app_store_button

google_play_button

DK - Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Nyd den ubegrænsede adgang til tusindvis af spændende e- og lydbøger - helt gratis

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

Goalhanger

A history podcast that explores the narratives, turning points, and characters that shape conflicts, encompassing a blend of social and military history. Following on from the series on the Falklands War, best-selling military historians Patrick Bishop, Saul David, and Roger Moorhouse turn their attention every Friday to the war in Ukraine, and every Wednesday look back at the significant wars, events, and figures from conflicts around the world.

Goalhanger Podcasts

Battleground

In this episode, Patrick and Roger dive into what has officially become the new reality: Ukraine has gained the upper hand in the war against Russia. 

We break down the stunning and deeply embarrassing Ukrainian drone strikes on St Petersburg and the Kronstadt naval base—timed perfectly to shatter Vladimir Putin's illusion of stability right as he hosted his flagship economic forum. Not only did these strikes degrade Russia's crucial energy sector, but they successfully sank a Russian Navy corvette, the Boikiy, right in the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet.

As Russia resorts to press-ganging occupied citizens and faces a widening budget deficit due to unsustainable military spending, we ask a critical question: With the US under Donald Trump seemingly losing interest and stepping back, can Europe fill the diplomatic and military vacuum to maintain this forward momentum?

To help answer this, we are joined by renowned historian, author, and political commentator Dr. Helene von Bismarck. We get her expert diplomatic perspective on a weakening Russia, a strengthening Ukraine, and what comes next for European security.

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

407. Black Smoke Over St Petersburg: Ukraine Targets Putin’s "Russian Davos"

As the brutal conflict continues, Ukraine is fighting a war on multiple fronts—not just in the trenches, but internally within the corridors of power against a long-standing weapon of Kremlin information warfare: the accusation of irredeemable corruption. 

In this episode, hosts Saul David and Julius Strauss sit down in Kyiv with Andrii Borovyk, the executive director of Transparency International Ukraine, for a brutally honest assessment of where the country stands today. Borovyk pulls back the curtain on the Global Corruption Perception Index, exploring how Ukraine remarkably managed to stabilize and even improve its score during wartime—a feat virtually unheard of for a nation in conflict. 

The conversation dives deep into the high-stakes friction between wartime efficiency and democratic transparency, covering:

 
The Reality of the Index: Exactly where Ukraine sits globally, how its score compares to neighbours like Hungary and Slovakia, and why the metric is about external perception rather than a direct measurement of ground-level corruption. 

 
The High-Stakes U-Turn: The dramatic, late-night political maneuvering surrounding a controversial bill aimed at bringing anti-corruption agencies under political control, the ensuing public protests, and the resulting erosion of international trust. 

 
Watchdogging under Fire: How Transparency International Ukraine operates on the policy and legislative levels, saves millions for the state budget through public procurement monitoring, and the institutional distrust surrounding agencies like the State Bureau of Investigations. 

 
The Leadership Report Card: A candid evaluation of Ukrainian leadership—from Yanukovych to Poroshenko and Zelenskyy—in their historical and current fights against corruption. 

 
The Path Forward: The heavy influence of international leverage (like the EU and IMF) on pushing reforms forward, and a sobering look at Ukraine's post-war future, demographic challenges, and shifting immigration needs. 

Julius Strauss writes the blog Back from the Front and also owns and runs Wild Bear Lodge, a bear-viewing lodge, in Canada. Check out both in the links below:

Substack: https://backfromthefront.substack.com/

Wild Bear Lodge: https://wildbearlodge.ca/

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

406. Fighting the War Within – Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Battle

In this episode of Battleground Ukraine, Roger Moorhouse and Saul David analyse a week defined by Russian escalation, psychological warfare, and deep structural fractures behind the frontline.

The Kremlin has intensified its campaign of domestic terror, launching a brutal round of strikes against Kyiv. Among the targets was the newly refurbished Chornobyl Museum—a deeply symbolic attack on historical truth and memory. Russia's deployment of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile has drawn fierce international condemnation, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas slamming it as "reckless nuclear brinkmanship."

