On the other hand, I do think that the year very much went in the wrong direction. And I think the war's been on a negative trajectory since about the fall of 2023, to be honest with you. I think the best-case scenarios didn't take place either,” said the guest of the new episode of the (Un)Safe Country podcast.

“Ukraine was able to hold Russia to incremental gains last year. Ukraine had a tactically successful offensive in Kursk, although I think the potential operational gains, or even perhaps more strategic benefits of that offensive, had not been realized. And we can circle back to that topic if you like.

But I think we're entering 2025 with Ukraine in a very difficult position. There are some very glaring structural issues in terms of Ukraine's manpower, mobilization, and force management decisions that were made last year, that could have been a lot better. And if we look at the overall funding situation and prospects for sustained Western support, Ukraine certainly faces an uncertain future this year.”

What scenarios might unfold in Ukraine in 2025, and which of last year's forecasts have come true?

In the new episode of (un)Safe Country podcast, its permanent host Alina Frolova speaks with a military analyst Michael Kofman, senior fellow at the Russia and Eurasia Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The conversation covers the current situation in Ukraine and the state of the Russian military, potential negotiations, Moskov’s position and security guarantees for Ukraine, the economic situation in Russia and its impact on ending the war, as well as possible scenarios for 2025.

"So, the Russians are looking at these signs and drawing, unfortunately, positive conclusions for them. And those conclusions are also not very good for Trump because Trump does not want to impose a peace which allows Putin to take over. That would demonstrate that Trump is weak and has been taken advantage of by Putin. For those reasons, I say, is Trump's desire to have a real achievement that demonstrates strength. The Russians will ultimately have to compromise. But they haven't realised that yet."

What are the elements of Trump's proposed potential agreement for Ukraine and Russia, and what leverage can the US president-elect use with both sides?

In the new episode of the "(un)Safe Country" podcast, its permanent host, Alina Frolova, talks to Ambassador John Herbst, Director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Centre and former US Ambassador to Ukraine. The conversation is about Trump's position on ending the war in Ukraine and what could be a beneficial deal with Russia for him, about the critical mistakes of the Biden administration and Trump's ability to correct them, about the role of the US in the international arena shortly, about possible US attention to China, about how strong and important the European voice will be for Trump and which European leaders he might hear, as well as about possible scenarios for 2025, including for Ukraine.

“In my opinion, Russia may attempt to replicate the situation seen in Georgia because you mentioned, Alina, also what's happening in Georgia. Where the pro-Western president, Salome Zurabishvili, has been politically isolated while the government and its parliamentary majority pass controversial legislation on human rights and practically slow down reforms and engage in conflict with the EU and the US. Practically without resorting to military intervention, Russia has effectively stalled Georgia's progress towards EU integration. And achieved a significant strategic victory in this confrontation with the Western democratic world. 

Coming back to Moldova for the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity, Maia Sandu's party. The main challenge will not only to secure a victory in parliamentary elections but more critically to form a parliamentary majority. And to avoid being isolated by the rest of other parties”. 

In a new episode of the (un)Safe Country podcast, its permanent host, Alina Frolova, talks to George Scutaru, founder and executive director of the leading Romanian think tank New Strategy Center and former national security adviser to the Romanian president.

The conversation is about the referendum and presidential elections in Moldova that have already taken place and the parliamentary elections to be held next year, possible scenarios of Russian influence in the region, the United States and Trump's potential policy as president, the upcoming elections in Romania, and the position on supporting Ukraine.

What is the situation in Ukraine from the point of view of the United States and American policy, and is the world currently on the brink of World War III?

In a new episode of the "(un)Safe Country" podcast, its host Alina Frolova talked to William Taylor, former US Ambassador to Ukraine and Vice President of the Center for Europe and Russia at the United States Institute of Peace. The conversation was about the US position on the war in Ukraine unleashed by Russia, the upcoming US elections and the candidates' strategies for the war in Ukraine, the possibility of inviting Ukraine to NATO, ways to establish peace, America's perception of Russia and lessons learned from mistakes, and the US support for Ukraine.

