Podcasts about donbas

Ciara is joined by Alisa Kovalenko, a former captive and survivor of conflict-related sexual violence during her captivity in 2014 in the Donbas region of Ukraine, who also fought on the front lines in the conflict.Alisa is in Dublin in collaboration with the Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence - an Irish-based alliance of international humanitarian and human rights organisations, working alongside Irish Aid and the Irish Defence Forces.She joins to discuss what happened to her in 2014...

Alisa Kovalenko a former captive and survivor of conflict-related sexual violence during her captivity in 2014 in the Donbas region of Ukraine, who also fought on the front lines in the conflict joined Ciara on the show. Alisa is in Dublin in collaboration with the Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence - an Irish-based alliance of international humanitarian and human rights organisations, working alongside Irish Aid and the Irish Defence Forces.

Ash Bhardwaj is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, author, and host of the Centre for Army Leadership's The Human Advantage Podcast. His travels have taken him across the world, including travelling 8500km of Russia's European border (including Donbas and occupied Crimea). He is a Captain in the British Army Reserve. In this episode Ash shows the power of stories in motivating us and allowing us to discover who we are as individuals and collectively, as well as how the stories we tell can matter to all of us. Ash talks about the importance of doing the background work, innovating while reinforcing things that already work, and other insights from his time hosting The Human Advantage.

Russia is reportedly losing up to 25,000 soldiers a month in Ukraine — more in a single month than the Soviet Union lost in a decade in Afghanistan, according to NATO — and yet Putin is preparing to escalate rather than negotiate. In this clip, Patrick Bet-David breaks down the reporting that Putin may send hundreds of thousands more troops to the front, why he's dug in on seizing Donbas, and what a wider war could mean for Europe and the world. Is Putin cornered — or just getting started?

I denne episoden av Ukrainapodden får programleder Tormod Malvin Sæther besøk av forsvarsanalytiker og tidligere norsk forsvarsattaché i Kyiv, Hans Petter Midttun. Sammen analyser de de nyeste dramatiske vendingene i krigen og de dype sikkerhetspolitiske rystelsene som preger både slagmarken og Europa. Episoden åpner med EUs omstridte sanksjonsvedtak, hvor Frankrike i tolvte time presset gjennom fritak for oligarkene Alisher Usmanov og Mikhail Fridman i bytte mot en fangeutveksling med Aserbajdsjan – et trekk ukrainske myndigheter ved utenriksminister Andrij Sybiha kaller skammelig og en ydmykelse av EU. Samtidig avdekkes det at dynamikken på slagmarken har endret seg fundamentalt: Ukrainske FPV-droner har halvert den russiske artilleribruken, og russiske materielltap nærmer seg utrolige 20 000 kanoner og tyngre bombekastere i år. Vi ser også på det nylige Duma-valget der Vladimir Putins parti Forent Russland sikret seg supermajoritet, parallelt med rapporter om at over 96 000 usbekiske fremmedarbeidere plutselig har forlatt Russland på ti dager av frykt for tvangsmobilisering og forverret sikkerhet. Et av episodens største høydepunkter er det massive ukrainske angrepet mot Moskva, der byens eneste oljeraffineri ble satt i brann. Angrepet involverte hundrevis av droner samt nye ukrainske kryssermissiler som Flamingo og Pelikan-droner. Analytikeren advarer om en «tsunami av ringvirkninger», inkludert opptrappet russisk hybridkrig. De siste månedene har vi blant annet sett sabotasje mot infrastruktur i Tyskland, Polen, Italia og Bulgaria. Midttun argumenterer for at NATO og en koalisjon av villige stater må tørre å vurdere militær intervensjon i Ukraina for å bryte Putins strategiske ambisjoner. Til slutt analyseres situasjonen i Donbas rundt Pokrovsk, Kupjansk og Lyman, samt den oppsiktsvekkende «Operasjon Vivaldi» der ukrainske bakkedroner (UGV-er) ble fløyet inn ti kilometer bak de russiske linjene.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch the show on television by downloading the SuperCrowd.tv Channel app to your Roku or Amazon Fire TV or e360tv channel app to your Roku, LG or Amazon Fire TV. You can also see it on YouTube.Devin: What is your superpower?Jessica: I think just not being afraid to try something.Healthcare frequently operates in crisis mode. Jessica Queen, Founder and CEO of Triage360, sees chaos as an opportunity to transform patient care. During this episode, Jessica shared how her invention provides a much-needed fix for an overwhelmed system.Triage360 is an autonomous triage system designed to monitor vital signs, prioritize critical patients, and simplify decision-making under pressure. “The faster we get care, the more lives we save,” Jessica explained. The device, sleek and adhesive, affixes to a patient's chest, instantly measures key vitals, and assigns triage priorities. Real-time data allows a central base station to rank and rerank patients continuously, ensuring the sickest are treated first.The goal isn't to replace providers but to give them the tools to manage overflow effectively. “In the middle of chaos, we can have super cognitive overload,” Jessica said. “This is just there to help.”The inspiration for Triage360 came from Jessica's personal experiences as an ER nurse navigating tragic moments born from what she called “failure to rescue.” It wasn't always a lack of skill or effort—often, it was limited information or inadequate resources leading to devastating outcomes. “I've walked in and found patients who didn't make it, simply because we didn't know they were going downhill,” she said.Jessica's journey from nurse to tech entrepreneur exemplifies grit and vision. After losing colleagues to the moral injury of preventable tragedies, she said, “I refused to let this be the status quo.” She built her company step by step, leveraging community support, securing grants, and assembling a team to bring Triage360 to life.With growing interest from industries beyond hospitals, including the military and disaster response organizations, Triage360 promises to improve outcomes on battlefields, in disaster zones, and potentially even in space.Triage360 highlights how innovation, rooted in compassion, can drive meaningful change. Jessica exemplifies what it means to dream big—and execute boldly.tl;dr:Jessica Queen introduced Triage360, a device that prioritizes patients during emergencies to save more lives.The system autonomously monitors vitals, ranks patients, and supports overwhelmed healthcare providers in decision-making.Jessica's drive stemmed from personal experiences as an ER nurse witnessing preventable tragedies.Triage360 has drawn global attention, from disaster response organizations to battlefield applications in Ukraine.Perseverance, fearlessness, and bold outreach have propelled Jessica into solving big problems with innovative solutions.How to Develop Fearless Action As a SuperpowerJessica's superpower is fearlessly taking action. As she explained during this episode, “I think just not being afraid to try something” is her defining strength. She lives by Eleanor Roosevelt's advice to “do something every day that scares you.” Whether reaching out to global leaders or presenting to high-stakes audiences, Jessica's ability to move past fear allows her to build bold solutions that save lives.Jessica's willingness to act reached global proportions when she messaged Roman Kuzov, medical commander of Ukraine's Donbas region, on LinkedIn. Despite the urgent challenges he faced, Roman responded immediately, recognizing the life-saving potential of Triage360. Their subsequent conversations—and eventual in-person meetings—have positioned Jessica's technology to make an impact in one of the world's most chaotic environments.Tips for Developing Fearless Action as a Superpower:Take one small step daily that pushes you out of your comfort zone.Remember that the people you admire are human too; treat them as approachable.Don't fear rejection; take no as redirection, not defeat.Surround yourself with a supportive team to help you persevere through setbacks.Believe that your efforts can change lives, motivating you to keep moving forward.By following Jessica's example and advice, you can make fearless action a skill. With practice and effort, you could make it a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.Remember, however, that research into success suggests that building on your own superpowers is more important than creating new ones or overcoming weaknesses. You do you!Guest ProfileJessica Queen (she/her):Founder, Triage360Website: triage360.comX/Twitter Handle: @triage_360Company Facebook Page: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584567013037Instagram Handle: @triage360Other URL: aequitasinvest.comAbout Triage360: Omedus is the creator of the Triage360 system, the world's first autonomous triage system built for chaos. From ER to in the field, to a busy post-operative floor, Triage360 looks at all patients in the area and reports who is the most critical with real time updates. Triage360 allows responders to be everywhere at once, ensuring the most critical patients come first. Biographical Information: Jessica Queen is nurse practitioner who has spent 20 years at bedside managing chaos from the med surg units to cardiology to ER. Her time at bedside revealed the real issue with caring for patients always came down to too many of them and not enough providers to be everywhere at once. Refusing to accept this as the way it is, Jessica set out to create a system that allows her and other providers to always see all the patients at the same time and know every change as its happening in real time so no patients are lost to failure to rescue. 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When did Putin decide to invade Ukraine? Was it shortly after 2012 when he returned as President? In 2014, after the seizure of Crimea and clashes in the Donbas? Or was it when Russian forces began massing at the Ukraine-Russia-Belarus borders for a full-scale assault? The answer to when, Michael Kimmage says, is important because that would tell us what drove Putin and what might be necessary to bring a diplomatic solution. The Ukraine War has been raging longer than WWI and WWII with no end in sight. And Kimmage argues that the global context and ramifications need analysis. The Ukraine War is the most documented war in history and we might not have all the information to answer “why?” for years, maybe decades. Kimmage recently gave a talk at the University of Michigan's Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies on the origins of the Ukraine War, and Rusana, the Eurasian Knot's Midwest correspondent, sat down with him for a wide ranging interview.In the interview, Rusana and Michael discussed the Kennan Institute's project on the origins of the Ukraine war. You can watch the available videos here. Also, check out the Kennan's Dispatches for reports from Ukraine.Guest:Michael Kimmage is the Director of Kennan Institute. He's also a professor of history at the Catholic University of America. He publishes widely on international affairs and on U.S. policy toward Russia. His latest book is Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability published by Oxford University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,661.Today, the Danish Prime Minister condemns the latest ‘reckless action' by Moscow, after a Russian frigate in the Baltic Sea fired flares at a military helicopter. NATO jets were also in action last night, shooting down a drone over Lithuania. The Ukrainian commander who masterminded the recent counterattack in the Donbas region gives a little more detail about what happened. And in news that will surprise almost no one, Donald Trump's claim to have got a deal over the line between Kyiv and Moscow about a ceasefire on energy facilities has, just like Russia's Syzran oil facility last night, gone up in smoke. Later, Dom speaks to the mother of a man missing on the frontline after being forced to fight for Russia.Contributors: Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.With thanks to Valerie Stobbart.Producer: Phil AtkinsSenior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O'SullivanSocial 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:My son moved to Russia for love. Now, he's missing on the front line (Dom Nicholls and Natalia Makohon for The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/15/my-son-moved-russia-love-missing-front-line/ Civil servant sacked after asking Telegraph to find son missing in Ukraine (Dom Nicholls for The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/15/civil-servant-sacked-telegraph-appeal-son-missing-ukraine/ Russian frigate fires flares at Danish military helicopter (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/15/nato-italy-jets-shoot-down-drone-lithuania/ Zelensky sanctions press secretary who accused him of using drugs (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/14/volodymyr-zelensky-press-secretary-drugs-ukraine-russia/ Putin's plan to paralyse Ukraine (Antonia Langford for The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/15/putins-plan-paralyse-ukraine/ Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin (ProPublica)https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-wedding-bankrolled-russian-oligarch-umar-kremlev-putin Jared Kushner's Dollar Diplomacy (New Yorker)https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/09/21/jared-kushners-dollar-diplomacy Learn more about the Ukrainian Film Festival in London:https://uil.org.uk/ukrainian-film-festival-2025-through-love-and-loss-2/ EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.HIGHLIGHTS:Exclusive: ‘My son moved to Russia for love. Now, he's missing on the front line'Denmark condemns ‘reckless action' after a Russian frigate fired flares at a military helicopter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Russian state is not collapsing because of Western sanctions or NATO expansion. It is dying of a biological, bureaucratic pathogen it injected into its own bloodstream over a century ago.Welcome to the ultimate historical and modern autopsy of Vranyo and Pokazuha - the systemic lie and the aesthetic of control.In this episode, we track the disease from its origins in the Tsarist parade armies of the Crimean War, straight into the frozen mud of the Gulags where starving prisoners invented Tufta just to survive. We follow the ghost trains of the 1980s Uzbek Cotton Affair, read the declassified Politburo transcripts of the Chernobyl cover-up, and expose how the Soviet military broke its own spine in Afghanistan.Then, we drag the history into the modern slaughterhouse of 2026. From the "Credit Captures" of the Lyman OSINT trap, to the $126,000 meat grinder in the Donbas, to the Baltic Fleet painting its ships in tiger stripes to trick AI. The empire is burning its tech sector, emptying its economy, and gaslighting 140 million people just to keep the spreadsheet clean.The lie kills the liar. It always does.Become our patron:https://www.patreon.com/theeasternborderMerch store + another option for memberships:https://theeasternborder-shop.fourthwall.com/Follow what's going on here in the very border of Eastern Europe:https://bsky.app/profile/theeasternborder.lvDownload all episodes for free on our website; pictures accompanying certain episodes can be found there as well!http://theeasternborder.lv/Car4Ukraine Eastern Border Autumn Harvest Campaign!https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/autumn-harvest-2026-the-eastern-borderSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

