Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Alexander Baunov, editor-in-chief of Carnegie Politika and a senior fellow at Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, to discuss the upcoming Trump presidency and what effect it may have on Russian foreign policy and the war in Ukraine.

If even a peace proposal from Trump is rejected by Putin, then it means the demise of the Russian “victory plan” and any remote prospect of ending the war.

Trump’s victory has reconfirmed Putin’s view that the west is so politically unstable that policies can drastically change with every election cycle.

While the prospect of a full-scale war between Iran and Israel is a worry for the Kremlin, it could also have a significant financial upside for Russia.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Kremlin to maintain equidistance in the Yemen conflict: Moscow’s growing interaction with the Houthis, including at the military level, is making itself felt. We have seen this before in Syria, Libya, and Sudan.

Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Dara Massicot, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, and independent researcher Alexey Gusev to discuss the unprecedented turn of events at the frontline following Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region.