409. Gaining Dominance: Ukraine Shifts the Momentum

Battleground

Goalhanger

History

4.5 • 824 Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"History moves gradually, then suddenly."

As Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine crosses a somber milestone—matching the exact duration of the First World War at 1,568 days—co-hosts Saul David and Patrick Bishop analyse what feels like a definitive "hinge moment" in the conflict. This week, the tide is turning rapidly in Ukraine’s favour, driven by an extraordinary and relentless intermediate-range drone campaign that Russia seems entirely incapable of combating.

In part one of this deep dive, Saul and Patrick break down how Ukrainian drone pilots have effectively seized control of critical Russian supply lines, including the vital M14 highway, forcing the Kremlin into a logistical catastrophe. From frontline reports of Russian soldiers reduced to acting as supply mules to panic-buying and fuel rationing in occupied Crimea, the vital organs of the Russian war machine are under heavy fire.

The hosts also examine the broader strategic landscape: Russia's deepening diplomatic isolation following pivotal elections in Armenia, the restructuring of Ukraine’s armed forces into powerful army corps, and the geopolitical chess match behind President Zelenskyy’s latest peace feelers.

Later in the episode, the guys dive into the listener mailbag to answer your questions on:

The psychological and political fallout of a potential large-scale Russian frontline collapse.
How NATO handles Russia's continuous "fuzzy" hybrid provocations and the true threshold of Article 5.
Whether the rapid evolution of cheap drone tech will permanently grounded multi-million dollar fighter jets in future warfare.

Plus, a cyber security update on big tech's shifting role in the war, and a look back at the incredible, viral response to their recent interview with Ukrainian special operations forces operative Katya Ratushna.

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

X - @PodBattleground

Instagram - podbattleground

Producer: James Hodgson

A Goalhanger Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Battleground Ukraine with me Saul David and Patrick Bishop.
0:17.4	As of Wednesday this week, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine had lasted as long as the whole of the First World War, 1568 days. It still has some way to go, a year and two-thirds to be precise, to match the 2,175 days of the Second World War. But we wouldn't rule that out, Patrick, would we? Having said that, we're definitely
0:38.0	at a hinge moment in the conflict that favours Ukraine. This was beautifully put by either Patrick
0:43.3	or Roger last week. I didn't remember who. Music to my ears, I have to say, when one of them said
0:48.6	history moves gradually, then suddenly. Actually, I think that's a quote from Hemingway's first novel,
0:54.0	The Sun, also rises
0:55.3	when his protagonist is asked how he went bankrupt. But the overall point is the same. You can sense
1:01.2	the approach of a tipping point, but you only know it's there when it actually happens.
1:06.0	Well, it was more of the same this week as Ukraine up the ante with its mid and long-range drone
1:10.4	strikes, which
1:11.3	incredibly Russia seems incapable of combating. It was, in fact, Roger who made that observation
1:17.3	stool, and it was indeed inspired by the Hemingway quote. But I don't think we can really
1:25.3	overestimate just how extraordinarily what is going on at the moment is, or indeed our prescience in noticing it before everyone else.
1:34.7	Just kidding, by the way.
1:36.1	But I think we were a bit ahead of the game on that one.
1:38.5	We've got to give credit where it's due.
1:40.7	So David really is well on the way to felling Goliath, the way I think we both see it,
1:48.2	and that's something we shall find a cause for rejoicing. So for once, the good guys are winning.
1:54.3	How often does that happen? Well, there are a lot of lessons, I think, to be learned from the
1:58.7	Ukraine story, which I won't go into right now.
2:01.0	But the important thing is we've got to keep that momentum going and ensure the victory comes sooner rather than later.
2:07.4	We don't get that Second World War timeframe.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 9 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Goalhanger, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Goalhanger and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.