While Russia builds troops at the border with Ukraine, Russian officials have been on a tour of Europe, meeting the US in Geneva and Nato in Brussels. Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss why this round of diplomacy has once again failed to defuse tensions.

At the same time, Russia has sent troops from the Moscow-based CSTO military alliance to Kazakhstan to prop up President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev after widespread protests. The team discuss the unrest and the political gain of Russian intervention.

We then turn to the Czech Republic where Petr Fiala took office last year, promising a shift to the West. Emily and Ido discuss the significance for the Visegrad alliance and relations with Europe more widely.

In You Ask Us, a listener asks if there are significant anti-Trump factions who could lead the US Republican party in a different direction.

Further Reading:

Ido Vock reports Russia intervenes in Kazakhstan to prop up President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Ido Vock asks can Joe Biden’s diplomacy stop Russia from invading Ukraine?

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Crises at Russia’s borders, a new Czech prime minister signals West, and Trump’s hold on the Republican Party