Battleground

If you would like to watch this podcast you can watch it on Spotify or you can find it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@BattlegroundUkraine We return to the historic port city of Odesa to witness the stark contrast between a city trying to maintain a sense of normalcy and the high-tech, high-stakes reality of the front lines. In this episode, we explore the brittle state of Ukraine's ener...

A political earthquake has struck Budapest. After 16 years of dominance, Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz Party have been unseated in a resounding victory by Péter Magyar and the Tisza Party. With a historic 79% turnout and a two-thirds supermajority, the Hungarian landscape has been permanently altered—but what does this mean for the rest of the world? In this comprehensive two-part special, host Patr...

You can watch this video on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/Khbr9JD_q98 In this special episode from Ukraine, the Battleground team visits Odesa to document the devastating impact of Russia’s winter strategy on the city's critical infrastructure. We go inside a key electrical substation—one of over 40 hit by drone attacks—to witness firsthand the "horrendous" damage caused by waves of Shaheed drone...

In this episode of Battleground Ukraine , hosts Saul David and Roger Morehouse explore a series of significant developments that suggest a shifting tide in the conflict. Political Controversy in Budapest: A look at US Vice President JD Vance’s recent speech in Hungary, his support for Victor Orbán, and the implications of his "outrageous" claims regarding foreign electoral interference. Revolution...

In this special episode, Saul David is joined by joined from Budapest by friends of the show Julius Strauss and Boldizsár Győri to analyse the high-stakes Hungarian election taking place this Sunday, April 12. With Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s 16-year grip on power facing a severe threat from challenger Péter Magyar and the Tisa party, the team investigates a "cemetery of skeletons" emerging from...

In this edition of Battleground Ukraine , Roger Moorhouse and Patrick Bishop explore a week where the geography of the war has expanded significantly—both through daring long-range strikes and complex global diplomacy. We begin with an analysis of Ukraine’s concerted offensive against Russian oil infrastructure in the Baltic. With repeated strikes on the Primorsk and Ust-Luga terminals, Kyiv is hi...

In this instalment of our Special Forces series, Patrick Bishop and Saul David pivot from Allied triumphs to examine a daring operation from the "enemy" perspective: the 1943 rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini . Following the Allied invasion of Sicily and a vote of no confidence from his own council, Mussolini was arrested and whisked away to a remote ski resort 2,112 meters high in the A...

In this episode of the Battleground Podcast, Saul David and Roger Moorhouse analyse what appears to be a possible tipping point in the four-year-long Russo-Ukraine war. The discussion centres on the overwhelming effectiveness of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, led by Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, which is reportedly achieving a staggering kill ratio of 400 Russians for every one Ukrainian at a remark...

If you would like to watch this podcast you can watch it on Spotify or you can find it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@BattlegroundUkraine In this special on-the-ground edition of Battleground Special Forces, Saul David and Julius Strauss travel to the outskirts of Kharkiv and Kyiv to examine the catastrophic opening hours of the 2022 Russian invasion. Through eyewitness accounts and vis...

The Battleground team returns to Ukraine to witness how a whirlwind year of shifting geopolitics and a brutal winter have transformed the nation. On our first day in Odesa, hosts Saul David and Julius Strauss explore a city that remains a stunning architectural gateway to the country, despite being a primary target for Russian drones and missiles. In this episode, we sit down with friend of the po...

As the war between America, Israel, and Iran escalates, the ripple effects are being felt acutely in Ukraine. In this episode, Patrick and Saul analyse the "extraordinary diplomatic developments" emerging from the White House, where President Trump appears to be equating Western support for Ukraine with Russian support for a repressive Iranian theocracy. Meanwhile, Saul provides a firsthand update...

In this episode of Battleground , Saul David and Patrick Bishop dive into a packed mailbag to answer your thoughts and questions on the elite units and daring raids that defined 20th-century special operations. Among the topics of discussion in today's episode are: operations by Norwegian SOFs during WW2, the daring Italian manned-torpedo raids on the British fleet at Alexandria in 1941, and Opera...

Recording from an overnight train traveling across Ukraine, Saul David and Julius Strauss reflect on an intensive week-long journey from Odesa to Kyiv. In this episode, they bear witness to the jarring dualities of a country at war—reporting directly from the site of a devastating missile strike on a Kharkiv apartment block. They also share insights from Odesa on the repair of the electrical grid...