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned US diplomats to evacuate the capital ahead of planned "systematic strikes"—a move the team discusses as classic coercive diplomacy designed to fracture Western support. The hosts also unpack the murky diplomatic fallout surrounding a deadly strike on a dormitory in occupied Starobilsk, a location that carries chilling historical echoes of the 1940 Katyn Massacres.

Despite Russia's aggressive rhetoric, the strategic picture tells a different story. Ukraine’s targeted long-range drone strategy continues to bite, successfully shutting down the massive Syzran oil refinery deep inside Russian territory and shifting battlefield momentum. This pressure is exposing cracks within Moscow itself, as reports emerge of an unprecedented split between "hawks" and "doves" among Russia's elite military analyst class.

Finally, Roger and Saul dive into the listener mailbag to answer your questions on:

 
Whether Russian electronic jamming is sending Ukrainian drones off-course into civilian buildings.

 
The legal complexities and political fallout surrounding third-party Russian oil sanctions.

 
The terrifying reality of Putin's nuclear brinkmanship.

 
Whether the high-tech, 20-to-1 casualty ratio achieved in Kupiansk can be replicated across the entire front line.

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

405. Escalation, Ambiguity, and the Ghost of Katyn

On their final night in Kharkiv, Saul, Boldi, Kim, and Julius gather for a debrief to reflect on a city caught between extreme opposites. Fresh off an overnight train from Odesa, they arrived just in time for International Women’s Day—witnessing a blue-sky celebration of smiles and flowers juxtaposed against the smoking ruins of a freshly struck residential building. 

They dive deep into the unique friction of daily life in Kharkiv, where air sirens have become a permanent backdrop to existence. They share extraordinary firsthand accounts from the ground, including: 

 

A Surreal Encounter: The story of a traumatised survivor pushing a fistful of valuable Russian rubles toward them, declaring that the currency must have dropped straight out of the bomb. 

 

The Kupiansk Dynamic: A look at the fluid, nearby front lines where Ukrainian forces are currently encircling the last holdouts of Russian troops. 

 

Institutional Hurdles: A candid discussion on the Ukrainian army’s struggle to scale innovation from elite units like the Khartiia brigade down to the "no-name" brigades. 

 

The Russian Way of War: An analysis of Russia's ability to learn as an organisation over a long war, balanced against their history of devastating troop losses. 

Finally, the team explores the evolving and complex role of women on the front lines. From a compelling interview with Katya—a special operations soldier who warns that Kyiv is now the more dangerous destination—to a Khartiia brigade story about female staff members turning down traditional Women's Day gifts in favour of a day on the rifle range, this episode highlights the unbreakable, "reinforced concrete" character of the Ukrainian people. 

The team wraps up as they prepare to catch an early morning train to Kyiv to see what the next chapter of their journey holds.

Julius Strauss writes the blog Back from the Front and also owns and runs Wild Bear Lodge, a bear-viewing lodge, in Canada. Check out both in the links below:

Substack: https://backfromthefront.substack.com/

Wild Bear Lodge: https://wildbearlodge.ca/

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

404. The Reinforced Character of Kharkiv

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a chilling question has continuously loomed over the international community: how real is the threat of a nuclear escalation? While the nuclear dimension has historically overshadowed the conflict, the rules of engagement and atomic posturing are constantly shifting. 

In this episode, host Roger Moorhouse sits down with one of the world's leading nuclear experts, Matt Korda, to pull back the curtain on the subtle, dangerous games of atomic signalling being played by both sides. 

Korda breaks down the stark contrast between Vladimir Putin’s aggressive public rhetoric and NATO’s quieter, tactical show of force—from Cold War-style bomber flights along borders to the rare surfacing of a US ballistic missile submarine off the coast of Norway. 

Together, they explore:

 
The Art of Moving Goalposts: How NATO successfully calling Putin’s bluffs on supposed "red lines" (like sending tanks and aircraft) has redefined the perceived limits of nuclear deterrence. 

