The Eastern Front

Giselle, Iulia, and Dalibor are joined by Dr. Adrian Papahagi, a professor at Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj in Romania. Given the Orthodox faith's relevance in Eastern European culture, Dr. Papahagi joins the podcast to illuminate how regional Orthodox churches and clergy across Eastern Europe, especially in Romania, have been processing and reacting to Russia's war in Ukraine. He shares how the R...

In this episode, Giselle, Iulia, and Dalibor unpack recent, quickly-evolving developments in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine. War continues to ravage eastern Ukraine, where the Russian military is using its playbook from Mariupol to level Ukrainian cities into surrender. Following a spurt of pessimism from Ukraine-watchers last week, they discuss the potential strengths of and weakest links i...

In this episode, Giselle, Iulia, and Dalibor debate controversial approaches to resolving Russia's war in Ukraine. They discuss countries' reservations towards supporting Ukraine more robustly, like American far-right legislators opposing commitment to long-term aid. Across the Atlantic, the hosts call out Western European countries like France and Germany which are not willing to bear the necessa...

Why haven't we seen more cyber warfare in Ukraine? Did we overestimate the Russians? Should we expect Russian cyber aggression agains the West in the coming months? Jason Blessing, a Jeanne Kirkpatrick Visiting Fellow at AEI, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia to help answer these questions. Jason discusses both Russia's, the US', and NATO's cyber warfare capabilities. He also explains Ukraine's re...

As the war in Ukraine comes to an inflection point, Fred Kagan, Director of AEI's Critical Threats Project and recurring guest, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia for a military update. Fred explains why the Russians are focusing their operations in Donetsk and what might come next in eastern Ukraine. He also unravels what is actually going on in Azovstal and Mariupol after reported Ukrainian milit...

The importance of security in the Black Sea has been highlighted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Dimitar Bechev, lecturer at Oxford University and Visiting Fellow at Carnegie Europe, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia to speak specifically about Turkey and Bulgaria. First, Dimitar explains Turkey's relationship with Russia, NATO, and the US in order to illustrate the many factors behind Erdogan's...

Paul Massaro, Senior Policy Advisor to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission), joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia to talk kleptocracy and why it is a transnational threat. Paul argues that kleptocracy is the #1 threat the West faces, as it prevents democracies from developing. Conversely, it is also the reason that Russia's military is performing less effecti...

Yesterday, Russia celebrated its 77th annual Victory Day military parade in the Red Square. Amongst the speculations about the content Putin's speech were the possibility of a formal declaration of war on Ukraine, reiterations of Russia's denazification rhetoric, and a declaration of victory in Eastern Ukraine, all of which were notably lacking. Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia get together today, on M...

What would a war crimes trial of Russian officials look like in 2022? Linda Kinstler, contributing writer for The Economist’s 1843 Magazine, joins the podcast for a rich discussion. Linda compares the many similarities and patterns between today's war crimes in Ukraine and the beginning steps of evidence collection with war crimes and war crimes trails following World War II and the Holocaust. She...

Last week, explosions were reported in Transnistria, raising concerns for Moldovan and Black Sea security. Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia discuss Moldova and its geo-strategic role in Eastern Europe. Iulia gives a brief history of Moldova and its ties since the Soviet Union, in order to help us understand why Putin might want to invade. Our hosts dive into an assessment of what will happen if there i...

Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia welcome Fred Kagan, Director of AEI's Critical Threats Project back to the podcast for updates on the fighting in Ukraine. Fred provides his analysis on Russia's struggling military and poor decision making. He and our hosts hone in specifically on the Black Sea land bridge where fighting continues and reports of guerrilla warfare are cropping up, and they assess the li...

Yesterday, Russia announced that it will halt natural gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria, renewing questions of European decoupling from Russian gas. Cristian Silviu Busoi, a Romanian member of the European Parliament and President of Industry for the Research and Energy Committee, joins Giselle and Dalibor to discuss Europe's dependence on Russian oil. Cristian assesses the intersection of Europe'...