​Rick's Last Campaign Before Joining The Army: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/ricks-last-campaign-before-joining-the-army----------@ricktheukrainian is from Ukraine, and every Sunday gets together with his community online (the Rick Rollers), to make video content and raise funds for the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Rick is originally from Makiivka in the Donetsk area, and lived under Russian occupation for several years following the 2014 invasion of Crimea and Donbas. His weekly streams are attended by different Ukrainian and pro-Ukrainian guests. He talks about the Russian war against Ukraine and its culture, music and historic places. Rick translates and dubs Zolkin and Karpenko's interviews with Russian POWs into English, making them accessible to a Western audience, and providing extraordinary insights into the Russian mindset.----------LINKS:YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ricktheukrainianBuy Me a Coffee (or become a member): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ricktheukr/membership----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------

While this episode of Ukrainapodden is being recorded, Kyiv is under fresh missile and drone attacks. Russian forces have initiated a targeted campaign against gas stations and civilian fuel infrastructure in the capital to inflict chaos and paralyze logistics. Host Tormod Malvin Sæther welcomes Nataliya Levytska, Deputy Chairperson of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU), and Olesia Briazgunova, International Secretary of KVPU, for a harrowing conversation about how Ukrainian workers survive and defend their rights amidst active warfare. Key frontline regions like Donbas and Dnipro face daily bombardment while coal miners risk their lives underground to keep Ukraine's independent energy grid operational. The episode explores why Russia is targeting Ukraine's mineral wealth in Donbas and how women are stepping into heavy industrial roles as men serve on the front lines. The conversation also covers the challenges of martial law, restrictions on strikes and collective bargaining, and how trade unions advocate for labor rights while preparing for post-war reconstruction and the reintegration of returning veterans. To survive the upcoming winter despite severe power destruction, Ukraine requires long-range weapons and advanced air defense systems to shield critical workplaces. The guests also highlight vital international solidarity from Norwegian partners like LO and Norsk Folkehjelp See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CAPTION 1894 KREMLINAmerican Embassy Seeks Ukrainian Peace DealGaius and Germanicus: Set in autumn 92 AD in Londinium, the hosts discuss the declining institutions of the modern American empire, drawing historical parallels. They focus first on the Ukraine war, analyzing the recent "embassy" sent by the American emperor, Donald Trump, to Moscow and Kyiv. Germanicus explains this diplomatic mission, consisting of Kushner and Witkoff, was not a true negotiation but a means to convey the emperor's sentiments. The emperor desperately wants to end the conflict because Ukraine is on the verge of collapse. Allowing an imminent collapse while the United States is actively managing deep strikes would result in a massive public humiliation. By securing a ceasefire or peace deal, Trump hopes to fulfill a major campaign promise before the crucial election and free up strategic maneuver room to focus entirely on the conflict in Persia. The proposed peace terms would likely require Ukraine to yield contested territories, including parts of Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, or even the historic prize of Odesa. Germanicus asserts that European client states, including Poland and the Baltics, will ultimately fall in line. Furthermore, Poland might view a Ukrainian collapse as an opportunity to reclaim historic western territories they controlled for many centuries. (1)

In Episode 496 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Yaroslav Trofimov, Ukrainian-born chief foreign affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and author of Our Enemies Will Vanish, about the Russia-Ukraine war, CIA director John Ratcliffe's recent visit to Moscow, and the growing risk that Russia will escalate beyond Ukraine's borders to test NATO's Article 5, how America's entanglement in the Middle East has depleted Western missile reserves and emboldened the Kremlin, turmoil inside Zelensky's government, China's role in prolonging a war it wants neither side to win, and the deepening fracture in the transatlantic alliance. Yaroslav and Demetri begin their conversation by trying to make sense of the war — its origins, its stakes, and the prospects for its near-term conclusion. They assess claims related to the CIA director's recent trip to Moscow, the form that any potential Russian attack on NATO could take, and what the Europeans can do to try to stop it. They also discuss the political turmoil surrounding a recent shakeup in President Zelensky's cabinet, claims of corruption, and whether Western countries can be expected to continue supporting Ukraine amid declining public support for the war and mounting political resistance movements led by Europe's far-right parties.  The second hour examines Western strategic thinking and the widening schism between Washington and the capitals of Europe's largest countries. They discuss why Yaroslav believes the West's difficulties begin with a flawed diagnosis of the war based on the comforting assumption that this is a fight over territory in the Donbas rather than a contest over the future of Europe, the ideological sympathy many on the right feel toward Moscow, the nature and limits of China's support for Russia, how the war against Iran is reshaping the strategic battlefield by consuming Washington's attention and roughly half of US Patriot and THAAD interceptor reserves while bolstering Russian oil revenues, the implications for Taiwan and US allies in the Pacific, and why Europe increasingly views America not merely as an unreliable ally but as a potential strategic threat—a shift that may have mortally wounded the transatlantic relationship as it has existed since the end of World War II. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Join our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 09/02/2026

