399. Is This the Beginning of the End?

Battleground

Goalhanger

History

4.5 • 820 Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this week’s episode, Saul David and Patrick Bishop explore whether the tide has finally turned in the four-year conflict. Following a series of strategic and symbolic blows to the Kremlin, the team asks: Are we witnessing the beginning of the end for Vladimir Putin’s "Special Military Operation"? The Humiliation of Red Square: We break down Putin’s "feeble" May 9th Victory Parade. From the bizarre request for a two-day truce to the total absence of tanks and modern hardware, what does this scaled-back spectacle reveal about the current state of the Russian military? The Drone Revolution: Ukraine’s "mid-range" dominance is changing the math on the front lines. We look at how AI-integrated drones and Starlink are bypassing Russian EW systems to strike deep into logistics hubs, specifically targeting the vital H-20 highway. Cracks in the Kremlin: With reports of a shrinking Russian economy and Putin’s increasing reliance on bunkers and bodyguards, we discuss the rumours of internal paranoia and a potential coup. The Road to Istanbul: For the first time since 2019, a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin looks possible. Encouraged by Donald Trump and facilitated by Turkey, could this be the breakthrough the world has been waiting for—or is it another tactical stall? Operation Midas: Domestically, Zelensky faces a political firestorm as his former Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, is charged in a massive £76m energy corruption scandal. We examine what this means for Ukraine’s EU ambitions and why "no one being above the law" might actually be a sign of democratic strength. Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com Follow us on: X - @PodBattleground Instagram - podbattleground TikTok - battlegroundukraine Producer: James Hodgson A Goalhanger Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Battleground Ukraine with me Saul David and Patrick Bishop.
0:17.0	Well, I don't know about you, Patrick, but it seems to me that after four years of
0:21.2	full-scale war in Ukraine, we might, we just might have reached a tipping point. I know, I know,
0:27.0	I'm a hopeless optimist and I'd been wrong before, but something feels different this time.
0:32.0	It began, of course, with Putin's bizarre performance at the victory parade on Sunday the 9th of
0:36.6	May to celebrate the Allied victory
0:38.3	over Nazi Germany in World War II. Even the preamble was extraordinary enough. First, we had the
0:44.3	Kremlin announcing that no weapons would be paraded, just men, and none of those Russian soldiers,
0:49.9	presumably because they couldn't be spared. Then Putin himself requested a two-day truth to cover
0:54.7	the parade so that it wouldn't be hit by Ukraine's proven long-range drone capability.
1:00.2	That presumably would be a humiliation too far. President Zelensky was not minded to grant that
1:05.8	truth, or at least not such a short one, until Trump stepped in and made a special request. So it's come to this,
1:12.4	Patrick, after all these years, that Zelensky, a man with no cards in his hand, has been
1:16.7	begged by two presidents, not to ruin Putin's scale-back victory parade.
1:22.5	Zelensky's clever response was to sign an official decree gleefully released to the press,
1:27.3	permitting the parade to go
1:28.5	ahead, but only guaranteeing not to strike the actual location, Red Square. Everywhere else in Russia,
1:35.3	by implication, was fair game. It was seized upon with delight by the Western press and
1:40.2	represented an unbelievable humiliation for Putin.
1:46.3	It really was, wasn't it, Saul?
1:48.4	I mean, it's quite hard to get your head round this.
1:53.1	I mean, they're kind of situated where they haven't got troops who are capable.
	...

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