In the coming week, Russia scrambles to push back against a surprise Ukrainian incursion,

thousands of delegates and protesters gather in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention,

and U.S. election campaigns consider how to safeguard against foreign cyber attacks,

as well as homegrown misinformation campaigns and other troubles.

It's August 15, 2024, and time for the world next week.

I'm Carly Ann Robbins. Bob McMahon is off this week in Scotland, Lucky Man, and today we're joined again by our colleague and friend Miriam Elder.

Miriam's a reporter and editor specializing in Russia. She's worked for the Moscow Times and The Guardian, as well as BuzzFeed and Vanity Fair. And she just finished a year as the Murrow Fellow here at CFR. Miriam, welcome back to the show.

We are so lucky to have you with us. It's my pleasure, and I'm the lucky one.

So, Miriam, let's start with the Kursk region of Russia, where last week, starting on August 6th,

Ukrainian forces suddenly broke through Russia's border, surprising not only the Russians,

but pretty much everyone else keeps

backers in Washington.

I think the Pentagon was pretty surprised, the White House as well.

The Ukrainians have since gained control over a few hundred square miles of territory.

The Ukrainians are claiming around 390 square miles.

They take in more than 100 Russian soldiers prisoner, and this is the biggest

attack on Russian military airfield since the war began. Some 130,000 people have fled or been

evacuated from Russian towns and villages. What do you think Ukraine is going for here, and do you

think it's going to pay off for them? What a stunning turn of events. Like you say,

not only has Ukraine taken territory in Kursk, but on Wednesday they launched a massive drone attack

on Kursk, but also on Veronaj, Belgrade, Nizhny Novgorod. This is really the Russian heartland.

Ukraine has sporadically attacked Russian territory mainly by drone in the past, but we've never

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