Welcome back to the Chornaya Zona. The Kremlin's summer offensive has collapsed into a mathematical nightmare, the demographic death spiral is accelerating, and the imperial command structure is completely conceptually blind.In this episode, we dissect the terminal phase of Russian institutional Vranyo. We look at the absurdity of Putin's fake ceasefire for Trump's envoys, the reality of the Donbas laundromat where synthetic drugs have replaced the "Russian World," and the 42,000 casualties spent in a single month for a net-negative territorial gain. Meanwhile, inside Russia, the gasoline famine bites deep, police academies classify returning SVO veterans as domestic threats, and ultranationalists are reduced to begging for rent money on Telegram.The front line isn't just in the mud of Donetsk anymore—it's bleeding into the suburbs of Moscow, the fuel depots of Sochi, and the psychiatric wards of St. Petersburg. The machine is eating itself.Become our patron:https://www.patreon.com/theeasternborderMerch store + another option for memberships:https://theeasternborder-shop.fourthwall.com/Follow what's going on here in the very border of Eastern Europe:https://bsky.app/profile/theeasternborder.lvDownload all episodes for free on our website; pictures accompanying certain episodes can be found there as well!http://theeasternborder.lv/Car4Ukraine Eastern Border Autumn Harvest Campaign!https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/autumn-harvest-2026-the-eastern-borderSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/theeasternborder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Har Nato feilet i avskrekkingen mot Russland? I denne episoden av Ukrainapodden forklarer forsvarsanalytiker Hans Petter Midttun hvorfor Trumps fredsforsøk bygger på russiske løgner, hvorfor Svalbard er mer sårbart enn Baltikum, og hvordan russisk hybridkrig koker Nato som en frosk. Programleder Tormod Malvin Sæther og forsvarsanalytiker Hans Petter Midttun analyserer den dramatiske utviklingen i krigen i Ukraina og den tilspissede sikkerhetssituasjonen i Europa. Donald Trump har sendt sine spesialutsendinger Jared Kushner og Steve Witkoff til Moskva for tre timers samtaler med Vladimir Putin. Men har disse fredssamtalene noe med realitetene å gjøre? Midttun avslører de fire store russiske løgnene om krigen – fra påstandene om at krisen løses ved at Ukraina avstår områder i Donbas, Kherson, Zaporizjzja og Krym, til Kremls egentlige strategiske mål om full kontroll over Ukraina og en ny maktbalanse mot Nato. Samtidig advarer etterretningstjenester om at Russland forbereder seg på en direkte konfrontasjon med Nato innen 2029. Episoden belyser hvordan arrestasjonen av det russiske skipet «Professor Moltsjanov» på Svalbard viser norsk sårbarhet i nord. Kan Svalbard bli stedet hvor Putin tester om Nato sin artikkel 5 bare er en papirtiger eller et «luftslott»? Midttun og Sæther ser også nærmere på den eksplosive økningen i russisk hybridkrig og sabotasje over hele Europa – fra angrep på logistikknutepunkt og kraftverk i Tyskland (som Leipzig) til dronefabrikker og eksponentielt økende droneinntrengninger ved grensen til Romania. Hvorfor feiler vestlig avskrekking, og hvorfor tillater Vesten at Nato kokes som en frosk? Rekkefølgen på temaene i episoden (eksakte tidspunkter i avspilleren varierer på grunn av dynamiske reklameinnstikk): Introduksjon og velkommen til Hans Petter Midttun Trumps spesialutsendinger Kushner og Witkoff forhandler i Moskva De fire russiske løgnene om krigen og fredsforhandlinger Europeisk etterretning advarer: Russisk Nato-trussel innen 2029 Sanksjonspolitikk og det amerikansk-russiske spillet i kulissene Russiske angrep mot flyplasser i Kyiv før diplomatbesøk Beslag av det russiske skipet «Professor Moltsjanov» på Svalbard: Er øygruppa Putins neste mål? Hvorfor ønsker Putin å bevise at Nato er et «luftslott»? Eksplosiv økning i hybridangrep og sabotasje i Europa Dramatisk økning i droneinntrengninger ved Romanias grense See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vladimir Putin hevder at russiske styrker står kilometer fra Sumy by, men stemmer kartet overens med terrenget? I ukens episode av Ukrainapodden går Tormod Malvin Sæther og Jørn Sund-Henriksen gjennom en uke preget av likvideringer, sabotasje og storpolitiske forviklinger i våre egne nærområder. Mens debatten ofte raser rundt vestlige våpensystemer som F-16 og Patriot, er det ukrainske FPV-droner som nå gjør situasjonen ekstremt vanskelig for russiske styrker – spesielt for de som ifølge rapportene er isolert på Kinburn-halvøya, like ved Krym. Ukraina har også iverksatt «Operasjon teppe», et massivt droneangrep designet for å lamme hele det russiske luftrommet. Samtidig ser vi ringvirkningene av den ukrainske offensiven i Kursk, og hvordan den brutale krigen stadig tærer på sivile og soldater i Donbas og rundt Pokrovsk. Ikke minst ryster Donald Trump og vestlig uforutsigbarhet kulissene i storpolitikken. Vi diskuterer også den store skandalen i Kyiv, der agenter fra de rivaliserende etterretningstjenestene SPU og HUR har havnet i åpen skuddveksling med hverandre, noe som fikk president Volodymyr Zelenskyj til å rase. Helt til slutt ser vi nærmere på hvordan krigen nå treffer Norge direkte: Sysselmesteren på Svalbard har tatt arrest i det russiske skipet Professor Moltsjanov. Hvor farlig er egentlig dette for norsk sikkerhet? Kapitler: Putin med kartblemme: Sannheten om fremrykkingen mot Sumy. Colombianske fremmedkrigere frigjør land nord for Kupjansk. Den krypende russiske fremrykkingen i festningsbeltet (Slovjansk/Kramatorsk). Situasjonen nord for Pokrovsk: Hvor kritisk er det nå? Kinburn-halvøya: Er over 2000 russiske soldater kuttet av? Norsk domstol slår til: Derfor ble et russisk skip tatt i arrest på Svalbard. Attentatbølge: Russisk general skutt i hodet, tidligere ubåtkaptein drept. En enorm skandale: SBU og HUR løsner skudd mot hverandre i Kyiv. Hybridkrig i Europa: Mistenkte russiske droneangrep og sabotasje i Tyskland. «Operasjon teppe»: Ukraina forsøker å stenge hele det russiske luftrommet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

