Having started this season on Security, Strategy and Defence looking back to history and the Grand Strategists of World War II, we end the season looking to the daily updates from Ukraine that inform contemporary strategic thinking.
Our guest this week is the Russia Team Deputy Lead and an Analyst for the Institute for the Study of War, Karolina Hird. As part of her role, she researches the daily map updates produced by ISW and used by news outlets around the world as well as writing reports on a variety of topics such as Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children.
Our conversation begins by discussing her path into a life of politics and what it is that the Institute for the Study of War actually does. From here, Karolina explains how a team of just ten people is able to produce daily updates on the front in Ukraine and how ISW navigates a partisan media landscape when explaining its work.
We then discuss Karolina’s research on Putin’s theft of Ukrainian children, how to understand this as part of the war effort, and the consequences for building a sustainable peace. Finally, we end our conversation by looking to Europe’s military response and whether it can stand up to Russia.
Be sure to follow Karolina’s work here and listen to the podcast here.