What Is Putin's Plan after Four Years of War in Ukraine? | Global News Podcast

Feb 23, 2026 | We take a look at Russia, its leader, and its people, after four years of war in Ukraine. What is Vladimir Putin's end game? Have his talks with US President Donald Trump emboldened him? And what does the Russian public make of the conflict, as casualties rise and the economy struggles?

We speak to the BBC's Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, one of the few Western journalists covering the Kremlin from inside the country.

From Chasing Rats to the Presidency: 3 Moments That Made Vladimir Putin - BBC World Service

Feb 19, 2026 | Before Vladimir Putin took charge of Russia over 25 years ago, he was a virtual unknown.

Today, he has become an increasingly authoritarian leader at home and whose decisions, including to invade Ukraine, have defined his reputation on the world stage.

Much of what we know about his life before the Kremlin comes from stories he repeatedly tells about himself.

From a childhood spent chasing rats to the twist of fate that drew him into politics, we explore his early years and what they can teach us about the man behind the leader.

Trump Exposed for Displaying Framed Photo with Putin on White House Wall | Sir Bill Browder

Jan 28, 2026 | Sir Bill Browder joins Maddie Hale to discuss reports the United States will only provide security guarantees to Ukraine if it gives up the Donbas to Russia, Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin offers Donald Trump a way to receive a Nobel Peace Prize and a keen-eyed reporter finds a framed photo of the US President and Vladimir Putin hanging on a wall near the West Wing.

Why Trump Sides with Putin | The David Frum Show

Jan 21, 2026 | On this week’s episode of “The David Frum Show,” The Atlantic’s David Frum examines one of the most consequential deceptions of the Trump presidency: the insistence that grocery prices are falling when Americans know from lived experience that they are not. David explains how tariffs and trade policy are deliberately driving food costs higher, why Trump keeps lying about it, and how breaking this promise strikes at the core of the fragile trust between voters and government.

Then David is joined by Fiona Hill, a former adviser to three U.S. presidents and a key witness in Trump’s first impeachment, to analyze how Vladimir Putin sees the world and why Trump remains so drawn to strongman power. Frum and Hill discuss Putin’s long game in Ukraine, Trump’s archaic and backward worldview, and how Trump’s presidency has been a gift to Putin while steadily eroding American credibility abroad.

Finally, David closes the episode with a discussion of “Among the Believers,” by V. S. Naipaul, reflecting on the Iranian Revolution and why authoritarian regimes repeatedly fail at modernity.

Russia Issues Shock NUCLEAR Warning To U.S. After Maduro Capture from Caracas? 'Long Live Nukes'

Jan 3, 2025 | Russia’s reaction to the U.S. strike on Venezuela has taken a dramatic turn. Dmitry Medvedev, a senior Russian security official and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, issued a blistering statement condemning Washington’s actions and accusing the United States of abducting a legally elected leader. But it was Medvedev’s final message that sent shockwaves globally. Arguing that diplomacy has failed and international law is ignored, he claimed that only maximum military strength — including nuclear weapons — can protect a nation from foreign intervention. His closing words, “Long live nuclear weapons,” are now being interpreted as a veiled warning to the United States and its allies.

Donald Trump Delivers Putin's Talking Points in Sick Press Conference with Zelenskyy

Dec 29, 2025 | Jesse talks about the sick and twisted remarks from Donald Trump during last night's press conference at Mar-a-Lago with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump dutifully regurgitated Russian propaganda and talking points seemingly on command.

Trump Takes Orders from Putin over War in Ukraine, as Russia Pushes Propaganda Plan upon President

Dec 30, 2025 | Donald Trump claims he can end the war in Ukraine—but the optics and timing of recent events tell a far more troubling story. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Florida for critical peace talks, Trump publicly highlighted a phone call with Vladimir Putin, positioning himself as the central power broker while Russia escalated threats and spread disinformation. In this video, we break down how Russia’s sudden claim of a foiled drone attack on Putin’s residence fits a familiar pattern of information warfare, why Zelenskyy has warned of imminent strikes on Kyiv’s government buildings, and how Trump’s personalized, optics-driven diplomacy risks pressuring Ukraine rather than confronting Russian aggression.

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

Steve Schmidt: Trump’s Appeasement of Putin Threatens the World

Dec 29, 2025 | Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin before meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss an elusive peace deal at Mar-a-Lago. Steve Schmidt breaks down Representative Mike Turner’s comments and explains why appeasing Putin threatens the entire world.

You get an ignorant leader of the West when you let ignorant people elect such a powerful man. This is the weakness of democracy — when the right to vote is given to know-nothings. And, while we are at it, how many innocent Ukrainians (and Russians) have had to die because of this ignorance? — © Mark Alexander

IHIP News: Trump Can’t Stop Glazing Putin! Embarrassing Press Conference Has Allies in Disbelief

Dec 19, 2025 | Trump goes on and on about his love for Putin in front of Zelensky.

Very strong language alert!

Trump is such a WEAK man. He understands FA about geopolitics and/or diplomacy. He is a very IGNORANT person. He has read NOTHING, and it shows! Add all this to his insatiable need to become ever richer, his propensity to lie through his teeth, and his corrupt nature, and we have a disaster in the making. — © Mark Alexander

Putin Faces ‘War on His Doorstep’ after Russian General Killed in Moscow

Dec 23, 2025 | “They’re trying to send out the message that you’re not safe from us anywhere in the world.”