De CIA-directeur gaf een duidelijke boodschap aan Rusland tijdens zijn bezoek aan Moskou: escaleer de oorlog niet verder naar NAVO. En dat terwijl er steeds meer mogelijke scenario’s opduiken over hoe Poetin de NAVO kan uitdagen. Voor Poetin lijkt er niks anders op te zitten dan de oorlog voort te zetten om de Donbas regio in te nemen, want anders - zo zou hij zelf hebben gezegd - “zullen ze me ophangen”. Dat en meer bespreekt Jos de Groot met generaals buiten dienst Peter van Uhm en Mart de Kruif.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oekraïense voedseldistributie onder druk | Iran vreest nieuwe opstanden | VS wil G20 opzetten tegen China Oekraïne verzwakt stap voor stap de Russische luchtverdediging, terwijl Russische raketten en drones Oekraïense steden en distributienetwerken blijven verwoesten. Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk schetsen een front dat militair licht in Oekraïens voordeel kantelt, maar waarin de burgerbevolking aan beide kanten steeds zwaarder wordt geraakt. Rusland zet in op een langzame uitputtingsslag in de Donbas en bereidt nieuwe aanvallen op de Oekraïense energievoorziening voor, terwijl het Westen zoekt naar beperkte opties tussen Taurus-raketten, sancties en cyberoperaties. Tegelijkertijd intensiveert Iran zijn horizontale escalatiestrategie, met snelle vergeldingsaanvallen in de regio en een effectieve verstoring van de scheepvaart door de Straat van Hormuz. De combinatie van secundaire Amerikaanse sancties, ingestorte handel en torenhoge inflatie vergroot het risico op nieuwe sociale onrust, waarop het regime reageert met censuur en extra repressie. De olieprijs kruipt omhoog, wat de geopolitieke kwetsbaarheid van Europa en de Verenigde Staten opnieuw onderstreept. In de Verenigde Staten botsen Trumps tariefpolitiek, sancties en neokoloniale oliedeals met Venezuela met de rest van de G20, die zich ernstig zorgen maakt over Amerikaanse tekorten en machtspolitiek. De koloniale omgang met Venezolaanse olievelden, de symbolische strijd om namen als Lake Ontario en de twijfels rond NAVO en EU-lijnen tonen een wereldorde waarin traditionele machtscentra terrein verliezen, terwijl conflicten van Oekraïne tot Hormuz en Gaza hardnekkig voortduren en nog weinig uitzicht op echte de-escalatie bieden. [Samenvatting geschreven door AI en gecontroleerd door mens] Over de Podcast Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk gaan onder leiding van Hugo Reitsma op zoek naar de nieuwe wereldorde. Wat betekenen oorlog, machtspolitiek en economische verschuivingen voor Europa en Nederland? In elke aflevering duiken zij in de geopolitieke actualiteit. Genomineerd voor de Zilveren Reissmicrofoon 2026, winnaar van de Dutch Podcast Awards 2022 in de categorie Nieuws & Politiek. Word lid van B&W Plus op boekestijnendewijk.nl voor de zaterdag-podcast, reclamevrij luisteren, en vele extra's! Reageren? Op X: @ajboekestijn en @robdewijk Bluesky: @hugoreitsma.bsky.social Mail: boekestijnendewijk@bnr.nl Over de makers: Arend Jan Boekestijn is een Nederlands historicus en voormalig politicus. Hij studeerde geschiedenis en politieke wetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Boekestijn is voormalig Tweede Kamerlid (tot 2009). Sinds 1989 is hij verbonden aan de vakgroep geschiedenis van de Universiteit Utrecht en sinds 2016 lid van commissie Vrede en Veiligheid van AIV. Rob de Wijk studeerde eigentijdse geschiedenis en internationale betrekkingen, promoveerde op kernwapenstrategieën, werd hoogleraar in Leiden en richtte in 2007 het Den Haag Centrum voor Strategische Studies op. Hugo Reitsma studeerde rechten en politicologie. Hij werkte eerder als politiek verslaggever en vanuit verschillende conflictgebieden. Hij is auteur van het boek ‘Boekestijn en De Wijk voorspellen de toekomst’ (november 2023).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 1,644.Today, after Kyiv endured the longest period of air raid alerts since the start of the war – and yes, we do mean 2014 – Ukrainians get back to their new normal: recovering family memories from the ashes of destroyed homes and grabbing a morning coffee amid shattered glass. Ukraine reorganises its Donbas defence, whilst also wiping out another long range Russian bomber, deploying brand-new US military kit and answering the question we've all been wondering: can you have too many Kalashnikovs mounted on a single robot? And later, we're in London's iconic St Paul's cathedral, talking, and listening, to the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra.NOTE: Monday is a Bank Holiday in the UK, so there will be no episode. Normal service will resume on Tuesday.Contributors: Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Sophie O'Sullivan (Telegraph Journalist)Lilian Fawcett (Telegraph Journalist)With thanks to the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra.Producer: Rachel PorterSenior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O'SullivanSocial 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:Learn about the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra:https://www.ukrainianfreedomorchestra.org/ Trump Says Russia Will Not Attack NATO (Kyiv Post)https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83238EU states revive plan to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine (Financial Times) https://www.ft.com/content/6d272811-8d26-46f0-ae24-abed61aa1bf3?syn-25a6b1a6=1If you're interested in sponsoring Dom's upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.ukEMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.HIGHLIGHTS:Kyiv hit by longest air-raid alert since war beganFrontline troops test rifle-wielding robots Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oproep Kherson te verlaten | Rusland kruipt verder in Donetsk | Defensie of Landbouw Rusland intensiveert zijn militaire druk in Oekraïne en vergroot tegelijkertijd de dreiging richting NAVO en Europa. Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk bespreken de drone-aanvallen op Russische doelen, de verwoestende inzet van zweefbommen op Oekraïense steden en de zorgwekkende, kruipende terreinwinst rond plaatsen als Kostjantynivka en de gordel van gefortificeerde steden in de Donbas. De Verenigde Staten sturen CIA-directeur Ratcliffe naar Moskou om Poetin te waarschuwen voor verdere escalatie richting NAVO-grondgebied, terwijl de Russische economie zichtbaar kraakt onder sancties en brandstoftekorten. In Brussel ontbrandt tegelijk een principieel gevecht over de Europese meerjarenbegroting, extra defensie-uitgaven en het gebruik van de honderden miljarden aan bevroren Russische tegoeden, met Nederland en andere nettobetalers in de frontlinie. In het Midden-Oosten scherpt Iran zijn militaire doctrine aan met sneller reageren, preëmptieve aanvallen en dreiging tegen de Golfstaten, terwijl de Straat van Hormuz slechts beperkt openblijft en de interne economische druk in Iran oploopt. Israël blijft intussen militair actief in Gaza en tegen Hezbollah, wat de relaties met de VS en Europese landen verder onder spanning zet, inclusief diplomatieke wrevel met Nederland over sancties tegen nederzettingsproducten. De aflevering eindigt met de vraag hoe lang westerse eensgezindheid en strategische kalmte standhouden onder deze stapeling van crises. [Samenvatting geschreven door AI en gecontroleerd door mens.] Over de Podcast Arend Jan Boekestijn en Rob de Wijk gaan onder leiding van Hugo Reitsma op zoek naar de nieuwe wereldorde. Wat betekenen oorlog, machtspolitiek en economische verschuivingen voor Europa en Nederland? In elke aflevering duiken zij in de geopolitieke actualiteit. Genomineerd voor de Zilveren Reissmicrofoon 2026, winnaar van de Dutch Podcast Awards 2022 in de categorie Nieuws & Politiek. Word lid van B&W Plus op boekestijnendewijk.nl voor de zaterdag-podcast, reclamevrij luisteren, en vele extra's! Reageren? Op X: @ajboekestijn en @robdewijk Bluesky: @hugoreitsma.bsky.social Mail: boekestijnendewijk@bnr.nl Over de makers: Arend Jan Boekestijn is een Nederlands historicus en voormalig politicus. Hij studeerde geschiedenis en politieke wetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Boekestijn is voormalig Tweede Kamerlid (tot 2009). Sinds 1989 is hij verbonden aan de vakgroep geschiedenis van de Universiteit Utrecht en sinds 2016 lid van commissie Vrede en Veiligheid van AIV. Rob de Wijk studeerde eigentijdse geschiedenis en internationale betrekkingen, promoveerde op kernwapenstrategieën, werd hoogleraar in Leiden en richtte in 2007 het Den Haag Centrum voor Strategische Studies op. Hugo Reitsma studeerde rechten en politicologie. Hij werkte eerder als politiek verslaggever en vanuit verschillende conflictgebieden. Hij is auteur van het boek ‘Boekestijn en De Wijk voorspellen de toekomst’ (november 2023).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 1,643.Today, an hours-long drone and missile attack on Kyiv overnight as Russia continues its push on three key towns in the fortress belt in the East. But in some welcome news, Ukraine appears to have repelled Putin's forces north of Lyman in a secret counterattack. Plus, the real reason for CIA director John Ratfcliffe's visit to Moscow this week, and President Zelensky's top aid says Ukraine and Russia could hold talks as soon as September. Then Francis reports from Germany, where elections could trigger a dramatic shift in the country's defence policy. Meanwhile Friedrich Merz's government considers investing in Britain's nuclear programme to bolster Europe's deterrent against Moscow.Contributors:Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.James Rothwell (Berlin Correspondent). @JamesERothwell on X.Producer: Rachel PorterSenior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: James England and Hana KellySocial 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:If you're interested in sponsoring Dom's upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.ukExplosions, jet-powered drones rock Kyiv as rare hours-long Russian aerial attack continues into afternoon (Kyiv Independent)https://kyivindependent.com/explosions-rock-kyiv-as-russia-launches-ballistic-missiles-at-the-capital-and-other-regions-across-ukraine/'The city is dying' — Ukrainians in Kramatorsk brace for worst as Russian forces inch closer (Asami Terajima for the Kyiv Independent)https://kyivindependent.com/the-city-is-dying-ukrainians-in-kramatorsk-brace-for-worst-as-russian-forces-inch-closer/ Germany in talks to help fund Trident (Joe Barnes, James Rothwell and James Crisp for The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/26/germany-talks-help-fund-britains-trident-nuclear-deterrent/German politician wants to hold swingers' party in city hall (James Rothwell for The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/23/german-politician-swingers-party-city-hall-mannheim/EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.HIGHLIGHTS: Kyiv intercepts first ballistic missiles in a month during huge raidUkraine's secret Donbas counterattack repels Russian troops Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Silicon Bites Ep386 | 2026-08-19 | Russia cannot take Ukraine, cannot drive it to defeat. It cannot even achieve the minimal targets set by the Kremlin for a declaration of partial victory – occupation of all the Donbas. So, it is burning Ukraine's books — ten million of them since May 2026 and counting. This is not collateral damage. It is the oldest imperial policy Moscow has, if you cannot conquer, coerce and appropriate, then you erase. This time the cultural erasure is being delivered by ballistic projectiles. Millions of dollars of destructive hardware trained on the erasure of the written word. Burning books, language, identities. The Nazis burned books. Russia does the same. It claims to be fighting fascism but has itself become the instrument and character of fascism in the 21st century. A state built on aggression, illegality, hatred and erasure. ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:Interfax-Ukraine — Russian shelling damages BookChef, RM publishing offices, warehouses near Pochaina station, 17 Aug 2026 — https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/1193829.htmlUkrinform — Publishing house office damaged in Kyiv as a result of nighttime attack (Nash Format), 16 Aug 2026 — https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4154692-publishing-house-office-damaged-in-kyiv-as-a-result-of-nighttime-attack.htmlUNN — Russia's attack on Kyiv damaged the office of the Nash Format publishing house and destroyed the Petrivka book market (incl. Kazanskyi), 16 Aug 2026 — https://unn.ua/en/news/russias-attack-on-kyiv-damaged-the-office-of-the-nash-format-publishing-house-and-destroyed-the-petrivka-book-marketUNN — The office and part of the warehouses of the "Laboratoria" publishing house were damaged during Russia's attack on Kyiv, 16 Aug 2026 — https://unn.ua/en/news/the-office-and-part-of-the-warehouses-of-the-laboratory-publishing-house-were-damaged-during-russias-attack-on-kyivEuromaidan Press — Kyiv's largest book market hit by Russian missiles, 16 Aug 2026 — https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/08/16/russian-attack-pochaina-book-market/LIGA.net — The book market at Petrivka burned down on August 16 following the shelling of Kyiv (Kryvoruchko; Suspilne footage), 16 Aug 2026 — https://news.liga.net/en/war/news/book-market-at-pochaina-in-kyiv-burned-down-following-russian-attack-photosKyiv Post — Russian Attacks Destroy ArcelorMittal in Kryvyi Rih and Kyiv Book Market, 16 Aug 2026 — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/82456NPR — Ukraine launches one of its largest aerial attacks of the war… (Zelensky quote), 16 Aug 2026 — https://www.npr.org/2026/08/16/nx-s1-5933006/ukraine-aerial-attack-6-dead-russiaFrance 24 — Russian strike on Kyiv book market: 'An attempt to annihilate Ukrainian identity' (Emmanuelle Chaze), 17 Aug 2026 — https://www.france24.com/en/video/20260817-russian-strike-on-kyiv-book-market-an-attempt-to-annihilate-ukrainian-identity----------

