from the United States Army in January 2018. Until recently he was the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies, at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, specialising in NATO, Transatlantic relationship and international security. ----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga's Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampiresThese heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine's largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------DESCRIPTION:Ben Hodges on Drone War Acceleration, Crimea's Vulnerability, and How Ukraine Can WinFrom Kyiv, Jonathan interviews retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges amid intensifying Russian strikes, discussing how drone warfare is accelerating faster than Western adaptation and why NATO still struggles to stop drone incursions into its own airspace. Hodges argues Russia's brutal bombing aims to terrorize Ukrainians and pressure Europe but won't be decisive, while Ukraine's long-range precision strikes on oil, gas, shipyards, and logistics can create faster strategic effects by degrading Russia's war economy and public will. They describe Russia's vast territory as a vulnerability, cite a Ukrainian precision strike on Saint Petersburg, and argue Crimea is decisive terrain that Ukraine can recover by isolating it, degrading the Kerch Bridge's utility, and making occupation untenable. They criticize Western self-deterrence and nuclear fear, challenge myths of infinite Russian manpower, stress learning from Ukraine's battlefield innovations, and a fundraiser for vampire drones and Jonathan's upcoming book, The Dark Heart of Russia.----------CHAPTERS:02:23 Drone War Catch Up04:57 Why Strikes Intensify09:53 Ukraine Hits Deep Russia11:58 Vampire Drones Appeal13:29 Crimea Under Siege18:23 West Strategy and Nukes22:48 Oil Strikes and Will26:26 Russia Manpower Myths30:04 NATO Learns From Ukraine34:55 Real Time Training Pipeline39:44 Crimea Victory Wrap Up----------

2026-06-01 | UPDATES #210 | Is the Kerch Bridge about to fall? The siege of Crimea deepens — and why the bridge is the final edge of the geometry of defeat for Putin. Russian propagandists sense that something is coming, and they can't stop asking – when will the bridge come down? ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga's Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampiresThese heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine's largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components.----------PLEASE HELP ME ME TO GROW SILICON CURTAINWe are planning our events for 2026, and to do more and have a greater impact. After achieving more than 12 events in 2025, we will aim to double that! 24 events and interviews on the ground in Ukraine, to push back against weaponized information, toxic propaganda and corrosive disinformation. Please help us make it happen!----------SOURCES: Institute for the Study of War — "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 22, 2026" (22 May 2026)UA.News — "Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics are disrupting supplies to the front lines" (22-23 May 2026) Kyiv Post — "Russia Warns Ukraine Can Strike Key Crimea Supply Route 200 km Behind Front" (early May 2026) Euromaidan Press — "Ukraine wrapped the occupied south in three layers of drones. Russian trucks are burning" (24 May 2026)Defence Matters — "Ukraine's Medium-Range Drone Strikes Put Pressure on Russia's Land Corridor to Crimea" (early May 2026)6. Tochnyi (via Euromaidan Press) — Analytical monthly tracking; Strikes doubled February to March 2026; munitions storage / artillery usage correlation; fuel-targeting / mechanised operations correlationOko Gora (Ukrainian OSINT project) — Geolocated mapping of approximately 50 documented Ukrainian drone strikes on M-14 and H-20 highway logistics over the preceding two months (March-May 2026) — Project name translates as "Mountain Eye"; verification through photographic evidence and Russian milblogger documentationThe War Zone (TWZ) — "Ukraine Strikes At The Heart Of Russia's Highly Defended Kerch Bridge" (3 June 2025)Kyiv Independent — "Ukraine's SBU strikes Crimean Bridge in underwater attack" (3 June 2025) Defence Blog — "Ukraine's Navy strikes two Russian patrol boats guarding the Kerch Bridge" (30 April 2026) Ukrainska Pravda — "Ukrainian forces damage Russian boats guarding Kerch Bridge" (30 April 2026) Militarnyi — "Magura naval drones were involved in the attack on the Crimean bridge" (June 2025)----------

The subject today comes out of the Crimean war (1853-1856).I talked to Professor Donald Rayfield, Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian history at Queen Mary University of London, about the war itself and in particular what happened to those taken prisoner.  Surprisingly life could be pretty good!