 
Russia's Evolving Nuclear Doctrine: An inside look at the text of Moscow's updated criteria for nuclear deployment, including its expansive shift toward countering conventional threats. 

 
The Belarus Mirror: What Russia’s deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus actually means for international law, and whether it echoes the US/NATO hosting agreements. 

 
An Arsenal in Disrepair: The alarming state of Russia's degrading infrastructure under the weight of sanctions, poor quality control, and recent high-profile failures—including the Sarmat ICBM exploding inside its own launch silo. 

Don't miss this clear-eyed, gripping analysis of a subject that continues to shape global security.

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

403. The Unimaginable: Will Nuclear Weapons Be Used Again in Our Lifetime?

Four years and three months into a "five-day special military operation" that has dragged on as long as the First World War, Vladimir Putin continues to display a troubling resilience. In this episode of Battleground Ukraine, hosts Patrick Bishop and Saul David peel back the diplomatic theatre surrounding Putin’s high-profile summit in Beijing. 

While the body language suggests genuine warmth between Putin and Xi Jinping , the hosts expose the stark reality: a deeply unequal partnership where an economically dominant China treats Russia as a junior partner—and an asset to upend the global order. 

The team breaks down the geopolitical and economic survival strategies keeping Moscow afloat, from massive natural gas pipeline breakthroughs to unexpected lifelines handed over by Western nations. 

 

The Yamal-to-China Pipeline: A deep dive into the resurrected, 50-billion-cubic-meter gas project cutting through Mongolia—a long-term economic fallback that cements Russia's reliance on selling off its natural resources to Asia. 

 

The UK's "Shameful" Sanctions Shift: An analysis of Britain's controversial decision to officially loosen strict sanctions on Russian energy imports. Driven by soaring energy costs and blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, the UK's indefinite waiver on refined Russian crude sends a dangerous signal to the Kremlin. 

 

G7 Hypocrisy: How the British government managed to sign an unwavering G7 pledge to impose "severe costs" on Russia , while simultaneously backtracking on vital sanctions at home. 

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

TikTok - battlegroundukraine

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Friends in High Places: Putin’s Lifelines and Britain’s Sanction U-Turn

In our latest on-the-ground episode of Battleground Ukraine, hosts Saul and Boldi take you directly behind the front lines of a major tactical breakthrough. Traveling down a high-priority supply highway newly shrouded under miles of anti-drone netting , the team infiltrates a hidden, highly secured battalion command post directing the live battle for Kupiansk. 

Disguised as a civilian building to evade Russian surveillance , the bunker functions like a miniature, high-tech NASA centre. From inside, Saul and Boldi watch live video feeds from a wall of 60 screens , witnessing the exact moment Ukrainian forces employ specialised "Vampire" bomber drones and fibre-optic ambushes to systematically dismantle the Russian advance.

Featuring Exclusive Interviews from the Front Line:

 
The Deputy Battalion Commander breaks down the meticulous northern flank counteroffensive that blindsided the enemy , resulting in over 500 Russian casualties and the successful reoccupation of the city.

 
"Positive," Head of Intelligence, details the psychological drone and phone operations used to safely capture roughly 50 Russian defectors —and the grim reality of Russian forces shooting their own men who try to surrender.

 
An Assault Company Commander explains their critical mission to block Russian access to Kupiansk and exposes how Russia is deploying poorly trained "infiltrators" merely to draw fire and map targets.

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

TikTok - battlegroundukraine

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

401. The Battle for Kupiansk: Inside Ukraine's Comeback

In this special edition of Battleground Ukraine, Saul David and Patrick Bishop catch up with friend of the show - intrepid Hungarian war reporter Boldi Gyori, who has just returned from the front lines and the deeply scarred landscapes of Ukraine. 

Boldi paints a vivid, surreal, and at times dystopian picture of a conflict that has evolved into a "forever war" for those living through it. 