In Episode 494 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Mark Galeotti — host of In Moscow's Shadows and one of the most informed and provocative voices on modern Russia — about the war in Ukraine, the risk that it spills over into NATO's eastern flank, and the escalatory paths and deepening dependency on Beijing that will define Russia's place in the emerging global order. The first hour takes stock of Russia's war in Ukraine, a conflict Galeotti describes as several wars happening simultaneously — a grinding battle of attrition in the Donbas, an economic war of deep strikes on refineries and critical infrastructure, and a political war that has enveloped not only the conflict's chief counterparties but every major power and regional bloc for whom this war has become the central battlefield in the emergence of a new global order. They discuss the human and economic costs of the fighting, the strategic aims of Europe's nation states and how those align with Washington's, and the fraying, increasingly uneven state of Western support, before turning to the mind of Vladimir Putin — the insecurities Galeotti places at the core of his character, his survival instincts, his narrow circle of trust, and the forces shaping his perception of how the war is going. The second hour explores what Putin would actually need in order to end the war, why he keeps chasing a symbolic victory in the Donbas rather than the settlement presently available to him, and why his aversion to weakness is essential to making sense of his calculations. The conversation then turns to succession, what tends to follow the death or departure of a personalistic ruler, the lessons of Stalin's untimely death, and why Galeotti expects any transition of power in Moscow to reflect the will of a coalition of post-Soviet elites rather than the machinations of a younger, smarter Putin. They weigh the escalatory paths that worry European capitals, from a direct challenge to NATO's eastern flank to the campaigns of sabotage, subversion, and hybrid warfare that Galeotti considers more plausible, and close by examining how America's entanglement in the Middle East has been received in Moscow, what a hollowed-out but battle-hardened post-war Russia could mean for the world, Moscow's lopsided and deepening dependency on Beijing, the prospects for Washington to cleave Russia away from China's sphere of influence, and what all of it means for energy markets and the global economy. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Join our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 08/11/2026

Simon Smith is Chair of the Ukraine Forum Steering Committee at Chatham House. He served as British Ambassador to Ukraine (2012–2015) during the Euromaidan Revolution, Russia's annexation of Crimea, and the outbreak of the Donbas war. Before Kyiv, he was Director for Russia, South Caucasus and Central Asia at the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2005–2007), giving him extensive experience in British policy toward Russia and the post-Soviet region. Smith is regarded as one of the UK's most experienced diplomats on Eastern Europe. ----------John Lough is an Associate Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House (since 2009) and Head of Foreign Policy at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre, a London- and Washington-based think tank. He began his career at the Soviet Studies (later Conflict Studies) Research Centre, specialising in Soviet and Russian security policy. John has had a long career spanning government, diplomacy, business and academia. He previously served as the first NATO representative based in Moscow following the end of the Cold War, where he worked on NATO–Russia relations during a formative period. ----------LINKS:https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/05/how-russia-ukraine-ceasefire-could-imperil-ukrainian-and-european-securityhttps://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/orysia-lutsevychhttps://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/keir-gileshttps://icds.ee/en/the-russian-way-of-ceasefires-and-the-traps-it-sets-for-europe/----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------DESCRIPTION:Why a Ceasefire Isn't Peace: Russia's War Aims, Negotiation Traps, and Western Complacency | Simon Smith & John LoughThe host interviews Chatham House's Simon Smith and John Lough about why a ceasefire in Ukraine would not equal peace, citing the Korean Armistice as a warning that unresolved issues can harden into decades of confrontation. They argue Putin's objectives—subjugating Ukraine, blocking its integration with Western or European security structures, enforcing demilitarization and political change in Kyiv—have not changed, making any pause potentially a chance for Russia to regroup. The discussion covers Ukraine's strikes inside Russia, economic and recruitment pressures on Moscow, and risks of escalation against Ukrainian infrastructure. They stress Western political complacency, incremental support, and the danger that electorates may find a Russian victory “palatable,” arguing enforcement matters more than signatures in any talks. John Lough outlines likely Russian minimum demands, including full control of Donbas and removing Zelensky.----------

My guest in this episode is Dr. Kolja Spori. Kolja is a former Hugo Boss Executive, Formula 1 Agent,  and Austrian Economist who has visited all 193 countries of the world. He also worked at for the Rothschilds in Geneva, Switzerland.Kolja loves to travel but specifically adventure travels to conflict areas which earned him the nickname, Dr. Dangerzone.In his quest to seek truth and liberty, he met freedom fighters, guerrillas and warlords, such as the FARC leaders "Black Death" and Tanja Nijmeijer in the Colombian mountains, the Russian Nightwolf "Chirurg" in Crimea, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov in Grozny, and Liberia's putschist Prince Johnson in Monrovia. Kolja narrowly missed the bombing of Donbas rebel leader Alexander Sakharchenko in the Separatist Cafè Donezk, and he won a staredown against US "Defence Secretary" Donald Rumsfeld in an elevator in Batumi.Interview Links:Kolja's Blog: https://luxuryrogue.wordpress.com/Dr. Dangerzone - In Search of Truth in the Most Daring Places on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4x4o6wGSubscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter:The Wealth Dojo: https://subscribe.wealthdojo.ai/Download all the Niches Trilogy Books:The 21 Best Cashflow NichesDigital: ⁠⁠https://www.cashflowninjaprograms.com/the-21-best-cashflow-niches-book⁠⁠Audio: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/21-best-cashflow-niches⁠The 21 Most Unique Cashflow NichesDigital: ⁠⁠https://www.cashflowninjaprograms.com/the-21-most-unique-cashflow-niches⁠⁠Audio: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/21-most-unique-niches⁠The 21 Best Cash Growth NichesDigital: ⁠https://www.cashflowninjaprograms.com/the-21-best-cash-growth-niches⁠⁠Audio: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/21-cash-growth-nichesThe 21 Next Level Cashflow NichesDigital: https://www.cashflowninjaprograms.com/the-21-next-level-cashflow-niches-book-free-downloadAudio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-21-next-level-nichesListen To Cashflow Ninja Podcasts:Cashflow Ninja⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cashflowninja⁠Cashflow Investing Secrets⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cashflowinvestingsecrets⁠Cashflow Ninja Banking⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cashflow-ninja-banking⁠Connect With Us:Website: http://cashflowninja.comPodcast: http://cashflowinvestingsecrets.comPodcast: http://cashflowninjabanking.comSubstack: https://mclaubscher.substack.com/Amazon Audible: https://a.co/d/1xfM1VxAmazon Audible: https://a.co/d/aGzudX0Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cashflowninja/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mclaubscherInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecashflowninja/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cashflowninjaLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mclaubscher/Gab: https://gab.com/cashflowninjaYoutube: http://www.youtube.com/c/CashflowninjaRumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-329875

Ukraine can look stable on a map while collapsing through its supply lines and that's where we start. Zelensky claims his relationship with Donald Trump has “absolutely changed” after a private meeting, but we stress-test that optimism against a tougher metric: what the United States is actually providing in money, weapons, and air defense right now, and what it can realistically sustain. From there, we dig into Russia's ramped-up posture and why the Black Sea may matter more than another small shift in the Donbas. Larry Johnson explains the stepped-up strikes on Kiev and the strategic impact of shutting down Odessa, including the chilling effect on commercial shipping and how a maritime squeeze can accelerate economic failure. If you've been following only territorial gains, this reframes the Russia Ukraine conflict around logistics, trade, and the ability to keep a war economy alive. We then widen the lens to the Middle East and the risk of conflict fusion. Zelensky's reported strike on an Iranian ship is discussed as political signaling that could invite Iranian retaliation, possibly coordinated with Russia. We connect that to the U.S. defense industrial base and the hard limits behind the rhetoric: PAC-3 interceptor shortages, the price of advanced missiles, rare earth minerals flowing through China, and even a looming diesel and aviation fuel crunch that shapes what Washington can do. We close by asking whether negotiations with Iran are the only off-ramp left, and what happens if that window closes.