At 7:07 p.m. on May 5, 1980, the Metropolitan Police officially handed control of the Iranian Embassy siege to the SAS. What followed were seventeen minutes of high-stakes drama that would change the reputation of the Special Air Service forever. In this episode, Patrick Bishop and Saul David break down the frantic tactical reality of Operation Nimrod . We explore the "Blue" and "Red" team assault...

If you are interested in reading more from Julius Strauss, you can find his substack here: https://backfromthefront.substack.com/ In a bonus edition of Battleground Ukraine, Saul David and Julius Strauss are joined by Boldizsar Gyori to discuss the recent surge in tensions between Hungary and Ukraine and assess why recent developments could be very significant for Ukraine going forward. Additional...

While the world’s gaze is fixed on the "mega-drama" unfolding across Iran and the Middle East, the tremors are being felt on the battlefields of Ukraine. In this episode, Roger Moorhouse and Patrick Bishop dive into the high-stakes geopolitical fallout of a widening Middle Eastern conflict and what it means for Kyiv. As the U.S. and Israel burn through interceptor stocks, we ask the critical quest...

In 1980, the SAS was a shadowy unit few had heard of. Six days at the Iranian Embassy changed that forever. In the spring of that year, the eyes of the world turned to a quiet corner of South Kensington, London. Six armed gunmen had stormed the Iranian Embassy, taking 26 hostages and sparking a high-stakes standoff that would change the face of counter-terrorism forever. In the first of a special...

As we pass the fourth anniversary of Putin’s full-scale invasion, Patrick Bishop and Saul David explore whether the tide of the war is finally turning in Ukraine's favour. Following a winter of stasis, Ukrainian forces have reclaimed 400 square kilometres in mere weeks—outpacing Russia’s entire December gains. In this episode, we dive into the factors driving this sudden shift: The Starlink Effect...

In the latest instalment of our Battleground: Special Forces series, Saul David and Patrick Bishop deconstruct one of the most ambitious and ill-fated missions in modern military history: Operation Eagle Claw . In April 1980, with 53 American diplomats held captive in the US Embassy in Tehran and President Jimmy Carter’s political future hanging by a thread, the newly formed Delta Force was called...

In this episode of Battleground Ukraine , Saul David and Roger Moorhouse break down a week of high-stakes diplomacy and unexpected battlefield shifts as the war approaches its four-year anniversary. The duo discusses the rapid collapse of the latest trilateral peace talks in Geneva , which ended in acrimony after just two hours as Russian negotiators refused to budge on territorial demands. Meanwh...

In this gripping episode of Battleground, Patrick Bishop and Saul David explore one of World War II's most daring commando raids: Operation Frankton, better known as the Cockleshell Heroes mission. In December 1942, twelve Royal Marines volunteers led by Major "Blondie" Hasler embarked on a near-impossible mission to paddle canoes 60 miles up the Gironde estuary to sabotage German blockade runners...

In our weekly round up of the latest news from Ukraine, Roger Moorhouse and Patrick Bishop examine a week of "salient moments" that may signal a turning point in the war. They discuss the Kremlin’s risky move to throttle Telegram, the deepening recession across 21 sectors of the Russian economy, and the high-profile assassination attempt on Lieutenant-general Vladimir Alexeyev. The duo also breaks...

In this episode of Battleground: Special Forces , Saul David is joined by Julius Strauss to dive into the brutal history and mixed legacy of one of Russia’s elite units: Spetsnaz. Julius provides a unique reporter’s perspective on the ground, reflecting on his own experiences embedded with these units during some of their most controversial deployments. The episode focuses on two of the most infam...

This week Patrick Bishop and Saul David examine a the latest news in week of deadly limbo in Ukraine as Donald Trump’s promised "energy truce" is shattered by a record-breaking Russian bombardment in -20°C temperatures. We analyse why Moscow’s advances are now slower than the Battle of the Somme and discuss Elon Musk’s latest move to block Starlink from Russian drones. Later in the episode, we are...

While the 1942 Dieppe Raid was a catastrophic failure for the Allies, one unit achieved a flawless tactical victory against the odds. In part one of this special series, Patrick Bishop and Saul David explore the origins of the British Commandos—Winston Churchill’s "hunter class" of soldiers. From the brutal training bogs of the Scottish Highlands to the clifftops of Varengeville, we follow No. 4 C...