One of Ukraine's largest ever drone strikes against Russia's regions, including Moscow, has killed at least four people and wounded a dozen more, the Russian authorities have said.The wave of almost 600 Ukrainian drones struck overnight across 14 Russian regions, as well as the Crimean peninsula and the Black and Azov seas.Anton was joined by Emmanuelle Chaze, Ukraine Correspondent for Radio France Internationale And France24 to discuss this further.

One of Ukraine's largest ever drone strikes against Russia's regions, including Moscow, has killed at least four people and wounded a dozen more, the Russian authorities have said.The wave of almost 600 Ukrainian drones struck overnight across 14 Russian regions, as well as the Crimean peninsula and the Black and Azov seas.Anton was joined by Emmanuelle Chaze, Ukraine Correspondent for Radio France Internationale And France24 to discuss this further.

Struggling with roadblocks and moving your family forward?Your family roll their eyes every time you mention an ancestor?The Heritage Legacy Roadmap is our solution to solve those and many other issues we commonly face. Book your Free Call https://howwegothere.ca/roadmap/ and we can help build a strategy that works for you.In this episode, Brian sits down with Tamara Buzina-Adams, author of The Last Ship to Freedom, to discuss the captivating journey of uncovering her family's escape from post-imperial Russia. Tamara shares how her genealogical journey began unexpectedly while researching her husband's Polish ancestry, eventually leading her back to five long-forgotten diaries written by her grandmother starting at age eleven. These diaries, written in beautiful pre-revolutionary Russian cursive, detail a harrowing yet vibrant 18-month period spent living aboard a ship during the chaotic Crimean evacuation of 1920.Throughout the conversation, Tamara highlights the "detective work" required to piece together a historical narrative when traditional records seem out of reach. She describes utilizing a diverse toolkit—from collaborating with fluent family members for translations to using Google Translate and connecting with distant relatives who possessed matching photographs of the very ship her grandmother lived on. By matching family stories of horses in the Black Sea with historical events like the evacuation at Novorossiysk, Tamara demonstrates how understanding the broader political and historical context can breathe life into the "dash" between an ancestor's birth and death dates.How to Find Tamara Buzyna AdamsLast Ship to Freedom is on Amazon: https://amzn.to/45QcsKwWebsite: https://www.tamarabuzynaadams.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_tamara_adams/ How We Got Here: Genealogy is hosted by family historian Brian Nash. Brian helps people not just trace their family tree, but understand the history surrounding the people, places, and events that make up their family's unique story.CONNECT & SUPPORT

Welcome to Top Stories, it's time to visit Bugle issue 263, back on the 24th of March, 2014. Crimea are having an identity crisis, it's a confusing time, as tensions between the US and Russia grow. I guess it goes to show you somethings never change. I know what you're thinking now, I also want to listen to a newer episode of The Bugle, well I'm not stopping you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the Gaming Hut we look at the sorts of stories that work as Page Turners scenarios. The Archaeology Hut digs into the case of the Russian archaeologist arrested in Poland for damaging the Crimean site of Myrmekion. In Ask Ken and Robin, beloved Patreon backer Fred Kiesche asks Robin to talk about his role […]

The Flux Part Two!!!The Doctor finds herself in the Crimean war, Dan is running about Liverpool with a wok, and Yaz & Vinder are trying to repair something?FOLLOW US!@TheDrWhoPod@DanGriffin21@SJPWORLDMEDIA

The Flux Part Two!!!The Doctor finds herself in the Crimean war, Dan is running about Liverpool with a wok, and Yaz & Vinder are trying to repair something?FOLLOW US!@TheDrWhoPod@DanGriffin21@SJPWORLDMEDIA