What role does Ukraine's experience and military capabilities play in NATO membership? And what should Ukraine do to finally overcome any scepticism or doubts about joining NATO?

In the new episode of the "(Un)Safe Country" podcast, its permanent host Alina Frolova talks to Andrzej Falkowski, PhD in Economics, Lieutenant General of the Reserve Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, Strategic Advisor to the Ministry of Defence in 2018, about reforms in Ukraine, the Vilnius decision, the effectiveness and capability of the Ukrainian armed forces, the US elections, and support for Ukraine.

What is the decisive factor for refugees to return home and what actions is UNHCR taking to support the government in creating conditions for the return of Ukrainian citizens?

In the new episode of the podcast "(Un)Safe Country", its permanent host Alina Frolova talks to Karen Whiting, Deputy Representative of the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine. The conversation is about refugees and internally displaced persons, their lives, adaptation, plans for the future, and what Ukraine and the world should do to make sure these people return.

What exactly do Ukrainians need to change in the defense of cities and what do civilians have to know in order to resist the enemy as effectively as possible in urban warfare?

In the new episode of the "(Un)Safe Country" podcast with its irreplaceable host Alina Frolova, we talk about military strategy, battles in cities and towns, and what Ukraine needs to change to better defend them, as well as the battle for Kyiv, the counteroffensive, Crimea, and nuclear weapons. We talk about all this with John Spencer, a professor, writer, combat veteran, and internationally recognized expert on urban warfare.

In the new episode of the "(Un)Safe Country" podcast, its irreplaceable host Alina Frolova has a conversation with Peter Pomerantsev, a British journalist, one of the most prominent figures in Western countries who speaks about propaganda and researches russia. We talk about information and how it affects war, about Ukraine's ability to respond democratically to the russian information warfare machine and ideology, about how democracies can convince the masses, about information Rammstein and journalistic ethics in times of war.

How does the situation on the front line now resemble World War I and why would Russia's war strategy not have been swift and overwhelming from the start?

In the new episode of the "(Un)Safe Country" podcast, we talk about international relations, war strategies of the past and present, and peace with Hugh Strong, Professor of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews, Stephen Gethins, Practitioner Professor at the School of International Relations, and Sevgil Musayeva, Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda.

In this episode, our guest speaker is Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, an American journalist, war correspondent, and now a paramedic in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. She is transgender and serves in the Ukrainian army. Her story is about how she got to Ukraine, how she signed a 3-year contract with the Armed Forces, why Ukraine will win a transformative victory in this war, and why she decided to go to the front.

In the new episode of the podcast "(Un)Safe Country", we talk about the unique story of Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, a paramedic in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Clark served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000, commanding Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo War.

General Wesley Clark was among 20 of US fellow experts and national security professionals who signed open letter to the President Joe Biden and call to immediate supply of all required means to win the war with russia, including long range HIMARS (300 km range) and sufficient air defense systems.

With Gen Clark we speak in our podcast (un)Safe Country about Putin’s nuclear intimidation, how use of nuclear weapons by russia could change the war course, Ukrainian counteroffensive, sanctions against russia, support of Ukraine and how to win modern war.

Why can people like Elon Musk be so influenced by Russian propaganda? How do Russians reach such people and how do they force them to transform? What approaches does Russia use, what key narratives does it spread on social media, and how can we counter them?

In the new episode of the podcast "(Un)Safe Country", its permanent host Alina Frolova talks to Pekka Kallioniemi, a postdoctoral researcher, who works in the field of human-computer interaction at the University of Tampere, is an expert in social media and studies how propaganda is spread on social media and how to counter it. The conversation is about information, Russian propaganda, countering disinformation, social media, the danger of TikTok, social media, bots, trolls, and artificial intelligence.

What aspects make it difficult to compare the war in Ukraine with previous wars?

In the new episode of the "(Un)Safe Country" podcast, its permanent host Alina Frolova talks to Jakub Janovsky, an OSINT analyst and author of research within the ORYX and BellingCat projects. The conversation is about OSINT technologies, the loss of equipment, disinformation messages, and the Oryx project.

