This episode outlines the global network sustaining both sides of the war in Ukraine, with NATO allies on one side and Russia with backing from China, Iran, and North Korea on the other, and how the limits and tensions within these alliances are shaping the war’s next phase and raising broader global security risks.

Host:

Gabrielle Sierra, Director of Podcasting, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

Guests:

Liana Fix, Senior Fellow for Europe, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) 

Joseph Torigian, Senior Fellow for Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

We discuss:

Read More: 

Liana Fix, “Defending Europe if Russia Steps Out of the Gray Zone,” CFR.org 

Liana Fix, Heidi E. Crebo-Rediker, Thomas Graham, Paul B. Stares, and Sam Vigersky, “Securing Ukraine’s Future: Adapting to New Realities After Four Years of War,” CFR.org 

Joseph Torigian, “Xi Jinping’s Russian Lessons,” Foreign Affairs

Clara Fong and Lindsay Maizland, “China and Russia: Exploring Ties Between Two Authoritarian Powers”

Anya Konstantinovsky, “China, Russia, and Ukraine: December 2024” 

Molly Carlough and James Kennedy, “How North Korea Has Bolstered Russia’s War in Ukraine”

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Why It Matters is a production of the Council on Foreign Relations. The opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host and guests, not of the Council, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.