Recent remarks by Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top military commander, that the war with Russia is locked in a stalemate with no breakthrough on the horizon landed in a toxic political atmosphere in the West in which support for military assistance to Kyiv is ebbing and the issue is becoming polarized.
But Zaluzhny’s assessment also landed in a fraught atmosphere inside Ukraine itself as the country braces for a long and drawn-out war for survival.
So what is the state of the home front for Ukrainians? Is Ukraine’s much-vaunted unity and resilience fraying at the edges? And what does this mean going forward?
On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore breaks it all down with Serhiy Kudelia, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University, a close observer of Ukrainian affairs and the author of numerous articles on Ukrainian politics and foreign policy.
Enjoy…
SHOW NOTES
The audio clips opening the podcast and the second segment were from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech on November 6, 2023. A video of the speech can be accessed here and the translations of the clips are as follows:
“Now everyone should think about defending our country. We need to pull ourselves together, avoid unwinding and splitting up into disputes or other priorities. The situation is the same now as it was before: if there is no victory, there will be no country.”
“Our victory is possible. It will come if we all focus on it. Not on politicking or searching for some personal interest. Not on disagreements that will do nothing for the country, defense, and our advancement.”
The essay by Gen. Valery Zaluzhny in The Economist, which was discussed on the podcast, can be accessed here.
An article in The New York Times, “A Deadlocked War Tests Ukrainian Morale,” that was referenced during the podcast, can be accessed here.
A Time Magazine cover story that was referenced during the podcast can be accessed here.
Serhiy Kudelia’s March 6, 2023 article for Al Jazeera, “What Will It Take To End the War In Ukraine?” that was referenced in the podcast can be accessed here. His scholarly publications can be accessed here.