5. Western Appeasement of 2014: Crimea Annexation and the Flawed Minsk Accords. Serhii Plokhy (Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University) examines the Western reaction to the annexation of Crimea in February 2014, following the appearance of "little green men." Professor Plokhy asserts that had the West reacted to the Crimean annexation with the same severity as they did to the 2022 invasion, the major war might have been avoided. Instead, the collective West treated Crimea as an isolated exception, drawing a historical parallel to the 1930s Anschluss of Austria, and mistakenly believed that Putin would stop there. This flawed assumption led Germany to pursue economic ties like Nord Stream 2, hoping escalation would be less likely. Moreover, NATO's policy was to pacify Russia by not placing military units close to its borders, leaving the alliance with "very little to respond with" in 2014. Although the annexation was quickly followed by Russian-concocted violence in Donbas, leading to a massive Russian counterattack in summer 2014, the West pursued the Minsk II agreements. These agreements were often implemented according to Russia's interpretation: requiring elections first under Russian military control, intended to create a "Trojan horse" to destabilize Ukraine and preclude its movement toward the EU or NATO. This approach was closely related to the "policies of appeasement of the 1930s." 1840 KHIV

7. Bucharest 2008 and the Failed Bid to Prevent Russian Aggression. Serhii Plokhy (Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University) discusses how Vladimir Putin's powerful presidency, rooted in a manipulated super-presidential constitution, enabled him to assert the right to dictate which countries could align with the West. The April 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest was a critical turning point. Though the US, led by George W. Bush, favored inviting Ukraine and Georgia to join the alliance, Western allies, notably Germany, opposed the idea, leading to a split. The outcome—a promise of future membership with no specifics—was the "worst outcome possible." Putin used this weakness, starting a war in Georgia months later, effectively annexing territory and disqualifying Georgia from joining NATO due to territorial conflicts. This demonstrated that Ukraine and Georgia had exposed themselves to future Russian attacks by publicly seeking NATO membership without securing "meaningful Western support," meaning military aid. Domestically, Putin viewed the 2004 Orange Revolution, which rejected his preferred candidate Viktor Yanukovych, as a threat to his own power structure. Yanukovych later returned and, in 2013, was bribed and pressured by Russia not to sign an EU association agreement, sparking the Euromaidan Revolution which served as a stepping stone toward the 2014 Crimean annexation.

8. The West's 2014 Appeasement: The Failure to Respond to Crimean Annexation. Serhii Plokhy (Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University) focuses on the annexation of Crimea in 2014 via "brute force" and the Western response. Professor Plokhy suggests that if NATO's reaction to Crimea had been commensurate with its response to the 2022 invasion, the current large-scale war might have been avoided. Instead, the West treated the annexation as an exception, comparing it to the 1930s Anschluss of Austria, believing Putin would cease aggression after securing the Russian-majority region. This thinking was a mistake; for example, Germany continued pursuing Nord Stream 2, based on the failed premise that economic ties guaranteed peace. NATO's overall policy was designed to pacify Russia and avoid placing military units near its borders, resulting in NATO having "very little to respond with" when the annexation occurred. Russia quickly moved beyond Crimea, concocting uprisings in Donbas, leading to a massive Russian counterattack against Ukrainian forces in the summer of 2014. This led to the Minsk II agreements, which NATO backed. However, Russia exploited Minsk II by insisting on holding elections first under its military control—a plan intended to insert a "Trojan horse" into Ukraine's political body to destabilize it and block its Euro-Atlantic integration. This resembled the policies of appeasement seen in the 1930s. 1855 BRITISH ARMY CRIMEA

Today, Host Esty Dinur speaks with cultural anthropologist and professor Greta Uehling about her book Decolonizing Ukraine: the Indigenous People of Crimea and Pathways to Freedom. The post The Struggle and Triumph of the Crimean Indigenous People appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe, leave us a review and tell a friend!Cybercrime and security incidents include ransomware attacks on U.S. and Maryland agencies, large-scale data breaches affecting Arizona schools and Crimean servers, exploitation of vulnerabilities in Cisco IOS and AWS Docker containers, police and intelligence actions dismantling crypto fraud and ShadowV2 botnets, and arrests linked to RTX ransomware. These events highlight growing threats from state-sponsored hackers, cybercriminal gangs, and misconfigured systems.

