In 2022, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared “Zeitenwende”—a “turning point” in how Germany should think about its defense and security. As the third anniversary of the war approaches amid signs that the Trump administration wants to bring it to an end on terms favorable to Russia, Germany is yet to form a new government following the collapse of Scholz’s coalition. What does the upcoming federal election mean for Germany and its role supporting Ukraine? What changes to German and EU defense can be expected, depending on the composition of the new coalition?
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Alexandra Prokopenko, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and one of the leading experts on the Russian economy, to assess the current state of Putin’s wartime economy and discuss its future prospects.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by two representatives of the independent Russian media outlet Mediazona—English-language editor Mika Golubovsky and data team technical lead David Frenkel—to discuss their work counting Russia’s losses in spite of Moscow’s attempts to obscure that data.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Arkady Ostrovsky, Russia and Eastern Europe editor for The Economist, to discuss the role of Victory Day in Russia and how it has evolved under Putin.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and one of the most sought-after analysts of the battlefield dynamics in Ukraine, to discuss the situation on the ground and the trajectory of the war.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Tatiana Mikhailova, an economist and visiting assistant professor at Penn State University, to make sense of the trade war initiated by Washington.