On this Washington Roundtable episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast, sponsored by Bell, our guests are Dov Zakheim, PhD, former DoD comptroller, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute.

Topics:

— Whether Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola victory over former Gov. Sarah Palin, who was widely expected to fill the state’s open congressional seat, suggests that Democrats might retain the House in November

— Ukraine launches its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia as Moscow cuts off gas to Europe and international inspectors finally arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

— Danish referendum clears way for Copenhagen to join EU defense structure

— What’s next as China increases intrusions into Taiwanese airspace that prompted Taipei to shoot down a Chinese drone last week

— Japan’s defense cooperation agreement with Israel

— Days after the US Air Force struck Iranian-backed militia in Syria accused of attacking Americans, Iran attempted to hijack an unmanned Saildrone Explorer surface vessel operated by the US Navy in the Arabian Gulf

— Latest on negotiations to revive Iran nuclear deal

— Legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev who crafted strategy of perestroika and glasnost — of restructuring and openness — that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and inadvertently the rise of Vladimir Putin who lamented the end of the Soviet empire as one of the 20th century’s greatest tragedies