The John Batchelor Show

S8 Ep731: 8. Plokhy describes the 2008 NATO split and Putin’s subsequent military intervention in Georgia. He outlines the pressure placed on Yanukovich to reject the European Union, which sparked the Maidan revolution. The author emphasizes that these events we

S8 Ep731: 7. Returning to the night of February 23, 2014, Plokhy highlights the undemocratic nature of Putin’s decision-making process. He addresses stereotypes of Ukrainian internal divisions, arguing that while Russia exploited these differences to seize Crimea,

S8 Ep731: 6. Examining the 2021-2022 buildup, Plokhy notes the U.S. intelligence success in predicting the invasion but critiques the lack of preemptive military aid. He details Putin’s imperial ideology regarding the "historical unity" of Russians and Ukrainians a

S8 Ep731: 5. Plokhy compares the 2014 annexation of Crimea to the 1930s policy of appeasement, criticizing the West’s inadequate response. He discusses the Minsk agreements as a Russian tool to destabilize Ukraine and explains how NATO’s fear of escalation allowed

S8 Ep731: 4. This source reiterates the consequences of the 2008 NATO summit, detailing the split between the U.S. and allies like Germany. Plokhy explains how Putin’s invasion of Georgia served as a blueprint for the 2014 Ukrainian conflict and explores Yanukovich