On February 24, 2022, when Russian forces invaded Ukraine, they quickly targeted several key cities. One of those was the industrial hub of Mariupol. For three months, Ukrainian forces defending the city held out, until they were told to surrender on May 20. While thousands were taken into captivity, many whom are still being held as prisoners of wars, at least one civilian fighter, a man named Gennadiy, survived and remained in the city. In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer tells the story of the man who fought the Russian invaders at the Battle of Mariupol, was captured and tortured, resisted, escaped, and survived in the rubble of the city for nine months, before he was rescued in an operation by Ukrainian special operations forces.
In 2003, one of the most consequential urban operations in modern military history took place as US forces approached Baghdad from the south—the battle...
In this episode, John Spencer speaks to retired Colonel Leonard DeFrancisci. In 2004, he was a civil affairs detachment commander for the Marine Corps'...
In this episode of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, from the Modern War Institute at West Point, John Spencer is joined by Col. Rich...