It's another day with the war between Russia and Ukraine front and center as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the White House to meet with Trump.  He will be joined by other European leaders in a show of support.  Trump is already putting pressure on Zelensky to reach a peace deal, though after meeting with Vladimir Putin, of Russia, Trump is insisting Ukraine not be allowed to join NATO and that Russia keep the Crimean territory that it illegally took in 2014.  iHeart television and radio political analyst Gary Dietrich will join to talk about the latest developments with war, redistricting and much more. The Mark Thompson Show 8/18/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you'd like to help, here's our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you're more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you'll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.come

As Pres. Trump & Putin meet in Alaska, without Pres. Zelensky, to discuss a peace deal in the Russian-Ukrainian War, it is not at all certain that any land will in fact be swapped for peace, as suggested by Pres. Trump. But one thing is for certain - that Pres. Putin will not, ever, swap Crimea for any land in Ukraine. In this episode, my guest and I discuss the history of Crimea and the Crimean Tatars.

The war in Ukraine didn't start in 2022—it started in Crimea in 2014. In this episode, we sit down with University of Michigan professor and anthropologist Dr. Greta Uehling to explore the story of the Crimean Tatars, Ukraine's Indigenous people and one of the first communities to resist Russian occupation in 2014. Drawing on years of fieldwork and personal testimony, Greta shares how Crimean Tatars have faced erasure, exile, and repression—yet continue to preserve identity, community, and resistance under impossible conditions.We dive into the historical roots of the Crimean Tatar struggle, their role in shaping Ukraine's civic identity, and why Crimea remains central to understanding the war today. From silent protests to grassroots organizing, this conversation spotlights the people and stories often left out of the headlines—but at the heart of Ukraine's fight for sovereignty.Greta's new book, Decolonizing Ukraine: How the Indigenous People of Crimea Remade Themselves after Russian Occupation, is available now.

“Russia cannot stand economic pressure”Maria Jevstafjeva speaks to Czech President, Petr Pavel about ending the war between Ukraine and Russia. Mr. Pavel was elected to the role in 2023, having retired from a military career that began with serving in the military of communist Czechoslovakia during the Cold War in the 1980s and ended three decades later after chairing NATO's Military Committee.The first military officer from the former Eastern Bloc to hold the post, he oversaw the Alliance's responses to a number of crises - including the fallout from Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine.As Russia's war on Ukraine continues into its third year, Western leaders are renewing efforts to bring an end to the bloodshed and implement a ceasefire. Mr. Pavel, who was elected on a platform of closer ties with the EU and NATO, believes the only way to do this is by getting Putin to the negotiating table - even if that means allowing Russia to occupy parts of Ukraine, but without recognising Moscow's claim to them.Thank you to Maria Jevstafjeva and Tatina Preobrazhenskaya for their help in making this programme.The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Maria Jevstafjeva Producers: Ben Cooper and Tatina Preobrazhenskaya Editor: Nick HollandGet in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Petr Pavel. Credit: Martin Divíšek/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWITCHED SIDES TO KYIV?   1/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) POPULAR SCIENCE 1920 https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWITCHED SIDES TO KYIV?   2/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1920 https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWITCHED SIDES TO KYIV?   3/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1883 UKRAINE https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWITCHED SIDES TO KYIV?   4/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1920 https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWITCHED SIDES TO KYIV?   5/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1921 UKRAINE https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWITCHED SIDES TO KYIV?   6/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1920 UKRAINE https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWITCHED SIDES TO KYIV?   7/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1923 https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SWITCHED SIDES TO KYIV?   8/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1923 https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

