This episode details graphic scenes. 

Russia has mounted a brutal siege around the port city of Mariupol for more than a month, framing it as the key to a war of liberation. In reality, it’s a campaign against a city that is critical to Russia’s strategy — it would help open an important supply route and serve as a symbol of victory. 

What is happening inside Mariupol, and what does the fighting mean for the future of Russia’s war on Ukraine? 

Guest: Valerie Hopkins, a correspondent for The New York Times, currently based in Ukraine.

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Background reading: 

• In Mariupol, Russia is using hunger as a weapon of war. Residents described how they are surviving a monthlong siege of the southern port with little food and other necessities.
• As the war in Ukraine moves into its second month, fears grow of Mariupol’s fall to Russia.

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