Russia can no longer keep the war at a distance as Ukrainian strikes reach deeper inside the country, fuel pressure grows, infrastructure is hit, and the consequences of the invasion become harder to hide. Irish journalist and frontline reporter Caolan Robertson joins Jason Jay Smart in Kyiv to explain why he believes Russia has entered a new phase, as the war increasingly reaches the system and population Moscow spent years trying to insulate from it.
Drawing on his reporting from Ukraine, Kursk and Syria, Robertson describes what he has seen as pressure builds inside Russia and the Kremlin responds with heavier attacks against Ukrainian cities. He discusses Russia’s strained social contract, long-range Ukrainian strikes, fuel and labor problems, what happened during the Kursk operation, and why growing weakness inside Russia could make the next stage of the war more dangerous rather than less.
The discussion also follows Russia’s influence far beyond the battlefield, including propaganda networks in the West, Moscow’s political and media connections, Ireland’s continuing economic links with Russia, and Robertson’s own experience inside right-wing media before becoming a prominent critic of Russian influence. The question running through the conversation is how much more pressure Russia’s political, economic and military system can absorb as the war it started increasingly comes home. Caolan and Jason Smart filmed this, in Kyiv, Ukraine at the Kyiv Post's office.
Source: Kyiv Post