I don't think the Russians have the ability to knock out Ukraine. There is no big force out there waiting over the horizon to come in, that's trained and modernized it. It doesn't exist. So I think Russia's only hope is to continue what they're doing to convey the impression that they can do this forever because they see that the Western countries, at least the United States and Germany, are not fully committed to helping Ukraine actually win”.

How long will the United States hold off on approving aid to Ukraine, and why has domestic politics taken priority over the importance of supporting Ukraine?

In the new episode of the "(Un)Safe Country" podcast, its permanent host Alina Frolova talks to Lt General (retired) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of US Army Europe and NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics. The conversation is about the Black Sea, Ukraine's ground and air operations, the liberation of Crimea, US assistance and possible post-election decisions, NATO, international partners' support and position on the situation in Ukraine, the numerous conflicts unfolding in the world today and the production capabilities of Western countries, as well as what will happen inside Russia after Ukraine's victory.

It's fighting with an increasingly mobilized force that consists of people who they have hired and contracted from across Russia. And it's fair to say that they probably lost a generation of officers in this war at least, and it's not clear what the future of the Russian military will be either the current leadership under Shoigu, the minister of defense and Gerasimov, the chief general staff. Both of them were quite old, they're at the end of their 60s, they've served a very, very long time. And it's clear that their impression from this war is that the problem with the Russian military is that it was not Soviet enough”, – says the guest of the new episode of the (un)Safe Country podcast.

What has changed in the enemy's army during the war that the aggressor country has unleashed against Ukraine, and what can we expect from Russia this year?

In the new episode of the "(Un)Safe Country" podcast, its host Alina Frolova talks to Michael Kofman, a military analyst and senior fellow at the Russia and Eurasia Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The discussion covers the capabilities of Russia and Ukraine in the war, the assistance and support of Ukraine by the United States and Europe, the future strategy of Ukraine and its partners, possible development scenarios, the upcoming US elections and the expected outcome of the voting in Congress.

What level of threat from the Russian Federation must be reached for NATO countries to start responding militarily?

In the new episode of the (un)Safe Country podcast, its permanent host Alina Frolova talks to Christine Dugoin-Clément, geopolitical analyst, and associate researcher specialising in strategies of influence, cyber and AI. The conversation is about the difference between the war waged by Russia against Ukraine and the wars that took place before, the way of thinking in this war, the influence operations by Russia, France's position and attitudes towards the war in Ukraine, what needs to be done to improve the policy of defending democracy and what other countries can do to defend democracy in the cognitive plane.

Is the Alliance ready to change its perception of non-involvement in the conflict, considering that Russian missiles targeting Ukraine are periodically entering NATO airspace?

In the new episode of the podcast "(un)Safe Country", its host Alina Frolova talks to Lieutenant General (ret.) Dr Dennis Gyllensporre, Associate Professor in Security Policy and Strategy at the Swedish Defence University, Force Commander of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) from 2018 to 2021. The conversation is about the prospects of Ukraine's victory, weapons and tactics of war, the United States and Sweden, NATO and its role in the Black Sea region, and the prospects for the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine.

I think we should see these particular developments in the big picture. The Russian law, so-called law about foreign agents – it's one aspect of a bigger problem that Georgia has been facing historically and since its independence. We know that, we've been fighting our northern neighbour for generations so this is nothing new for any of us.

We know exactly with whom we are fighting. The realisation that Georgia is in its existential phase is clear. However, the government propaganda is still working very well and many things should be done on that front in order to counter those narratives that are coming from government propaganda channels” – says the guest of the new episode of the “(un)Safe Country” podcast.

What is the attitude of the active part of Georgian citizens and what is the current situation of the country's authorities?

In the new episode of the (Un)Safe Country podcast, its permanent host Alina Frolova talks to Givi Chanukvadze, an international development expert and associate professor at Ilia State University in Tbilisi. The conversation covers the latest developments in Georgia, high civic activity, Georgian attitudes towards Russians, manipulations on the topic of the war with Russia, the influence of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and possible scenarios for the future of Georgia.