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rackerton app. That's Rakeuton.orgaton.com.uk. Welcome to the PDP Situation Report.

I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage.

All right. Let's get briefed.

First up, Ukraine is tightening the noose around Crimea while Russian civilians grapple with fuel shortages at home.

Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges joins us to explain what this new phase of the war could mean.

Later in the show, the U.S. and Iran have supposedly wrapped up another round of talks or sort of of talks, or kind of indirect negotiations,

but the biggest disputes remain unresolved. Ben-Nan-Belablu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

joins us to break it all down. But first, today's situation reports spotlight.

Ukraine has been intensifying its long-range campaign against Russia, tightening the noose around

occupied Crimea, while continuing to strike refineries, fuel depots, and other critical infrastructure

deep inside Russian territory. The strategy is designed not only to disrupt Moscow's war machine,

but to steadily increase the economic and political costs of continuing the conflict.

And those costs are now becoming harder for the Kremlin to hide.

In a rare public acknowledgement, Vladimir Putin admitted that fuel shortages have become a serious problem,

...