This week we talk about drone warfare, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and total war.We also discuss casualty numbers, population superiority, and lingering munitions.Recommended Book: The Burning Earth by Sunil AmrithTranscriptEight years after Russia launched a halfheartedly concealed invasion of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, under the guise of helping supposedly oppressed Russian-speakers and Russia loyalists in the area, in February of 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.This invasion followed months of military buildup along the two countries' shared borders, and was called a special military operation by Russian President Putin. It was later reported that this was intended to be a quick, one or a few day decapitation attack against Ukraine, Russia's forces rapidly closing the distance between the border and Ukraine's capitol, Kyiv, killing or imprisoning all the country's leadership, replacing it with a puppet government loyal to Putin, and that would be that.Ukraine had been reorienting toward the European Union and away from Russia's sphere of influence, and Russia wanted to put a stop to that realignment and bring the country fully back under its control, as was the case before 2014, when a series of protests turned into an uprising that caused their then-leader, a puppet of Russia, to flee the country; he, of course, fled to Russia.On paper, Ukraine was at a massive disadvantage in this renewed conflict, as Russia is a global-scale player, while Ukraine is relatively small, and back in 2014 had one of its major ports and a huge chunk of its territory stolen by Russia.Russia also has nukes, has a massive conventional military, and has a far larger economy and population. Analysts near-universally assumed Ukraine would collapse under the weight of Russia's military, perhaps holding out for weeks or months if they were really skillful and lucky, but probably days.That didn't end up being the case. Despite Russia's substantial and multifarious advantages, Ukraine managed to hold out against the initial invasion, against subsequent pushes, and then managed to launch its own counterattacks. For more than three years, it has held its ground against Russia's onslaught, against continuous land incursions, and against seemingly endless aerial attacks by jets, by bombers, and by all sorts of rockets, missiles, and drones.It's difficult, if not impossible, to determine actual casualty and fatality numbers in this conflict, as both sides are incentivized to adjust these figures, either to show how horrible the other side is, or to make it seem like they're suffering less than they are for moral purposes.But it's expected that Russia will hit a milestone of one million casualties sometime in the summer of 2025, if it hasn't actually hit that number already, and it's estimated that as many as 250,000 Russian soldiers have already been killed in Ukraine.For context, that's about five-times as many deaths as Russia suffered in all the wars it fought, post-WWII (as both the Soviet Union and Russia), combined. That's also fifteen-times as many fatalities as they suffered in their ten-year-long war in Afghanistan, and ten-times as many deaths as in their 13-year-long war in Chechnya.It's also estimated that Russia has lost something like 3,000-4,000 tanks, 9,000 armored vehicles, 13,000 artillery systems, and more than 400 air defense systems in the past year, alone; those numbers vary a bit depending on who you listen to, but those are likely the proper order of magnitude.The country is rapidly shifting to a full-scale war footing, originally having intended to make do with a few modern systems and a whole lot of antique, Soviet military hardware they had in storage to conduct this blitzkrieg attack on Ukraine, but now they're having to reorient basically every facet of society and their economy toward this conflict, turning a huge chunk of their total manufacturing base toward producing ammunition, tanks, missiles, and so on.Which, to be clear, is something they're capable of doing. Russia is currently on pace to replace this hardware, and then some, which is part of why other European governments are increasing their own military spending right now: the idea being that once Russia has finished their reorientation toward the production of modern military hardware, they'll eventually find themselves with more tanks, missiles, and drones than they can use in Ukraine, and they'll need to aim them somewhere, or else will find themselves have to pay upkeep on all this stuff as it gathers dust and slowly becomes unusable.The theory, then, is that they'll have to open up another conflict just to avoid being bogged down in too much surplus weaponry; so maybe they'll try their luck in the Baltics, or perhaps start shipping more hardware to fellow travelers, terrorists and separatists, in places like Moldova.In the meantime, though, Russian forces are continuing to accrue gains in Ukraine, but very, very slowly. This year they've captured an average of about 50 meters of Ukrainian territory per day, at a cost of around 1,140 casualties per day, of which about 975 are fatalities.That's a huge and horrific meatgrinder, but there's little pushback against the invasion in Russia at this point, as speaking out against it has been criminalized, and a lot of high-profile fines, arrests, kidnappings, and seeming assassinations of people who have said anything even a little bit negative about the war or the Russian government have apparently been effective.Ukraine is holding its own, then, but Russia still has the upper-hand, and will likely have even more weight behind it in the coming months, as its manufacturing base pivots further and further toward a total war stance.What I'd like to talk about today is a seeming renewed effort on the part of Ukraine to strike within Russian territory, taking out military assets, but also destabilizing Russian support for the war, focusing especially on one such recent, wildly successful asymmetric attack.