 
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Today: Forty years after the nuclear catastrophe, Boldi explores a lush but heavily militarised zone where thousands of workers and soldiers monitor radiation and guard against a repeat of the 2022 Russian invasion. He shares a chilling look inside a Pripyat hospital basement where the clothing of the original first responders remains too radioactive to touch. 

 
The "Human Safari" of Kherson: A brutal look at a besieged city where Russian FPV drones explicitly target civilians on the street. Boldi details how locals use Telegram channels to duck from shadow to shadow, how a brave Hungarian volunteer smuggles in life-saving baby formula, and why thousands of citizens simply cannot afford to leave. 

 
The Tech Battleground: An inside look at the high-tech, 3D-printed interceptor drones deployed by Ukrainians from ordinary minivans to knock out Russian Shahed and Molniya drones mid-air with an astonishing 85–90% success rate. 

 
A Shift in Budapest: Following a major election victory in Hungary, Boldi breaks down why the Kremlin has stopped pulling its punches in the western region of Transcarpathia—and how Hungary's new government is finally pushing back against Russian aggression. 

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

TikTok - battlegroundukraine

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

400. Human Safari in Kherson & Drone Interceptors at Chernobyl

In this week’s episode, Saul David and Patrick Bishop explore whether the tide has finally turned in the four-year conflict.

Following a series of strategic and symbolic blows to the Kremlin, the team asks: Are we witnessing the beginning of the end for Vladimir Putin’s "Special Military Operation"?

The Humiliation of Red Square: We break down Putin’s "feeble" May 9th Victory Parade. From the bizarre request for a two-day truce to the total absence of tanks and modern hardware, what does this scaled-back spectacle reveal about the current state of the Russian military?

The Drone Revolution: Ukraine’s "mid-range" dominance is changing the math on the front lines. We look at how AI-integrated drones and Starlink are bypassing Russian EW systems to strike deep into logistics hubs, specifically targeting the vital H-20 highway.

Cracks in the Kremlin: With reports of a shrinking Russian economy and Putin’s increasing reliance on bunkers and bodyguards, we discuss the rumours of internal paranoia and a potential coup.

The Road to Istanbul: For the first time since 2019, a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin looks possible. Encouraged by Donald Trump and facilitated by Turkey, could this be the breakthrough the world has been waiting for—or is it another tactical stall?

Operation Midas: Domestically, Zelensky faces a political firestorm as his former Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, is charged in a massive £76m energy corruption scandal. We examine what this means for Ukraine’s EU ambitions and why "no one being above the law" might actually be a sign of democratic strength.

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

TikTok - battlegroundukraine

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

399. Is This the Beginning of the End?

In the second part of our interview with Katya Ratushna, she recounts the harrowing final days of Avdiivka and shares her strategic vision for the future of the Ukrainian defence. 

Following her account of Bakhmut in Part 1, Katya offers a raw perspective on the "fate" of being among the last to leave a city on its final night. 

She offers an unfiltered look at:

 
The Avdiivka Evacuation: A gripping account of a midnight escape where a loose piece of thermal gear saved her from a Russian drone grenade that hit her group. 

 
Leadership and Gender: How she earned authority over eight years to command men in the Special Operation Forces and why she believes women bring a unique, "idea-driven" motivation to the front lines. 

 
The UAV Revolution: The challenges of scaling drone units and why she believes the military must move beyond technical piloting to a comprehensive system of tactical education. 

 
The "Kill Zone" Reality: A candid discussion on manpower, revealing that only an estimated 15% of the army is physically holding the most dangerous front-line positions. 

 
A Divided Kharkiv: A deeply personal reflection on the pro-Russian sentiments within her own family and the enduring Ukrainian roots of her home city. 

Join us for the conclusion of this powerful interview as Katya explores how rational thinking saves lives and why the time bought by defending these cities is Ukraine's most precious resource

Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com

Follow us on:

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

TikTok - battlegroundukraine

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

407. Black Smoke Over St Petersburg: Ukraine Targets Putin’s "Russian Davos"

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

Other podcasts you might like ...