1096. Crimea Besieged - Is BATTLEFIELD Momentum Shifting to Ukraine in Crimean Direction?!

Ben Hodges is a retired United States Army officer, who became commander of United States Army Europe in November 2014, and held that position for three years until retiring from the United States Army in January 2018. Until recently he was the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies, at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, specialising in NATO, Transatlantic relationship and international security. ----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga’s Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampiresThese heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine’s largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components.----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------DESCRIPTION:Ben Hodges on Drone War Acceleration, Crimea’s Vulnerability, and How Ukraine Can WinFrom Kyiv, Jonathan interviews retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges amid intensifying Russian strikes, discussing how drone warfare is accelerating faster than Western adaptation and why NATO still struggles to stop drone incursions into its own airspace. Hodges argues Russia’s brutal bombing aims to terrorize Ukrainians and pressure Europe but won’t be decisive, while Ukraine’s long-range precision strikes on oil, gas, shipyards, and logistics can create faster strategic effects by degrading Russia’s war economy and public will. They describe Russia’s vast territory as a vulnerability, cite a Ukrainian precision strike on Saint Petersburg, and argue Crimea is decisive terrain that Ukraine can recover by isolating it, degrading the Kerch Bridge’s utility, and making occupation untenable. They criticize Western self-deterrence and nuclear fear, challenge myths of infinite Russian manpower, stress learning from Ukraine’s battlefield innovations, and a fundraiser for vampire drones and Jonathan’s upcoming book, The Dark Heart of Russia.----------CHAPTERS:02:23 Drone War Catch Up04:57 Why Strikes Intensify09:53 Ukraine Hits Deep Russia11:58 Vampire Drones Appeal13:29 Crimea Under Siege18:23 West Strategy and Nukes22:48 Oil Strikes and Will26:26 Russia Manpower Myths30:04 NATO Learns From Ukraine34:55 Real Time Training Pipeline39:44 Crimea Victory Wrap Up----------