Subscribe now for the full episode! Derek once again speaks with Mark Ames, co-host of Radio War Nerd, this time to talk about the state of the war in Ukraine and the current upheaval in Zelenskyy's government.  They discuss Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries and infrastructure, the PR campaign behind the "turning the tide" narrative, the situation in the Donbas and the fall of Kostyantynivka, the firing of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, corruption and factional fighting within Ukraine's drone industry, the Ukrainian strike on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, and the attempts to isolate and pressure Crimea. Be sure to order your copy of Danny's new book, Imperialist Realism: Politics and Culture at the End of the American Century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For months, it was conventional wisdom among large swaths of the American right that Ukraine would inevitably have to cede its Donbas region to Russia to end the war. Now, with Russian morale flagging, “that assumption is just no longer true,” says Aidan Stretch, a CBS News international reporter based in Kyiv. Today, Stretch joins School of War to discuss the state of play on the battlefield, Laura Loomer's recent change of heart about the war, and how drone warfare has transformed the very idea of the front line as we know it. 02:36 - Is Ukraine Really Winning? 05:58 - Political Turmoil in Kyiv 06:51 - The Fedorov–Syrskyi Power Struggle 12:06 - The Protests That Changed Ukraine's Military 13:11 - Why Drapatyi Replaced Syrskyi 14:07 - Meeting President Zelensky 17:42 - Asking Zelensky if Ukraine Is Winning the War 20:00 - How Ukrainian Protests Force Political Change 24:29 - The Power of Ukrainian Civil Society 27:10 - Laura Loomer's Visit to Ukraine 28:50 - Ukraine's Military Innovation 30:48 - How Ukraine's Military Really Works 33:58 - Ukraine's Mobilization Challenge 37:24 - Why Drone Warfare Is Only the Beginning 41:34 - How the Middle East and Ukraine Wars Intersect 44:47 - Reporting From the Front Lines of Ukraine This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System, the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at palantir.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Patrick Bishop and Roger Moorhouse take a look at the latest shifting political dynamics surrounding US-Ukraine relations. They unpack the recent White House meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the potential transactional nature of future US support, and the growing role of Ukraine's defence industry.Then, Belgian journalist Arnaud De Decker joins the show for an extended interview to share his eyewitness perspective on the war. Returning from an embed with an FPV drone unit in the Donbas, Arnaud offers a vivid account of the reality inside the "kill zone", the rapid integration of ground drones and fibre-optic tech, and a harrowing close encounter with a Russian drone. He also breaks down the domestic fallout from high-level Ukrainian military shake-ups, the stark realities facing soldiers on the front lines, and briefly discusses his recent reporting on the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan.Key Topics Covered:US-Ukraine Political Thaw: Analysing Trump and Zelenskyy's recent meeting, potential visits by US envoys, and the transactional framework of prospective peace and reconstruction deals.Kyiv Military Shake-Up: The public backlash and protests following the dismissal of Defence Minister Fedorov, the replacement of Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi with General Drapaty, and how leadership rivalries impact frontline operations.Inside the Kill Zone: Arnaud De Decker's firsthand experience embedded with the "Signum" drone unit in the Donbas, dodging fibre-optic Russian FPV drones, and relying on ground drones for logistical supplies.The "Uber" for Drone Pilots: A look inside the operations of the "Birds of Magyar" unit and how long-range, low-cost B2 strike drones are targeting multi-million-dollar Russian air defence systems.Frontline Reality vs Strategy: The widening gap between high-level strategic/mid-range strike successes and the deteriorating, high-pressure situation for ground troops and civilians near Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.Spotlight on Sudan: Arnaud shares insights from his reporting in Khartoum and Darfur, detailing the immense destruction, geopolitical influence, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.comFollow us on:X - @PodBattlegroundInstagram - podbattlegroundProducer: James HodgsonA Goalhanger Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East (Daunt Books Publishing, 2025) is a unique reflection on the much-mythologised Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Ukrainian east, the old and recent history of the region as seen by an esteemed academic multi-disciplinary scholar Victoria Donovan in her numerous travels to the region prior to the full-scale invasion. Seen through a deeply empathetic lens of conversations with local curators, historians, museum workers, and artists, the region is shown in its complexity, with the uniqueness of its landscapes, endangered biodiversity, entangled colonialisms of its past and a threatened future. Since start of Russia's war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region—Donbas—has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its, cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture. Travelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region's identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now—curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction—Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin's war. Victoria Donovan is Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies and Director of the Centre for Global (Post)socialisms, Southeast, Central and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews. Viktoriia Grivina is an independent anthropologist and writer, author of Kharkiv, a War City (Ibidem, 2025), and Kharkiv is a Dream: Public Art and Activism, 2013–2023 (Ibidem, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We endure the ravages of time to deliver you this exhausted Supplementary Material. Bowed but never broken, the decoders persist.The full episode is available to Patreon subscribers (Full Episode: 2hr 20 mins)Join us at: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingTheGurusSupplementary Material 5300:23 Introduction: Matthew the Succulent's Post-Holiday Report02:15 Pickle Ball Injuries & Bouldering Curses07:40 They Won't Let You Talk about Middle-Aged Sports Injuries08:37 New AI Models09:31 Cory Doctorow, Trevor Noah, and Confirmation Bias23:45 The Glorious Past and the Terrible Present28:28 The Horror of Tinned Asparagus30:26 The Collapse of Industries & Stores36:16 Negativity Bias37:11 AI Prompting 10144:30 AI and Research Applications50:28 Nigel Farage vs Count Binface59:10 Nigel Farage Knighted on Russia Today01:02:53 Hasan's Advice for Ukrainians01:07:51 Russian Apologetics01:13:32 Vlad Vexler and soft Anti-Vaxx rhetoric01:19:35 Guru Red Flags01:23:48 Bret Weinstein in 2020 on Vaccines01:28:53 Gary vs Piers Morgan01:30:58 Piers Morgan being a blustering idiot about Elon Musk01:36:55 Gary's Pitch01:41:55 Alternative Tax Proposals01:46:18 Matt and Chris' Economics01:47:22 Gary's Wealth01:52:07 Piers the sleazy liar01:55:25 Gary is the best inequality economist in the UK01:57:08 Gary's Predictions02:00:40 Gary is Very Tired02:07:14 A message from anyone else to finish?02:14:25 Final Takeaways02:16:55 Matt attempts to wrangle another holidayLinksThe Verge: China delivers a one-two punch to America's AI dominance What Now? with Trevor Noah: Why Google, Apple & Big Tech Keep Making Everything Worse — Cory Doctorow and Trevor NoahBaumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of general psychology, 5(4), 323-370.Count Binface on BBC Morning Live — full interviewCount Binface on NewsnightHasan offers Ukraine his advice to “give peace a try”Report on polling from Ukraine in 2025 that does not show what Hasan claimsReport on more recent polling that still does not show what Hasan claimsVlad Vexler tweets about vaccinesBret's Tweets in 2020 on Vaccines (and here)Chris noting Bret's anti-vaccine rhetoric in 2020 (see the comments under the tweet)Kyiv International Institute of Sociology: Ukrainian views on exchanging Donbas for security guaranteesDecoding Academia 34: Matt and Chris' EconomicsPiers Morgan Uncensored: “I'm QUITTING!” Gary Stevenson vs Piers Morgan on Wealth, Economic Growth & Elon Musk

Brett Forrest, The Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI's Secret Wars. This segment introduces the core of the mystery surrounding Billy Riley, a young man from Oxford, Michigan, who disappeared after traveling to Russia in May 2015. Billy is described as a product of the post-9/11 era whose life was fundamentally redirected by that event, leading him to develop a deep, self-taught expertise in global conflicts, religions, and foreign languages while operating from his parents' home as a "keyboard commando." His prolific internet activities eventually drew the attention of the Detroit FBI, who recruited him as a Confidential Human Source (CHS)—a type of freelance operative or "informant." The narrative highlights the tension between Billy's imaginative world and his physical reality; although he had not traveled widely, he was handling increasingly dangerous assignments for the FBI. One such assignment involved an online relationship with an individual in the Philippines suspected of being linked to Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic terror group allied with ISIS. Though Billy nearly traveled to Manila in December 2014 to meet this person, he backed out at the airport. However, by May 2015, he was determined to seek adventure in Russia, specifically heading toward the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine. His parents, Terry and Bill Riley, were aware he worked for "the men"—his name for his FBI handlers—but Billy had become adept at being "coy," sharing just enough to intrigue them without keeping them fully informed. Notably, despite growing up in a traditional Catholic environment, Billy had converted to Islam through personal study, often reading the Quran in his Catholic school classes. The night before his fateful departure for Moscow, he met with his main FBI handler for dinner, a meeting shrouded in mystery that left his mother with a sense of parental intuition that something was wrong. (1)1900

Brett Forrest, The Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI's Secret Wars. The final segment of Forrest's account explores the dark possibilities of Billy's fate and the FBI's high-level awareness of the case. While some contacts suggested Billy might have simply disappeared into Russia or traveled to the Far East, Anastasia Mikhailovska offers a much bleaker theory: that Billy was taken into custody, tortured for information, and his body disposed of in a lake in one of the breakaway republics of Eastern Ukraine. This blunt assessment stands in contrast to more optimistic theories but aligns with the brutal reality of the Donbas conflict. Back in Washington, Forrest attends a retirement party at the Department of Justice, where he encounters Paul Abate. At the time Billy went to Russia, Abate was the Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit field office—the man who would have overseen Billy's handlers and the investigation into his disappearance. By 2018, Abate had risen to become the third-highest-ranking official in the entire FBI. When Forrest approaches him, Abate reveals that he already knows who Forrest is and is intimately familiar with the Riley case, despite no stories having been published yet. This high-level recognition suggests that the "secret wars" the Rileys felt trapped inside were well-known and carefully monitored at the top of the American intelligence apparatus. (4)1867 MOSCOW

Putin is being pressed by some within the elite to call it quits and freeze the war on the current front line, by others to step up and try and impose a quick military solution. His natural impulse is to put off decisions, but Kyiv's campaign against Crimea may make that impossible. He seems determined to hold out for the last bit of the Donbas, so he has to escalate. With other options, from nuclear demonstration to stepping up the covert campaign in Europe not being viable, all he has is expanding the force in Ukraine, and that will require an unpopular and dangerous mobilisation. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials including the (almost-) weekly Govorit Moskva news briefing right here. Support the show

Day 1,592.Ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey, Russia kills more Ukrainian civilians in the second mass aerial strike in four days. Moscow also claims they've taken the Donbas city of Kostiantynivka, then later says fighting is ongoing – Dom tries to decipher the conflicting reports. Then he has the latest on Ukraine's most recent drone strikes against a St Petersburg oil terminal, as Russians consider refuelling in China amid petrol shortages across the country. And we hear from our team on the ground in Ankara before looking ahead to what we can expect from this year's NATO summit, where Trump is expected to put pressure on allies over defence spending.Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.Producer: Rachel PorterSenior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O'SullivanSocial 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:Trump threatens NATO on eve of summithttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/05/trump-threatens-nato-on-eve-of-summit/Putin faces a fork in the road (Memphis Barker for the Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/06/vladimir-putin-faces-fork-in-road-russia-ukraine/ Fuel shortages after Ukrainian drone attacks push Russians to refuel in China (RBC Ukraine)https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/fuel-shortages-push-russians-to-refill-their-1783332958.html EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.HIGHLIGHTS:Kyiv strikes St Petersburg again as NATO leaders prepare for Trump summitWar unleashes 'fire tornado' in Chernobyl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many things have changed this year. Ukraine is now striking targets deep inside Russian territory on a regular basis. Russia's traditional strengths—its vast territory and abundant resources—are increasingly becoming liabilities. The war may be approaching a turning point. It is time to seriously consider that a Ukrainian victory is not only possible but also the only viable path to a lasting peace. *** Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet run by Internews Ukraine. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. Guest: Tetyana Ogarkova, a Ukrainian intellectual and journalist, head of the international service of Ukraine Crisis Media Centre, lecturer at Kyiv Mohyla Academy and author of the podcast “L'Ukraine face a la guerre”, Ukraine facing the war, in French. *** Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en *** SUPPORT: You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding. You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians. Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com. *** Contents: 00:04: Is the war approaching a turning point, and is Ukrainian victory the only viable path to lasting peace? 03:09: How have drones transformed the front line into an extended "kill zone," and what were the recent observations from Kherson? 07:52: Is Ukraine now scaling up its technological innovations to match or surpass Russia's quantity in warfare? 10:07: How are Ukrainian deep strikes impacting Russian territory, specifically oil refineries and fuel supply? 14:04: Why do Russian citizens react with confusion and blame towards their government, unlike Ukrainians who direct anger at the aggressor? 19:00: How does the Russian population describe the war's impact as an impersonal "natural disaster," avoiding direct political connections? 22:00: How is Ukraine strategically turning Russia's traditional strengths, such as vast territory and resources, into liabilities? 26:08: Can Ukraine's decentralized society and innovative use of cost-effective technology overcome Russia's military advantages? 30:08: What are the major challenges Ukraine faces, from Russian advances in Donbas to shifts in international political support? 33:19: Why should the discourse shift from "war and peace" to "war and victory" as Ukraine seeks to secure its future?

