Russia continues to weaponize the winter with attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ukraine, meanwhile, strikes back with drone attacks on military installations deep inside Russian territory.
Kyiv also moved to remove one of the last remaining vestiges of Moscow’s malign influence with legislation pending to ban the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine following a series of raids. And Vladimir Putin conceded this week that the war could be “a very long process,” adding that he did not plan to call up more troops.
So what happens next? On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Kramer, Executive Director of the the George W. Bush Institute; and veteran Russia-watcher James Sherr, a Senior Fellow at the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the International Center for Defense and Security to unpack it all.
SHOW NOTES
The clips opening the podcast and the second segment are from a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 6. The speech can be accessed here.
The translations are as follows:
“I wish you all one thing – victory! To all of us. You deserve it! All our people deserve it. All our parents, our children deserve it. Our state and history deserve it. To finally gain victory. Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine! Glory to Ukraine!”
“I am thankful to the warriors of our army and all formations of the defense forces of Ukraine. I am thankful to the parents of our warriors who raised real winners. That’s that – winners. I am thankful to all the doctors and nurses who save the wounded heroes. I am thankful to everyone who strengthens the defense and provides Ukrainian warriors with everything they need.”
An article in The Washington Post by Amb. William Taylor and David Kramer, “The West should do whatever it takes to help Ukrainians survive the winter,”
that was referenced in the podcast can be found here. Recent works by James Sherr can be accessed here.