—In addition to all the other advantages Russia has in this conflict, Ukraine's population is about one-fourth the size of Russia's, and that means even if Ukraine is, by some measures, losing one soldier to every two that Russia loses, over time Russia is still gaining firmer and firmer footing; that's a war of attrition Russia will eventually win just because their population is bigger.By some indications, the Russian government is also using this conflict as an opportunity to clear out its prisons, offering prisoners a chance at freedom if they go to the front line and survive for a period of time, many of them dying, and thus freeing up prison space and resources that would otherwise be spent on them, but also sending a disproportionate number of their poor, their disliked ethnic and religious groups, and their young radicals into the meatgrinder, forcing them to serve as cannon fodder, as most of those people will die or be grievously wounded, but those people also, as a side-benefit, will no longer be a problem for the government.Russia is also bringing in troops from its ally, North Korea, to fight on the front lines, alongside all the weapon systems and ammo it's been procuring from them and other allies, like China and Iran.So while this is obviously not great for Russia, losing that many fighters for relatively small gains, they've also figured out a way to make it not so bad, and in some ways even a positive development, according to their metrics for positive, anyway, and again, if they can keep warm bodies flooding to the front lines, they will eventually win, even if it takes a while—at their current rate of advance, it would take about 116 years to capture the rest of the country—and even if the body count is shockingly high by the time that happens.To counter this increasing advantage that Russia has been leveraging, Ukraine has been leaning more heavily on drones, as the invasion has progressed.In this context, a drone might be anything from the off-the-shelf, quadcopter models that hobbyists use to race and shoot aerial photographs, to higher-end, jet or missile or glider-like models similar to what major military forces, like the US military, use to scout and photograph enemy forces and terrain, and in some cases launch assassination attacks or bombing raids on the same.They can be low-flying quad-copters, or they can be something like lingering, unmanned missiles or jet fighters, then, and they can be completely unarmed, or they can be rigged with grenades to drop, bombs to use in a suicide attack, missiles to fire, shotguns to blast enemy fighters in the face, or nets to ensnare enemy drones.Drones of all shapes and sizes have been fundamental to the way modern militaries operate since the 1990s, when early, remotely piloted aircraft, like the Predator drone, were used for aerial reconnaissance purposes in mostly Middle Eastern war zones.Later versions were then equipped with bombs and missiles, and in some cases have even been used for the assassination of individuals, as was the case with a drone that fired a modified Hellfire missile that was reportedly use to kill an al Quaeda leader in Afghanistan in 2022, the missile deploying six large blades before hitting its intended target, shredding him instead of blowing him up, and thus avoiding civilian casualties.Mexican cartels have also been enthusiastically adopting drones in their attacks and assassinations, their so-called dronero drone-operators often rigging off-the-shelf drones with deployable bombs, allowing them to fly the drone into an enemy's home or other supposedly safe space, killing them with minimum risk to the attacker, and with sufficient fog-of-war so that if the attacker doesn't want to be known, they can maintain anonymity.Ukraine's military has been using drones from the beginning of the conflict in a similarly asymmetric manner, but they've also been improving upon the state-of-the-art by coming up with sophisticated new uses for existing drone models, while also developing their own drones and software systems, allowing them to maintain the meat-grinder Russian forces face with fewer Ukrainian casualties, while also giving them new opportunities to strike Russia within its own borders.That latter point is important, as for pretty much this entire conflict, Ukraine's allies have provided them with weapons, but with the stipulation that they cannot fire those weapons into Russia territory—the fear being that Russia might use that as justification to expand the scope of the conflict. Those stipulations have been lightening, with some allies now saying it's fine that Ukraine uses these weapons however they like, but the Ukrainians have been pushed into making more of their own weapon systems in part because they can use those systems however they choose, without limits, including being able to target infrastructure within Russian territory.One such innovation is a speedboat-based anti-aircraft missile system called the Magura V7, which reportedly shot down two Russian Su-30 warplanes, which are roughly equivalent to the US F-16, in May of 2025, which was the first-ever successful downing of fighter jets by drone boats.These boats can hang out in open water for days at a time, watching and waiting for Russian jets, and then ambushing them, seemingly out of nowhere. It's also been speculated that a recent attack on a vital supply channel for Russian forces in occupied Crimea, the Crimean Bridge, was conducted using an underwater drone, which if true could signal a new frontier of sorts in this conflict, as Ukraine has already managed to menace Russia's Black Sea fleet into near-inoperability using conventional weaponry, and the widespread deployment of more difficult to detect underwater drones could make any Russian naval presence even more difficult, if not impossible, to maintain.Ukraine has been coming up with all sorts of interesting countermeasures for Russia's anti-drone tech, including connecting their spy drones to the drone's operator using thin strands of fiber