So here’s a little factoid to bear in mind. In its incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast that began in August, Ukraine has managed to capture more territory there than Russia has captured in Ukraine all year. Ukraine now holds a slice of Russian territory roughly the size of Los Angeles.
The question is: will it matter? Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine continues to grind on toward the strategically vital city of Pokrovsk as the war approaches its 32nd month.
And as the summer winds down, the war grinds on, and Ukraine fights for its survival, Kyiv’s Western partners are, remarkably, still slow walking a decision about whether to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike inside Russia.
So what happens now? On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore breaks it all down with James Sherr, Honorary Fellow at the International Center for Defense and Security, and former U.S. State Department official Max Bergmann, director of the Europe and Russia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
SHOW NOTES
The opening audio clip came from a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on September 18, 2024. The translation is as follows:
“Today, we can already say that our Plan for Victory is fully prepared – all points, all key emphases, the necessary appendices with details to the Plan have been identified. Everything has been worked out. The most important thing now is the determination to implement it.”
The article by James Sherr for the International Center for Defense and Security, “Turning the Tables,” which was referenced in the podcast, can be accessed here. James Sherr’s published work can be accessed here and here.
CSIS’s Russian Roulette Podcast, hosted by Max Bergmann and Maria Snegovaya, can be accessed here. Max Bergmann’s published work can be accessed here.
The Power Vertical Newsletter on Substack can be accessed here. Recently published work by Brian Whitmore can be accessed here, here, and here.