Guy Lam and James Acton discuss the events of the past year. Both are experts on regional dynamics, nuclear risks. Lam: Russia's military underperformance has been the biggest surprise so far. The U.S.-Russia relationship in Europe is also likely to be a key topic for future discussions.
To mark a year since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Galen Druke brings back two experts who first joined the podcast when the war began. Samuel Charap is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation and author of the book “Everyone Loses: The Ukraine Crisis and the Ruinous Contest for Post-Soviet Eurasia.” James Acton is a physicist and co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Together they describe why the war has not turned out as originally expected, what the risks of escalation are today and how the conflict might come to an end.