optic cable, which renders electronic warfare countermeasures all but useless, alongside efforts to make attack drones more capable if cut off from their operators, allowing the drones to continue tracking targets over time, and to follow through with an attack if their communication signals are jammed.A new approach to offensively leveraging drones, which was the biggest drone attack by Ukraine, so far, and the most impactful, was called Operation Spider's Web, and was deployed on June 1 of this year. It involved 117 drones launching coordinated attacks across Russia, successfully striking about 20 high-end Russian military aircraft, ten of which were destroyed.This is notable in part because some of the aircraft in question were strategic bombers and A-50 military spy planes, both of which are incredibly expensive and valuable; and Russia only has two of that type of spy plane. But it's also notable because some of these targets were struck far from Ukraine, one of the targeted air bases located about 2,700 miles away, which for context is nearly the width of the continental United States.The Ukrainian military was able to accomplish this synchronized attack, which took about a year and a half to plan, by concealing drone parts in wooden shipping containers that were designed to look like a type of mobile wooden cabin that are commonly carried on flatbed trucks throughout the area. Those parts were assembled into finished drones inside Russia's borders, and then on June 1, all at the same time, the roofs of these mobile containers slid open, the drones flew out, and they made for their targets simultaneously.This attack is said to have caused billions of dollars in damage, and to have hit about a third of Russia's cruise missile carriers.Earlier this week, Russia launched what's being called the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war, so far, launching 479 drones at Ukrainian targets, alongside 20 missiles of different types. The Ukrainian military says it destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles mid-flight, and that only 10 drones and missiles hit their targets. One person was reportedly injured by the barrage; though like all numbers in this conflict, it's impossible to know whether these figures are real or not.This is of-a-kind with other recent attacks by Russia against Ukrainian targets, in that it was aimed at several military, but also many major civilian targets—apparently with the intention of demoralizing civilians and soldiers, alike. And most of these attacks are overnight attacks, because it's more difficult to see the drones and take them out before they hit their target when it's dark outside.That said, there are some murmurs in the analyst community that Russia might not be able to escalate things too much, right now, despite the big success of Operation Spider's Web, as it's already throwing a lot at Ukraine. Both countries are seemingly going all-out in their offensives on the theory that if peace talks do ever go anywhere, as some foreign governments, including Trump's US government, would prefer, the side that seems to be doing the best and have the best prospects at that moment will have an advantage in those talks.Ukraine's attacks within Russia have mostly targeted fuel and ammo depots, drone manufacturing facilities, and similar combat-related infrastructure. There's a chance they might also aim at demoralizing the Russian public through attacks on civilian targets at some point, but they seem to be sticking with military targets for now, and that would seem to be a better strategy, considering that speaking out against the war is illegal and severely punished in Russia—so hitting Russia's capacity for maintaining the invasion would be more likely to lead to positive outcomes for Ukraine, as that could hobble Russia's capacity to invade, which in turn could reduce the populations' sense of the governments power.However those talks, if they do eventually happen in earnest, play out, there's apparently now a change in tone and tact, as Ukraine has shown that it's capable of striking Russian targets deep within Russia, and it's likely making things tricky for Russia's economy, as they'll now have to spend more time and resources checking all sorts of shipping containers and other possible points of ingress, lest they contain drone parts or other weapons.Not a huge deal, all things considered, perhaps, a little extra work and expense across the economy but one more of many papercuts Ukraine seems to be inflicting on its more powerful foe that, in aggregate, might eventually force that foe to find a way to back off.Show Noteshttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz708lpzgxrohttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/03/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-drones-deaths.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/world/europe/ukraine-russia-drones-weapons.htmlhttps://www.twz.com/news-features/inside-ukraines-fiber-optic-drone-warhttps://www.19fortyfive.com/2025/04/russias-black-sea-has-been-functionally-inactive-for-over-1-year/https://www.twz.com/news-features/inside-ukraines-fiber-optic-drone-warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_warfarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Spider%27s_Webhttps://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/predator-drone-transformed-military-combathttps://www.wsj.com/world/ukraine-russia-drone-attack-bombers-cc77e534https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-believes-russia-response-ukraine-drone-attack-not-over-yet-expects-multi-2025-06-07/https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraine-hit-fewer-russian-planes-than-it-estimated-us-officials-say-2025-06-04/https://defensescoop.com/2025/04/03/ukraine-russian-tanks-destroyed-attack-drones-cavoli/https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-battlefield-woes-ukrainehttps://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-5-2025https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

