logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2022
28m 40s

The 300,000 body problem: Russia mobilis...

The Economist
About this episode

This morning Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would call up more troops to fight in Ukraine, said his goal of “liberating” eastern Ukraine remained unchanged and accused the west of “nuclear blackmail.” Our correspondent parses his speech. Our midterm series heads to Maine, to see how Democrats are fighting for rural voters. And a new discovery in Borneo rewrites the history of surgery.


For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Emission creep: a contentious COP closes
<p>It is telling and troubling that the annual climate talking-shop’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2025/11/22/cop30-ends-with-a-whimper?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownote ... Show More
25m 51s
Nov 21
Flee country: Britain seeks to slash migration
<p>Britain’s home secretary Shabana Mahmood proposed a big shift in <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/11/20/will-britain-copy-asylum-policy-from-a-place-with-poor-integration?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discov ... Show More
23m 22s
Nov 20
War graft: scandal engulfs Ukraine
<p>Pentagon officials are meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss a <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/11/19/a-terrible-american-russian-proposal-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_con ... Show More
25m 24s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2022
The 300,000 body problem: Russia mobilises and threatens
<p>This morning Vladimir Putin <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/09/20/vladimir-putins-situation-looks-ever-more-desperate?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_ ... Show More
28m 40s
Oct 2022
Putin's draft, sham referendums and the Ukrainian fight back
<p>Vladimir Putin turns 70 today. In recent weeks, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen territorial losses, a shambolic partial mobilisation, sham referendums and threats of nuclear attacks. So what possible outcomes are there for President Putin’s plan?</p><p><em>This podcast w ... Show More
28m 13s
Dec 2021
Why Ukraine Matters to Vladimir Putin
<p>The Russian military is on the move toward the border with Ukraine, with American intelligence suggesting that Moscow is preparing for an offensive involving some 175,000 troops.</p><p>Could the moves herald a full-scale invasion? And if so, what is driving President Vladimir ... Show More
26m 2s
Sep 2022
Putin’s Escalation of the War in Ukraine
<p>In a speech on Wednesday, President Vladimir V. Putin said that he would require hundreds of thousands more Russians to fight in Ukraine — and alarmed the West by once again raising the specter of nuclear force.</p><p>The mobilization signals that Mr. Putin is turning the war ... Show More
21m 15s
Sep 2022
The Economist Asks: Could Vladimir Putin lose the war in Ukraine?
Ukraine has made a remarkable turnaround. In a few days, its army liberated 6,000 square kilometres of territory–more than Russia had seized in the previous five months. Host Anne McElvoy asks Wesley Clark, a retired four-star US general, if Ukraine’s surprise counter-offensive m ... Show More
37m 54s
Mar 2022
Russia Targets Civilians Amid Ominous New Threats By Putin
In a special edition of The Situation Room, our correspondents are on the front lines and other key locations for CNN's continuing live coverage of Russia's war against Ukraine. We report on dramatic new examples of Ukrainians fighting back, including a video of a Russian helicop ... Show More
1h 19m
Feb 2022
‘A Knife to the Throat’: Putin’s Logic for Invading Ukraine
<p>At 10 p.m. in Moscow on Monday night, Russian state television interrupted its regular programming to air an address from President Vladimir V. Putin about the Ukraine crisis.</p><p>We look back on what Mr. Putin’s hourlong speech — remarkable for his overt display of emotion ... Show More
30m 23s
Mar 2022
The Economist Asks: Andrei Kozyrev
Host Anne McElvoy asks the former Russian foreign minister how war in Ukraine will change Vladimir Putin’s standing at home and abroad. They discuss the remarkable acts of dissent happening around Russia and what methods Western leaders should use to negotiate with Mr Putin. Plus ... Show More
26m 53s