As the Finnish parliament currently considers if Finland will join NATO, Giselle, Iulia, and Dalibor are joined by Finnish security consultant, Antti Seppo, to discuss Finnish strategic culture and Finland's stated interest to become a NATO member state. Seppo explains that fear of Russia does not motivate Finland's interest in joining NATO; rather, Finland wants to "be on the right side of the Ir...

NATO prepares for its spring meetings , during which it will contemplate Finland and Sweden's possible accession, but most pressing, its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Dominik Jankowski a member of Poland's permanent delegation to NATO, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia to discuss what we can expect to see from these meetings. He addresses Giselle's question as to whether or not it is p...

Giselle, Iulia, and Dalibor welcome Ivan Mikloš, former Finance Minister of Slovakia, to the podcast to answer the question: what happens to Ukraine after the war ends? Ivan Mikloš offers thoughts on Ukrainian post-war reconstruction based on his expertise serving in the Slovak government and advising the Ukrainian government. He traces Ukraine's reconstruction period after the 2014 Euromaidan - w...

Mason Clark, Lead Russia Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia again for a military update. He assesses the sinking of the Russian flagship, Moskva. Mason explains its significance for naval warfare in the Black Sea and what it means for the Russia-Ukraine war as a whole. He also describes what's happening on the many fronts in Ukraine now that the Russia...

Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic was re-elected in last week's Serbian general election. Ivana Stradner, AEI Jeanne Kirkpatrick Visiting Research Fellow, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia to discuss the results. Ivana explains Vucic's politics, draws parallels between Hungary and Serbia, and details Chinese and Russian influence in Serbia. She and our hosts discuss why what happens of Serbia sho...

Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia wrap up the week, analyzing the events and rhetoric of the past days. They discuss to what degree the atrocities in Bucha were ordered by the Russian military, and to what degree they reflect a poorly organized military withdrawal. Our hosts compare Russian brutality with other genocides and discuss Russian filtration and de-Nazification rhetoric. Giselle gives an updat...

Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia welcome Fred Kagan, Director of AEI's Critical Threats Project , back on the podcast for a military update as Russia withdraws from Northern Ukraine and news of atrocities grip the world. Fred analyzes the military strategy of the Russian withdrawal and shows how it was done in very poor order. He also helps us understand what's happening in the east and the south of Uk...

After a landslide victory on Sunday for Orbán's party, Fidesz, Professor and Eastern Europe scholar, Charles Gati, joins the podcast to discuss the election results in Hungary. Despite Russian atrocities in Ukraine, Orbán's strategy of staying out of the war proved successful. Charles analyzes pro-Russianism in Hungary, enduring pain from losing territory after World War I, and if a Russian-Hungar...

Journalist Lydia Tomkiw joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia in this episode to discuss Ukrainian history, identity, and culture. Raised in a Sacremento community formed by the Ukrainian American diaspora, Lydia grew up speaking Ukrainian and attending Ukrainian Saturday school. She explains the many facets of Ukrainian identity and how history and modern events have and do shape it. References: "Let...

Former Hungarian parliamentarian, Zoltán Kész, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia to to give background on the April 3rd election and explain what to expect. He gives his analysis on the chances of Fidesz winning the election. Zoltán also recounts his own experiences with propaganda, smear campaigns, and pressure from Fidesz during his parliamentary campaigns. This episode was recorded on February...

Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia are joined by Mikuláš Dzurinda, former Prime Minister of Slovakia and President of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, to discuss Central European and Eastern European countries' integration into regional and international economic, security, and political organizations. Former Prime Minister Dzurinda traces the history of his home country, Slovakia, from...

Two days after President Biden's speech in Poland, during which he said that Putin "cannot remain in power," Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia analyze the consequences of his gaffe. Our hosts talk about who will bear the burden of Biden's apparent mistake and how it is disconnected from Ukraine's future. They also discuss this weekend's NATO and European Council summits showed lack of a united strategy...

Today, the 30th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Yuriy Sak, advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Defense, joins Giselle, Dalibor, and Iulia from Western Ukraine to share his message with the West. Yuriy explains what Ukraine needs from the West in terms of weapons and support. He and Giselle visit the possibility of Ukrainian counter attacks on the Russians. Finally, Yuriy shows how this war is...