When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, one of its first targets was the city of Mariupol. Despite being outnumbered by—and less well equipped than—their adversaries, Ukrainian defenders held out for three months. As the Russian siege of the city intensified, Ukrainian forces defended a shrinking perimeter with a command post in the Azovstal steel plant. One of those Ukrainian defenders was Sergeant Arseniy Fedosiuk. He joins John Spencer on this episode, relaying his experience in Mariupol, exploring the unique challenges of defending urban terrain against a superior enemy, and describing what happened at the end of the three-month battle, when he was taken prisoner by Russian forces.
The Army has three "dirt" combat training centers that are focused on training units at the brigade combat team level and below. A fourth,...
In this episode, John Spencer is joined Brigadier General Meir Finkel. An armor brigade commander in the Second Lebanon War, he is the current...
This episode takes a slight departure from the format typical of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast. John Spencer—the podcast's regular host and a leading...