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.
In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Samuel Bendett. An analyst with the Center for Naval Analyses, he specializes in Russian unmanned military...
Cities' complex man-made terrain, the presence of civilian populations and infrastructure to support those populations, a complicated information environment, and a range of political...
In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Rob Taylor, company director of 4GD, a UK-based organization that specializes in developing unique close-combat training...