//The Wire//1400Z June 30, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: UKRAINIAN OLIGARCH TARGET OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN MONACO. INMATES TAKE OVER JAIL IN NORTH CAROLINA.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Monaco: Yesterday afternoon an IED was detonated at a residential apartment building as part of an apparent targeted assassination attempt. One attacker deposited a backpack with the explosive device at the entrance to the building, and waited several minutes for the target to arrive. As the target passed near the backpack, the assailant remotely detonated the IED, before fleeing on foot across the border just a few feet away, into France. Several people were wounded during the attack, with the main target being Vadym Yermolaiev (a Ukrainian businessman). No one was killed, but Yermolaiev was hit by shrapnel and burns, and his wife reportedly suffered a bilateral amputation of the legs. Their son was also seriously wounded by shrapnel.Iran: Overnight, Iranian forces claimed to have killed a clandestine team that had infiltrated the border region. Iranian media claims that the entire 6 man team was killed during the engagement, and that four of the bodies have been recovered. No photos of the alleged team have been provided, however the Iranians claim that their equipment indicated they were attempting to carry out sabotage operations.Analyst Comment: Very few details have been provided on this incident, but if the team was American the Iranians surely would have televised every detail of the incident. Speculating as to the origin of the alleged attackers, they could have been Kurdish militiamen, but until photos are provided there's no verifying any of these details. However, the most interesting detail is that the Iranians claim that the firefight took place between Piran Shahr and Mahabad, which is deep inside Iranian territory and indicates that there might be more to this engagement than meets the eye. Qatar: The Ministry of Transportation has advised the temporary halt to all civil maritime activities in their waters until further notice. This comes after yesterday's death of a citizen, who was found deceased on their private vessel after the Iranian/American targeting efforts over the weekend.Analyst Comment: As it turns out, this death might have been the result of an American munition, or falling shrapnel from some sort of engagement. The Qataris are being very vague about this suspicious death, which would be expected if the US was the cause of it, since the American diplomatic team arrived in Doha for negotiations this morning. The Qataris probably don't want to cause a scene and upset the American delegation, and as a result are downplaying what exactly caused the death of one of their citizens.-HomeFront-North Carolina: Yesterday morning a large scale riot was reported at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center. A total of 88x inmates overpowered two of the three guards that were on duty for the night shift, and took control of the facility. These two guards were held hostage throughout the day, with groups of prisoners being released from the facility by the group of inmates which started the takeover incident. By last night, authorities had regained control of the jail, and the situation was resolved. All 88x inmates have been accounted for, and everyone has been shuffled and transferred to other detention facilities as the investigation into the incident continues.Analyst Comment: For facilities like this, having only three guards on the night shift is surprisingly common, though after this incident the security posture at this (and other similar facilities) is likely to be increased.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: The context and history of the assassination attempt in Monaco is quite significant. Vadym Yermolaiev was/is a Ukrainian businessman who had a falling out with Zelensky and was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government a few years ago for his business dealings with Russia. After the sanctions, Yermolaiev fled Ukraine before settling in Monaco. Years ago, Yermolaiev was one of the wealthiest individuals in Europe, with most of his money originating from illegal activities such as running scam call centers in Ukraine, as well as construction companies and real estate ventures in the now-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine. Yermolaiev allegedly rebuffed Zelensky's attempts to nationalize his construction empire for the war, and apparently almost paid dearly for it.This attack is extremely shocking for the small city-state of Monaco, where crime is largely nonexistent, much less targeted assassinations. Considering that all signs point to Ukraine being the culprit for this assassination attempt, it will be interesting to see what the response to this attack will be. Monaco is a very small kingdom which serves mostly as a vacation spot for Europe's most powerful individuals, and Ukraine does not appear to realize the thin ice they are treading on by bringing the war to Europe's version of Martha's Vineyard. This attack will not go unnoticed by the global elite, which has been exclusively funding the Ukrainian war for the reasons of keeping the combat confined to the Donbas. If Zelensky is going to end up bringing the explosions to the finer parts of Europe anyway, purely for reasons of settling personal grievances, this might not work out in Ukraine's favor.Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

​ @ricktheukrainian is from Ukraine, and every Sunday gets together with his community online (the Rick Rollers), to make video content and raise funds for the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Rick is originally from Makiivka in the Donetsk area, and lived under Russian occupation for several years following the 2014 invasion of Crimea and Donbas. His weekly streams are attended by different Ukrainian and pro-Ukrainian guests. He talks about the Russian war against Ukraine and its culture, music and historic places. Rick translates and dubs Zolkin and Karpenko's interviews with Russian POWs into English, making them accessible to a Western audience, and providing extraordinary insights into the Russian mindset.----------LINKS:YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ricktheukrainianhttps://www.myminiauction.com/rickrollersauctions#item-167128Buy Me a Coffee (or become a member): https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ricktheukr/membership----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------

John Hardie notes that Jared Kushner and U.S. envoys have frequently visited Moscow to negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict. Putin uses phone calls to flatter Trump and promote the idea that Russia is dominating the battlefield. The administration pressures Ukraine to concede Donbas, despite the military defense holding. (10)1892

SCHEDULE JBS, 6-15-20262006 MOLDOVABill Roggio discusses a rumored memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran. Roggio expresses skepticism, noting that while the Strait of Hormuz may reopen, the deal fails to address Iran's nuclear program or its support for regional proxies like Hezbollah. (1)Bill Roggio highlights that the ceasefire is a return to the status quo from February. He argues that the military was restrained from finishing the job and doubts the Iranian people's willingness to overthrow the regime. Meanwhile, Hezbollah remains active in southern Lebanon. (2)Ernesto Araújo and Alejandro Peña Esclusa report that in Peru, Keiko Fujimori leads the presidential race, signaling a "blue wave" against narco-socialism. This shift reinforces regional efforts like the Shield of the Americas. Meanwhile, Bolivia faces a "slow-motion coup" by narco-terrorists, which Brazilian President Lula da Silva has largely ignored. (3)Ernesto Araújo and Alejandro Peña Esclusa describe how U.S. forces killed drug lord "El Niño Guerrero" with a drone strike inside Venezuela, signaling a transition and military cooperation against the Tren de Aragua cartel. This action pressures regional leaders and criminal gangs, potentially leading to pro-democratic elections and increased American investment. (4)Bill Roggio warns that Sunni jihadists remain a background threat while the West focuses on Iran. Groups like al-Qaedaand ISIS are gaining ground in Africa and Afghanistan, aiming to establish emirates. Pakistan also faces instability as the Taliban provides safe havens for militants. (5)Ahmad Sharawi discusses President Trump's suggestion of using the Syrian army to conduct strikes against Hezbollahin eastern Lebanon. This "creative solution" aims to disarm the proxy without using the IDF. However, experts warn this could cause a "rally around the flag" effect and increase sectarian tensions. (6)Piero Tozzi and Gordon Chang discuss KMT official Jen Wen, who visited the U.S. to bolster her credentials but faced criticism for meeting individuals linked to the Communist Party. The visit highlighted debates over drone supply chains, as the U.S. encourages "non-red" technology to counter Chinese influence. (7)Fraser Howie and Gordon Chang describe the Iran deal as a "repackaging of failure" and a humiliation for America. Markets are experiencing a relief rally due to AI and stabilizing oil prices, but fail to price in geopolitical damage. Allies now view the U.S. as an unreliable partner. (8)John Hardie reports that Russia launched a massive barrage of 70 missiles and 600 drones against Kyiv, damaging a historic monastery. Simultaneously, Ukraine is conducting a "logistics lockdown" campaign to isolate Crimea by striking fuel convoys and bridges. Despite Russian gains near Kostiantynivka, Ukraine's manpower reforms are improving battlefield stability. (9)John Hardie notes that Jared Kushner and U.S. envoys have frequently visited Moscow to negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict. Putin uses phone calls to flatter Trump and promote the idea that Russia is dominating the battlefield. The administration pressures Ukraine to concede Donbas, despite the military defense holding. (10)David Daoud explains that reports of an upcoming memo of understanding between the U.S. and Iran are contradicted by Israel's refusal to leave Lebanon. Iran aims to save Hezbollah, its most critical asset, while the U.S. seeks a modus vivendi with the regime at almost any cost. (11)David Daoud describes a ceasefire deal requiring Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River as "magical thinking" since the fighters are locals. While the IDF faces manpower limitations, Washington continues to pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept a withdrawal regardless of Israeli security concerns. (12)Bridget Toomey notes that despite the U.S.-Iran memo of understanding, the Houthis remain a threat, recently firing a drone at Eilat. The group maintains autonomy and does not feel bound by ceasefires. They continue to ban Israelimaritime navigation in the Red Sea, aiming for economic and psychological damage. (13)Samuel Ben-Ur explains that the IDF controls 64% of Gaza, but Hamas remains in control of the remaining civilian population through torture and executions. The group refuses to disarm, as their existence is predicated on destroying Israel. Despite the elimination of top leaders, the organization's decentralized structure allows survival. (14)Edmund Fitton-Brown explains that a memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed in Geneva, focusing on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The deal includes a 60-day ceasefire but leaves critical issues like the nuclear file for later. Skeptics warn of secret annexes and deceptive Iranian propaganda. (15)Edmund Fitton-Brown notes that Russia and China view a ceasefire as beneficial for weakening U.S. influence and entrenching Iranian power. Experts argue the Islamic Republic will never negotiate away its revolutionary pillars, including its militias and nuclear shield. The deal provides a rest period for Iran to rearm for future assaults. (16)Three name corrections: John Hardy → John Hardie (9, 10) Bridget Tumi → Bridget Toomey (13) Samuel Bener → Samuel Ben-Ur (14)

