With Eliot traveling for both business and family celebrations, Eric hosts historian, journalist and novelist Owen Matthews whose new book, Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin and Russia's War Against Ukraine, has just been published in the US by Harper Collins. Owen has been a journalist with The Moscow Times and served as the Newsweek Bureau Chief in Moscow and Istanbul. He is author of several works of history about Russia and the thrillers, Black Sun, Red Traitor, and White Fox. They discuss Owen's family connections to Russia and Ukraine, the backstory of the war, Putin's decision to invade in 2022, the role of the intelligence services in Putin's rise, and the prospects for war termination.

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at [email protected]

https://www.amazon.com/Overreach-Inside-Russias-Against-Ukraine/dp/0008562741/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TUERNR9JJG81&keywords=overreach+the+inside+story+of+putin%27s+war+against+ukraine&qid=1682532898&sprefix=Overreach%2Caps%2C331&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Sun/dp/0552176575/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Traitor/dp/0552178357/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.amazon.com/White-Fox-Novel-Owen-Matthews/dp/0385543441/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

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