Ukraine are “striking” right at the heart, as they are suspected of being behind the Russian general car bombing attack in central Moscow, says the Atlantic Council’s Michael Bociurkiw.

Trump’s Talks with Putin Won’t Deliver Peace While Moscow Seeks Ukraine’s ‘Subjugation’

Dec 21, 2025 | “There might be a ceasefire, but I don’t see a lasting peace.”

Trump’s talks are unlikely to produce a lasting breakthrough as Russia and Ukraine’s positions remain “diametrically opposed,” and Moscow is still pursuing the “subjugation of Ukraine,” says former NSA official and military analyst Cedric Leighton.

The Story of Farage and Putin…

As told by a British-Ukrainian soldier.

How 2025 Pushed Russia into Economic 'Collapse' | Bill Browder

Dec 20, 2025 | Putin's invasion of Ukraine has already pushed Russia's economy into the beginning of a collapse says Bill Browder founder of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, discussing the global impact of the war in Ukraine in 2025 with Philip Ingram.

Trump Is Forcing Ukraine into a ‘Transactional’ Peace Deal as Europe Quietly Pushes Back

Dec 14, 2025 | “The trick is never to say no, but instead opt for ‘yes, Mr President, but…’”

Europe is trying to quietly steer Trump away from forcing Ukraine into “very serious and dangerous concessions” by keeping him onside while shifting pressure back onto Putin, says international affairs commentator and Zelensky biographer Gallagher Fenwick.

Putin’s Frozen Assets Could Bring Europe ‘to a Standstill’

Dec 13, 2025 | “If it were to fail, capital markets might come to a standstill.”

It would be risky for the Belgian securities depository Euroclear to seize Russian assets and give them to Ukraine to fund their war effort, as it could unbalance the European economy, says Belgian professor of financial law at KU Leuven University Veerle Colaert.

'Putin Is a Murderer': Russian Opposition Figure Vladimir Kara-Murza • FRANCE 24 English

Dec 11, 2025 | In an interview with FRANCE 24, Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who survived two suspected poisoning attempts and spent two and a half years in jail before being released in a 2024 prisoner swap, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "not only a dictator" but "also a murderer in a very direct and literal sense of this term". He accused Putin of ordering the assassinations of fellow opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny.

Ukraine’s Fate Will Be Determined Next Week | Sir Bill Browder

Dec 12, 2025 | Sir Bill Browder joins Times Radio’s Maddie Hale to discuss the United States suggesting Donbas become a free economic zone, Belgium threatens legal action against the EU if it moves ahead with plans to use or effectively seize frozen Russian central bank assets and Ukraine’s strikes halt production on a Lukoil-operated oil rig in the Caspian sea.

Sir Bill Browder is the man who has got the most impressive understanding of this problem. It is so refreshing to listen to him bringing clarity into this most difficult and intractable of problems. Bill Browder cuts to the chase. — © Mark Alexander

Trump’s Attack on Europe ‘Plays Straight into Moscow’s Hands’

Dec 10, 2025 | “There are a lot of smiles in Moscow these days.”

Trump is undermining his partnership with the EU and emboldening Putin by pushing “an alternate reality” that ignores Europe’s actual security risks, says former EU ambassador to the US João Vale de Almeida.


Trump is a traitorous AH! Moreover, Trump is Putin’s stooge, and for as long as Americans tolerate this dangerous man in the White House, America should not be considered our true friend or ally. We Europeans had better get used to the idea that we are alone. We can no longer count on the Americans. Any hitherto perceived “special relationship” under Trump is dead. Furthermore, we need to stop bellyaching about why this is all happening. To me, there is no real mystery. Much has gone on between Trump and Russia in the past that has yet to come out. The result: Trump is Putin’s marionette; Putin, Trump’s puppeteer! But there is another important dimension, too. It is this: Trump is in a great hurry because he sees great opportunities ahead that his buddy Putin will make possible for him. Trump and his family will be able to profit greatly from an American rapprochement with Russia by bringing Putin in from the cold. Zelenskyy’s intransigence is a hindrance to future billions for the Trump clan. This isn’t rocket science. — © Mark Alexander

Did Zelenskyy Just Spit on Trump's "Peace" Plan? Why Ukraine Won't Bend the Knee to the Kremlin

Dec 9, 2025 | Zelenskyy is refusing to bow to Putin, but Trump seems more than willing to lend Russia's authoritarian leader a hand or anything else. Thom Hartmann explains why Zelenskyy is refusing Trump's latest plan for 'peace' in Ukraine.

Putin’s New Submarines Are a Rapidly Expanding Atlantic Threat | Admiral James G. Foggo

Dec 9, 2025 | “The Russians have a very capable programme of information and intelligence gathering using undersea assets.”

Russia’s newest submarines, including the ultra-quiet Severodvinsk armed with hypersonic missiles, represent a rapidly expanding threat beneath the Atlantic that NATO must urgently be prepared to counter, says retired US Navy admiral James G Foggo.