John Hardie examines the escalation of drone strikes between Ukraine and Russia, including attacks on Moscow'sinfrastructure. He notes the pressure on Russian air defenses and the stalemate in the Donbas region. Bill Roggio joins the conversation. (13/16)1953 UNDER ARREST

SCHEDULE JBS 5-18-26.1962 ALGERIA Pakistan deployed 8,000 troops and fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to reassure its ally. Husain Haqqani and Bill Roggionote that while mediating the Iran war, Islamabad leverages this military presence to avoid direct involvement in the regional conflict. (1/16)Husain Haqqani and Bill Roggio observe that Washington is currently distracted by domestic politics and upcoming midterms, pushing the Iran war to secondary headlines. Global leadership has eroded due to partisan squabbling over issues like high gas prices. (2/16)Bill Roggio and Samuel Bener report that Israeli strikes killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the last original planner of the October 7 massacre remaining in Gaza. His elimination signals a pressure campaign against Hamas as they refuse to disarm during the ceasefire. (3/16)Bill Roggio and Bridget Toomey report that Iraq's new government remains incomplete with nine ministries vacant due to sectarian disputes. Washington refuses to cooperate if these posts are filled by members of Iran-backed, US-designated terrorist militia groups. (4/16)Malcolm Hoenlein criticizes The New York Times for publishing an opinion piece echoing propaganda against Israelalongside a report on Hamas atrocities. Critics suggest this timing was intended to undermine Israeli investigative findings. (5/16)Malcolm Hoenlein reports that Iran launched a digital insurance platform to bypass maritime sanctions and generate revenue in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Hezbollah refuses to disarm in Lebanon despite ongoing diplomatic negotiations held in Washington. (6/16)Alan Tonelson argues the Beijing summit achieved little, noting no shifts in Taiwan policy or tariffs. Tonelson and Gordon Chang emphasize China's economic distress, manufacturing overcapacity, and strategic reliance on rare earth minerals. (8/16)Alejandro Peña Esclusa and Ernesto Araújo discuss Raul Castro's potential indictment and regional shifts toward the right. They highlight the extradition of Alex Saab as a significant blow to Maduro. (9/16)Alejandro Peña Esclusa attributes Bolivia's turmoil to Cuban influence and Evo Morales's ties to drug trafficking. Ernesto Araújo views Bolivia as a critical "bellwether" for the criminal socialist project in Latin America. (10/16)Edmund Fitton-Brown discusses the Strait of Hormuz closure and the potential for military escalation if negotiations fail. He critiques European passivity and notes China's interest in reopening the vital waterway. Bill Roggio joins the conversation. (11/16)Edmund Fitton-Brown critiques a New York Times report on Israeli violence as poorly sourced and timed to distract from Hamas's sexual violence. He warns about shifts in American media coverage. Bill Roggio joins the conversation. (12/16)John Hardie examines the escalation of drone strikes between Ukraine and Russia, including attacks on Moscow'sinfrastructure. He notes the pressure on Russian air defenses and the stalemate in the Donbas region. Bill Roggio joins the conversation. (13/16)Joe Truzman details how Iran and its proxy, Kata'ib Hezbollah, outsource low-tech attacks against Jewish targets in Europe. He also discusses Israel's ongoing pursuit of justice for October 7th victims. Bill Roggio joins the conversation. (14/16)Sophie McDowall explains how terrorist groups use music on platforms like SoundCloud to radicalize new listeners. She details how artists bypass content moderation using coded language and nasheeds featuring battlefield audio. (15/16)Sophie McDowall explores the complex difficulty of balancing free speech rights with moderating radicalist audio content. She identifies Islamic art bands with ties to Hamas that use music to oppose coexistence. (16/16)

Putin's Revisionist History and the 2014 InvasionIn 2021, during pandemic isolation, Putin authored an essay claiming Russians and Ukrainians are "one people," a document Finkel describes as a collection of unhistorical myths. This ideology fueled the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the infiltration of the Donbas following the Euromaidan revolution, where Ukrainians rejected a corrupt, pro-Russian proxy. While Russian propaganda claimed the Donbas movements were indigenous, they were actually driven by Russian mercenaries and military officers. Putin's goal is not merely security against NATO, but the total subordination of Ukraine as a client state to restore the Russian Empire. Guest: Professor Eugene Finkel. (5/8)1882

In episode 2046, Jack and guest co-host Jacquis Neal are joined by comedian, Alex Falcone, to discuss… Ukraine Is Proposing That Part Of The Donbas Region Be Named "Donnyland" To Appeal To Trump, People Who Used A Bear Suit For Insurance Fraud Are Sentenced To Jail In California. FBI To Lead Distraction-- Uh... "Investigation" Into Missing/Dead Scientists and more! ‘Donnyland’? Ukraine Proposes Naming Part of the Donbas in Trump’s Honor. Art of the praise: Why flattering Trump is now the go-to diplomatic move NATO's Rutte Likens Trump to a 'daddy' in Israel-Iran Conflict Japanese PM promises golden age in relations with US during Trump visit I don’t regret gifting Nobel prize to Trump: Venezuela’s Machado South Korea awards Trump gold crown amid deal to unlock $350bn trade talks Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Sign Peace Pledge at White House Humans Who Used a Bear Suit to Defraud Car Insurers Are Sentenced to Jail Department of Insurance - Operation Bear Claw Footage The ‘Missing-Scientist’ Story Is Unbelievably Dumb Evidence uncovered in New Mexico may help solve at least one disappearance linked to missing scientists At least 10 scientists tied to sensitive US research have died or disappeared in recent years, sparking federal investigation 11th dead scientist linked to UFOs emerges in recent string of disappearances, deaths: 'NOT NORMAL' 11 Scientists Are Dead or Missing. It Was Only a Matter of Time Before Conspiracy Theories Hit the White House. Watch: Rogan Encapsulates Why Missing Scientists Are No Conspiracy Theory... PSFC showcases technologies applicable to both fusion and geothermal energy during representative’s visit 11th scientist death emerges in string of missing, dead officials with access to US secrets Alabama anti-gravity researcher found dead; 11th scientist to die or vanish since 2023 Who Is Amy Eskridge? Scientist’s Death Queried Amid US Expert Mysteries Amy Eskridge’s father denies her death is suspicious amid scientist probe Shooter who killed Brown students and MIT professor planned attack for months, says DOJ Brown shooting suspect: gruelling academic climate may have taken mental toll, say ex-classmates LISTEN: Coffin Nails by MF DOOMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SEASON 4 EPISODE 81: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN A-Block (3:00) SPECIAL COMMENT: "Donald Trump Is Losing His Mind." It's the headline on a column in perhaps the most prominent MAGA magazine headline. It's not me saying it this time. Not Jimmy Kimmel. Not George Conway. Not a psychiatrist. The Washington Examiner: “Donald Trump Is Losing His Mind.” Why? Just because he’s also losing IRAN? Just because he’s COMPARING Iran to Vietnam (which he dodged)? Just because he threatened to go General Sherman on Teheran? Just because he's just announced you are no longer ALLOWED to CRITICIZE him ABOUT Iran? “Donald Trump Is Losing His Mind” writes The Washington Examiner - guess that makes it unanimous (and there is now polling on this!) ALSO: House Democrats want Kash Patel to take an alcoholism screening test. His choices amount to: a) ARE you an alcoholic? b) Are you so FULL of alcohol you’re at risk of bursting into flames, or c) are you J. Edgar Boozer. AND about the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday. The Correspondents Association is obeying in advance to Trump, calling him an "honoree" and welcoming his rats like Brendan Carr and Stephen Miller. If you’re attending this dinner, and you are not planning to storm out or otherwise using this rare opportunity to protest Trump’s presence, you’re not only a traitor to JOURNALISM, you’re a traitor to America. B-Block (36:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Trump's "National Garden Of Heroes" with 250 statues of everybody from Elvis to Whittaker Chambers is dumb enough. What happens when they forget to order the statues? Interior Secretary Burgum wants Theodore Roosevelt in the pro football Hall of Fame even though there wasn't pro football while T.R. was alive. And new Congressman Clay Fuller says he was only joking when he said Georgia was named after George Washington. C-Block (45:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Talking about dinner in DC Saturday (The White House Correspondents) led me to mention my disastrous dates last century with Laura Ingraham on social media and there was considerable disbelief so it's time to tell that story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.