What does war look like on the ground, for the soldiers who go off to fight? What’s it like to be sent into the muddy confusion of a battlefield, asked to lay down your life for your country?In this episode: two soldiers. A Ukrainian in his 50s and a Russian in his 20s. One of them is still on the battlefield. The other fought for a week, and is now serving a 15 year prison sentence.These two stories explain a lot about how Russia messed this up, and how Ukraine was far stronger than anyone realised.Guests:<ul><li>Isabella Higgins - ABC News Europe Correspondent</li><li>Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop - ABC News Investigative Reporter</li><li>Taras Rodtseyvich - Ukrainian Territorial Defence Volunteer; IT Manager</li><li>Dr Paul Dibb - Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at ANU; Former Director of the Australian Joint Intelligence Organisation</li><li>Zoya Sheftalovich - contributing editor for POLITICO</li><li>POW interview audio courtesy of Volodymyr Zolkin</li></ul>

What does war look like on the ground, for the soldiers who go off to fight? What’s it like to be sent into the muddy confusion of a battlefield, asked to lay down your life for your country? In this episode: two soldiers. A Ukrainian in his 50s and a Russian in his 20s. One of them is still on the battlefield. The other fought for a week, and is now serving a 15 year prison sentence. These two stories explain a lot about how Russia messed this up, and how Ukraine was far stronger than anyone realised. Guests:Isabella Higgins - ABC News Europe CorrespondentSean Rubinsztein-Dunlop - ABC News Investigative ReporterTaras Rodtseyvich - Ukrainian Territorial Defence Volunteer; IT ManagerDr Paul Dibb - Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at ANU; Former Director of the Australian Joint Intelligence OrganisationZoya Sheftalovich - contributing editor for POLITICOPOW interview audio courtesy of Volodymyr Zolkin

What does war look like on the ground, for the soldiers who go off to fight? What’s it like to be sent into the muddy confusion of a battlefield, asked to lay down your life for your country?In this episode: two soldiers. A Ukrainian in his 50s and a Russian in his 20s. One of them is still on the battlefield. The other fought for a week, and is now serving a 15 year prison sentence.These two stories explain a lot about how Russia messed this up, and how Ukraine was far stronger than anyone realised.Guests:<ul><li>Isabella Higgins - ABC News Europe Correspondent</li><li>Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop - ABC News Investigative Reporter</li><li>Taras Rodtseyvich - Ukrainian Territorial Defence Volunteer; IT Manager</li><li>Dr Paul Dibb - Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at ANU; Former&nbsp;Director of the Australian Joint Intelligence Organisation</li><li>Zoya Sheftalovich - contributing editor for POLITICO</li><li>POW interview audio courtesy of Volodymyr Zolkin</li></ul>

RUSSIA | S07 E3 - Why it’s hard to fight when you don’t know why

The world is on fire. There's a coup. Inflation is through the roof, and AI is taking our jobs. What does it all mean? Each week, Matt Bevan explains the biggest story in world news while hiding in his basement from assassins and authoritarian regimes.

Recent episodes include an exploration of the relationship between India and China, a closer look at the Saudi Arabian city of NEOM, the conflict in the Middle East, the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, and Ukraine's incursions into Vladimir Putin's Russia. Matt Bevan draws connections between stories from the past and the events of the present to help listeners understand world news and international affairs.

The podcast also features series about big moments in world news; previous series have focused on the United States presidential election, the United Kingdom's 14 years of Conservative Party leadership, Donald Trump's relationship with Russia, Donald Trump's presidency and promise to Make America Great Again, the Mueller Report, Vladimir Putin's scheme to destroy western democracies, how the relationship between Australia and China came to the verge of collapse, and Australia's turbulent history with climate change.

There's a new episode of If You're Listening every Thursday.

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Politics

The world is on fire. There's a coup. Inflation is through the roof, and AI is taking our jobs. What does it all mean? Each week, Matt Bevan explains the biggest story in world news while hiding in his basement from assassins and authoritarian regimes. Recent episodes include an exploration of the relationship between India and China, a closer look at the Saudi Arabian city of NEOM, the conflict in the Middle East, the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, and Ukraine's incursions into Vladimir Putin's Russia. Matt Bevan draws connections between stories from the past and the events of the present to help listeners understand world news and international affairs. The podcast also features series about big moments in world news; previous series have focused on the United States presidential election, the United Kingdom's 14 years of Conservative Party leadership, Donald Trump's relationship with Russia, Donald Trump's presidency and promise to Make America Great Again, the Mueller Report, Vladimir Putin's scheme to destroy western democracies, how the relationship between Australia and China came to the verge of collapse, and Australia's turbulent history with climate change. There's a new episode of If You're Listening every Thursday.

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RUSSIA | S07 E3 - Why it’s hard to fight when you don’t know why

RUSSIA | S07 E3 - Why it’s hard to fight when you don’t know why

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