2024-05-09
22 分钟The war in Ukraine has reached a pivotal moment. After months of an apparent stalling on the frontlines, Russia has recently made a series of critical breakthroughs. Now the race is on for Kyiv to get newly approved military aid to the front line before Russian forces attack Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv. The 60 billion dollar bill passed in America’s congress at the end of April allows for Ukraine to push back against Russian forces and prepare to mount an offensive next year. But a gap in the supply of missiles has left Kyiv dangerously exposed and huge questions remain about how Ukraine’s President will act next. So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Has US military aid come in time for President Zelensky?’ Contributors: Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Berlin office. Max Bergmann, Director, Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and Stuart Center, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in the US. Dr Marina Miron, post-doctoral researcher in the War Studies Department and an honorary researcher at the Centre for Military Ethics and the Department of Defence Studies, Kings College, London. Professor Olga Onuch, Professor (Chair) in Comparative and Ukrainian Politics at the University of Manchester, UK. Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Lorna Reader Researcher: Matt Toulson Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey Image credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters via BBC Images
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.
You are actually radioactive.
And everything alive is Unexpected Elements from.
The BBC World Service.
Search for unexpected elements wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
Welcome to the Inquiry with me, Tanya Beckett on the BBC World Service.
One question for expert witnesses and an answer.
The war in Ukraine has reached a pivotal moment.
After months of an apparent stalling of the front lines, Russia has recently made a series of critical breakthroughs.
Now the race is on for Kiev to get newly approved military aid to the front lines before Russian forces attack Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv.
The $60 billion bill passed in America's Congress at the end of April allows for Ukraine to push back against Russian forces and prepare to mount an offensive next year.
But a gap in the supply of missiles has left Kiev dangerously exposed.
This week on the inquiry, we're asking, has US Military aid come in time for President Zelensky stockpiles?
In the past few months, Ukraine's military forces have struggled and often failed to defend the country against missile attacks launched by Russian forces in the east of the country.
The population of Kharkiv has been devastated by multiple attacks that have damaged the city's infrastructure, including civilian railways.
There are several reasons why the Ukrainian forces appear to find themselves on the back foot in recent months, the first of which is that Ukraine's counteroffensive last year fell short of cutting through the supply lines for the Russian army, which has allowed Moscow to bring more troops and weapons to the battlefield.
Russia has also increasingly relied on the use of glide bombs, which are difficult to intercept without the means to shoot down the plane that releases them.
And Ukraine has been running out of ammunition, which has also left Ukrainian cities and infrastructure desperately exposed to missile attacks.
Our first expert witness is Gustav Gressel, military expert at the international think tank the European Council on Foreign Relations.
The Ukrainian military tries to cope somehow, and they know that before anything happens, they have to first degrade this massive amount of Russian armed force, which from their perspective, of course is difficult when you don't know how much ammunition you will get over the next year.