SURRENDER NOW RATHER THAN LATR:  5/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (AuthoR) 1890 BLACK SEA https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

SURRENDER NOW RATHER THAN LATER:   8/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1918 UKRAINE https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

SURRENDER NOW RATHER THAN LATER:   7/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1917 ODESSA CIRCUS https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

SURRENDER NOW RATHER THAN LATER:   6/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1905 ODESSA https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

SURRENDER NOW RATHER THAN LATER:   2/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1854 ODESSA https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

SURRENDER NOW RATHER THAN LATER:   4/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1882 ISTANBUL https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

SURRENDER NOW RATHER THAN LATER:   3/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1859 ODESSA https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

SURRENDER NOW RATHER THAN LATER:   1/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) 1920 https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

Sending your men off to die in a miserable hellscape while you go on vacation. Wrapping up the Crimean war. British medical tents in the 1850s. Storming the fort at Sevastopol. Why hasn’t Russia signed the ceasefire yet? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REVIEWING WAR START AT WAR'S END:  5/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe. 1855 Crimean War 

REVIEWING WAR START AT WAR'S END:  7/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.       1855 Crimean War  TATARS

REVIEWING WAR START AT WAR'S END:  6/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe. 1855 Crimean War  CROATS

REVIEWING WAR START AT WAR'S END:  8/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe. 1855 Sergeant Thomas Owens, Royal Artillery, Private Chas. Smith, Grenadier Guards, Private George Biddlecombe, Scots Fusiliers, Gunner George Bagshaw, Royal Artillery, Private Isaac Church, Grenadier Guards, and Private E. Barrett, Grenadier Guards.

REVIEWING WAR START AT WAR'S END:  4/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe. 1855 DALRYMPLE, SCOTS FUSILIERS GUARDS

REVIEWING WAR START AT WAR'S END:  3/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe. 1855 Crimean War 

REVIEWING WAR START AT WAR'S END:  2/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe. 1855 Crimean War BRITISH

REVIEWING WAR START AT WAR'S END:  1/8: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. by  Serhii Plokhy  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Russo-Ukrainian-War-Return-History/dp/1324051191 Despite repeated warnings from the White House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. Why did Putin start the war―and why has it unfolded in previously unimaginable ways? Ukrainians have resisted a superior military; the West has united, while Russia grows increasingly isolated. Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault―on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament―the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia's ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia's idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe. 1855 Crimean War French

With the Battle of Ishun lost, the Soviets retreat, in all directions. Soon, Crimean cities are falling and prisoners are being scooped up in the thousands. At Sevastopol, the first line of defense is lost, but does that mean defeat for the massive port city. One man thinks, no. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices