As Russia focuses its brutal war in the Eastern region of Ukraine, the European Parliament has recommend that EU leaders grant Ukraine candidate status. Liz and Jessikka speak with Dmytro Naumenko, Co-founder and Senior Analyst at the Ukrainian Centre for European Policy. Naumenko has worked to promote Ukraine’s European Union candidacy as well as countering Russian disinformation campaigns. They discuss Russia's long obsession with preventing Ukraine from forming ties with European democracies. 

A former member of Ukrainian Parliament and expert in energy security discusses how Russia is using food as a weapon. Ukraine grows enough food to feed 400 million people worldwide. Because of the war, crops won’t be planted and Russia has disrupted supply chains, possibly setting the conditions for a global food crisis.

Liz and Jessikka speak to former member of Ukrainian Parliament, Ukrainian energy expert and environmental activist Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska about the war’s significance in the global battle between democracies and autocracies.

Liz and Jessikka speak with author and expert on Russian Armed Forces, Keir Giles. As Finland and Sweden formally submit applications to join NATO, they discuss how Russia uses threats to manipulate Western leaders' proclivity for conflict aversion. They also uncover how Russia weaponizes Western academics, such as John Mearsheimer.

Preorder Keir Giles' book Russia's War on Everybody: And What it Means for You here: https://www.amazon.com/Russias-War-Everybody-What-Means/dp/1350255084