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entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. Hello and welcome to another Friday episode of the Battleground Ukraine podcast

with Sunday Times best-selling historian and author Saul David.

I had to get that in Saul.

And me, Roger Moorehouse, standing in

again for Patrick, who is enjoying some well-earned R&R. It's been another intriguing week in the war

for Ukraine, with Russia's advance continuing, albeit glacially slowly towards Kharkiv,

and stopped almost completely in Donbbas, while Ukraine strikes at targets in

occupied Crimea and in Russia proper with growing audacity and firepower. First, the development's on

the ground, and that surprise Russian offensive towards Kharkiv that erupted a couple of weeks ago now.

It's continued its progress, and Russia has claimed another couple of villages,

but the advance has slowed considerably and in places has taken only around two to three

kilometres in the past week. You suggested very plausibly last week, Saul, that this might be an

elaborate faint to draw Ukrainian forces away from other fronts and thereby facilitate a Russian

attack elsewhere. However,

thus far, that doesn't seem to be happening. Indeed, the front in the Donbas is similarly

mired, with only minimal Russian advances being reported there despite apparently heavy losses.

And this last few days indeed has seen some of the highest daily Russian losses since the opening

...