140. PERSPECTIVE: Former US soldier Carl ”Grinch” Larson on fighting in the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine

Dr. Marlene Laruelle, Research Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at George Washington University, discusses the ideology of Putin's regime, why Putin maintains domestic support despite the on-going costs of Russia's war in Ukraine, and Russia's relationship to far-right political elements in Europe and the United States.  More about Marlene's work: marlene-laruelle.com Marlene Laruelle: Is Russia Fascist? Unravelling Propaganda East and West Marlene Laruelle and Margarita Karnysheva: Memory Politics and the Russian Civil War More about the host: Jessica Genauer   

Carl "Grinch" Larson, a former US soldier who served in Iraq, and then spent 6 months in 2022 fighting in the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine, discusses fighting as a foreign national in Ukraine; differences between fighting in Ukraine and fighting for the US army in Iraq; challenges and lack of equipment for Ukrainian troops; and the work of the Ukraine Defense Support group in providing equipment - primarily to the International Legion and to the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces.  More about Ukraine Defense Support initiative: ukrainedefensesupport.org Overview of the Ukraine Defense Support group: Our mission - Ukraine Defense Support Contact the Ukraine Defense Support group: [email protected]   Carl Larson on Twitter (X): @UALegionnaire Jessica Genauer on Twitter (X): @jessicagenauer  

Maksym Yali, Head of a Center for New World Order and Professor of International Relations at the National Aviation University in Kyiv, discusses the mood in Kyiv and possible gaind for Ukraine's counteroffensive before winter.  Maksym Yali on X (twitter): @maksymyali  Jessica Genauer on X (twitter): @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer 

Miriam Hess, Associate Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations, discusses Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's place in the domestic Russian political landscape and relationship to Putin, Chechens fighting on both sides in the war in Ukraine, and the possible future of the Republic of Chechnya if Putin were to no longer be in power. More about Miriam's work: Miriam Hess Miriam Hess on: background to the relationship between Chechnya and Russia for The Hundred  Miriam Hess on Ramzan Kadyrov: The Controversial Chechen Leader who Supports Putin in Ukraine  Miriam Hess on: how Ramzan Kadyrov leverages Islam and internal conflict  Miriam Hess on X(Twitter): @miriamka_hess More about the host: Jessica Genauer Jessica on X(twitter): @jessicagenauer 

Mark McNamee, Europe Director at Frontier View, discusses the economic opportunities and challenges in Ukraine, the mood in Kyiv, the on-going counteroffensive, and political and economic pressures in Russia.  Mark McNamee in Frontier View Insights on Implications of Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal, August 2023  Mark McNamee in Frontier View Insights on How Prigozhin's mutiny reveals Putin's weakness, June 2023  Mark McNamee in Frontier View Insights on How the war has damaged Russian labor markets, June 2023  Mark McNamee on X/Twitter: @mmcnameefsg More about Fontier View: frontierview.com More about the host: Jessica Genauer  Jessica on X/Twitter: @jessicagenauer

Catrina Doxsee, associate director and associate fellow for the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), discusses the Wagner mutiny, Wagner's relationship to the Russian state, the relationship between Yevgeny Prigozhin and Putin, and the future of Wagner activities in Africa and elsewhere.  More about Catrina Doxsee's work: CatrinaDoxsee.com Previous episode with Catrina on background and activities of the Wagner group: Episode 124. ANALYSIS: Catrina Doxsee on the Wagner group Catrina on twitter / X: @catrinadoxsee Jessica Genauer on twitter / X: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer 

James Acuna, founder of Frontier Vectors security and business consultancy and former CIA officer, discusses the use of intelligence drones in Ukraine, the way in which open source intelligence has impacted the war, and the information domain.    More on James Acuna: Founder of Frontier Vectors security and business consultancy based in Tallinn, Estonia. Prior to this James worked for over 27 years in both defense and security in the United States including 20 years with the Directorate of Operations at the CIA and 8 years supporting the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. More on Frontier Vectors More about the host: Jessica Genauer  Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer

Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria, PhD candidate at the T.C. Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland, discusses the forced deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia, atroctiy crimes, allegations of genocide and the implications of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for President Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova.  Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria on Are Russian transfers of Ukrainian children to re-education and adoption facilities a form of genocide? Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria on twitter @YBFLaw Jessica Genauer on twitter @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer 

Edward Price, former British Trade Official, Principal for Geopolitical Forecasting at Ergo Intelligence and non-resident Senior Fellow at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, discusses Ukraine's financial strategy, on-going risks and global economic implications of the war in Ukraine.  More about Edward Price  Edward Price on The Man Financing Ukraine's Fight for Freedom  Edward Price on Global Implications of the war in Ukraine Edward Price on twitter: @ed_s_price Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer 

Alexander Titov, Lecturer in Modern European History at Queen's University Belfast, discusses imperialism in the Northeast Asian region, Russian imperialism, common mechanisms of appropriation of former imperial territories, and possible echoes of patterns of imperial territorial conquest in Russia's current full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  Alexander Titov on Ukraine: Putin isn't mad - he's following a long-established great power playbook for conquest Alexander Titov on National appropriation of imperial lands in Northeast Asia in forthcoming edited volume Competing Imperialisms in Northeast Asia  Alexander Titov on twitter: @titovalexander Jessica Genauer on twitter: @jessicagenauer More about the host: Jessica Genauer