Frontline: The War in Ukraine and Global Security

“If the US, along with Europe, pressurize Russia more, and we will continue as well with our deep strikes…this may bring Russia to the negotiating table whether they want it or not.” Putting pressure on Putin’s economy could be the key to Ukraine winning the war as it's in “a very poor state at the moment” and has no hope of improving, says former advisor to the minister of defence of Ukraine, Yur...

“The tone of the call is viewing Russia as a partner… and Ukraine as an object...that is troubling.” The leaked transcript of Witkoff reportedly ‘coaching’ Russian officials adds to the “dysfunctionality” being shown by Trump's administration over the peace plan, says former US special envoy to Ukraine Ambassador Kurt Volker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The Russians are pretty largely stuck… and that’s pretty uncomfortable for Putin.” Putin may be “overstretching himself” by trying to stir up trouble in Nato countries while not making any advances in Ukraine, says former British ambassador Lord Ricketts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"How does this plan come out when there's little chance it's going to be accepted?" Russia's "secret" peace plan drawn up with Steve Witkoff looks unlikely to succeed as the White House begins to push back against Putin's "wishlist", Prof. Scott Lucas tells Kate Gerbeau on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“He is literally pushing them off the balcony.” “Things aren’t all rosy in Putin’s garden”, says for British Army Colonel Hamish de Bretton Gordon, after the Russian leader betrays his closest men by declaring them as foreign agents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Putin has annexed more territory than he’s actually got.” Putin will find it very difficult to get past Pokrovsk as his 12-month campaign is destroyed by greater Ukrainian arm supplies, says former British Army soldier who joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces Shaun Pinner. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Russia knows full well that there's lots of supplies coming to it from the West and inevitably wants to target that." Bombing attacks on a Polish train and rail line into Ukraine is part of a Russian state attack according to the Polish government, Sean Bell explains why Russia would target the rail network and what the fallout could be on Frontline for Times Radio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

“Lavrov may have fallen out of a window.” If Putin’s scapegoat, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, has disappeared it shows the “end of the regime is nigh”, says Russia expert Diane Francis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Pokrovsk is bleeding Russia dry.” Russia is losing 700-800 men a day as Ukraine manages to keep all supply corridors to the city open, says former British diplomat Cormac Smith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“They believe Russia has lost 350,00 casualties this years so far, and they are currently losing 1008 a day.” Ukraine is eliminating Russian troops in Pokrovsk despite Putin’s propaganda trying to spin the opposite, says former British Army Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“When people raise objections to this, within the military, they are sent on what is in effect a suicide mission.” Putin’s officers are engaged in “massive corruption”, diverting resources to the Russian army, but anyone who speaks out is eliminated, says former director of operations and intelligence for the British Secret Intelligence Service Nigel Inkster. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

“The fact that Russian economy relies of rent payments and internal corruption that comes form oil and gas industries will have an impact on the system.” Pressures are piling up on Putin after Ukraine’s large scale attack hits 22 out of 38 large oil refineries, explains Chatham Houses’ Orysia Lutsevych.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Russia is no more than a gas station with nukes masquerading as a country. If you get rid of the gas station part…there is a potential way of imploding the Russian economy.” Russia may have to “live like North Korea for five years” as Europe and America turn their full attention to helping Ukraine, says Major General Chip Chapman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Not to completely gainsay that this thing has any utility, but it feels to some a little bit like a vanity project." Putin's nuclear powered missile test has done little to deter Ukraine's allies as questions remain about why Russia would want to launch a missile with a nuclear reactor on board, says Matthew Savill on Frontline for Times Radio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Putin has managed to "spin" Trump in the short term but risks a significant fall out at Budapest as the Kremlin refuses to concede to Trump's demand for a halt to the war, says Prof. Scott Lucas on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin is still "paranoid" about his meeting with Trump as he has "nothing to offer" the US president despite wanting control over Ukraine, and other former soviet territories, says The Times's Michael Binyon on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has announced that he will meet President Putin in Hungary for talks on the war in Ukraine. Michael Bociurkiw discusses what the meeting could mean and the latest on the war in Ukraine on Frontline for Times Radio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Russia struggles to find ways to move armour and equipment forward Ukraine begins retaking settlements in the wake of Russia's failure to seize Pokrovsk, says The Institute for the Study of War's George Barros on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With US support Ukraine could force Russia to end the war by threatening to completely collapse the Russian economy through further energy strikes, says  @StarskyUA  on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Three years in, its entire year’s advance has been tiny.” Russia is experiencing a “strategic catastrophe” as its military campaign “winds down” and resets for 2026, says former UK defence attaché Moscow and Kyiv John Foreman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The Russians are still encircled…there’s not much hope that the Russians can break those guys out.” The Ukrainian troops “open fire” on advancing Russians as they accidentally walk into an ambush point, says The Times’s Mixim Tucker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"A war of occupation from Russia is looking as impossible as it was looking by April 2022." Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil infrastructure appear to have the green light from the US regardless of whether tomahawk is added to Kyiv's arsenal, sparking a major worry for Putin's regime, says The Standard's Robert Fox on Frontline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“By being so maximalist in his demands… we are much more likely to get into the scenario where Russia is feeling the need for a ceasefire.” Putin will fail as he cannot sustain his war effort after facing economic and military problems, says former US ambassador Kurt Volker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“They never ever acknowledged the mistakes they made… and that’s what he’s getting at, and that’s a dangerous line for the Kremlin.” Putin’s Kremlin is under attack from within after remarks made by former FSB officer Igor Girkin hit at the “poor management” of Moscow's high command, says Russia expert Mark Galeotti. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Ukraine has two strike campaigns going at the moment. One is economic warfare, which is targeting Russian oil infrastructure with an aim of degrading the export revenue and their ability to fund the war. The other campaign is targeting military operational and strategic targets." The US is considering providing more support for Ukrainian strikes as Russia's oil industry appears to be severely cri...