The Interview

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine united the EU in shock and outrage. But four weeks into the war, with Ukrainian cities besieged and civilians suffering unimaginable horrors, cracks are already evident in the European response. Stephen Sackur speaks to the EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness. How far should sanctions go? Solidarity with Ukraine is one thing, but is the EU prepared to endure real pain to support Kyiv?

29 Mar 202222min

Gabriel Gatehouse speaks to Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of the Russian parliament who is fighting in Ukraine – against Russia. Ponomarev has long said he wants to bring down Vladimir Putin, but was once on the Russian government payroll. He has had his feet in many camps: among the Russian elites, inside the popular opposition, and now with Ukraine’s defence forces. What will the repercussions be of this war be, in Ukraine and in Russia?

25 Mar 202222min

Sarah Montague speaks to the renowned US political scientist Francis Fukuyama. Thirty years ago, the Soviet Union collapsed and communist governments fell across Eastern Europe. Liberal democracy appeared to have won the Cold War and triumphed in the battle of ideas. Dr Fukuyama posed a question – if humanity had arrived at the most effective form of government, were we at the end of history? In the years since, liberal democracy has often seemed in retreat. But when Russia invaded Ukraine the world changed again. Francis Fukuyama is convinced that President Putin has miscalculated and is heading for defeat. What does that mean for the course of history and the progress of liberal democracy?

23 Mar 202224min

Russia has launched its most deadly attack on western Ukraine so far, striking a military base just 15 kilometres from the Polish border. This is being seen as a warning to Nato that, in supplying weapons to Ukraine through Poland, it risks an escalation of the war. Zeinab Badawi speaks to the senior British Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee and a former soldier. He believes that Nato and the West need to change radically their stance on the Ukraine war. Does he have a clear strategy to stand up to Putin and save lives?

16 Mar 202222min

Europe's dependence on Russian energy sits uneasily with Putin’s war in Ukraine. Moscow is financing its invasion through revenues from such exports. One EU leader has said Russian oil and gas is being bought with the blood of the Ukrainian people. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Norway’s Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre. Norway is one of the world’s biggest oil and gas exporters. What can it do to help ease Europe off its addiction to Russian energy supplies, and can this be done quickly enough to starve the Kremlin war machine of funds and save the lives of innocent Ukrainians?

14 Mar 202223min

Europe's dependence on Russian energy sits uneasily with Putin’s war in Ukraine. Moscow is financing its invasion through revenues from such exports. One EU leader has said Russian oil and gas is being bought with the blood of the Ukrainian people. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Norway is one of the world’s biggest oil and gas exporters. What can it do to help ease Europe off its addiction to Russian energy supplies and can this be done quickly enough to starve the Kremlin war machine of funds and save the lives of innocent Ukrainians?

11 Mar 202223min

With the world focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it’s easy to overlook one other key element of Vladimir Putin’s Greater Russia strategy: Moscow’s ever tighter grip on Ukraine’s northern neighbour Belarus, now used as a launchpad for the Ukraine assault. Belarus’s authoritarian President Lukashenko seems to be in Putin’s pocket, whether he likes it or not. Stephen Sackur speaks to the exiled leader of the anti-Lukashenko movement, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Is the fate of Belarus now tied to the fate of Ukraine?

11 Mar 202222min

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine represents the biggest seismic shock to European security since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The US, NATO allies and the EU are now arming the Ukrainian government. Stephen Sackur speaks to Michael Carpenter, US Ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Are we in a new age of conflict, and will Russia's invasion of Ukraine lead to a new, long-term cold war?

9 Mar 202222min