DEFAERO Strategy Series [Sep 16, 25] Sam Bendett & Eugene Rumer on Russia, Ukraine

On today’s Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, Sam Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses and Dr. Eugene Rumer, the director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss details of Russia’s drone attacks on Poland, Romania and Moldova — the first and largest such attack against the alliance; how the alliance can respond given President Trump’s conditioning of US support on all alliance members agreeing to halting energy purchases from Russia and imposing penalties on China; the changing nature of Russia’s ever larger attacks on Ukraine; the joint Russian-Belorussian Zapad 2025 exercises and how Moscow and Minsk are working to improve capabilities; whether the exercise is cover for potential future action against NATO given how Russia used past Zapad exercises to pre-position forces and equipment for the 2022 attack on Ukraine; the implications of US military observers at Zapad; and whether Washington’s engagement with Minsk will change Belarus’ alignment with Russia.