Crossfire: Russia and the Shadow of World War 

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It's hard to hear that Ukrainian society isn't on a total war footing. Don't wait too long to get it together!!

Mr. Grant makes a point about lacking urgency. But Zelenskyy might argue that society living life "normally" shows "we won't be bullied, our way of life continues" which also has merit. It's a hell of a dilemma. But the mobilization issues need to be resolved ASAP.

December 8th 1941 FDR didn't ask for a declaration of war from congress. But rather a declaration that 'a state of war has existed'. This guy is SO right.

I thought Mr Grant makes some excellent points. I have a friend in the EU ( a serious player ) who visits Ukraine regularly.... he makes the point that there still is serious corruption as the Soviet model was part of Ukraine culture. Too many self interested politicians/ bureaucrats I suspect....I for one hope beyond hope that Ukraine prevails.

Yes he's correct about the declaration of war.

The long-range ATTMS provided by the USA will be a game changer. If a comparison can be made, the British had a string of losses in WWII until the battle of El-Alamein. Ukraine 🇺🇦 is still in the fight.

Well said! Slava Ukraini and her supporters!

I still remember the population of GB gathering all sorts of household aluminium for building their planes, so the vast population was all in together against the Nazi treat and bombings . GB was also alone against this overwhelming power but never , ever lost its courage, spirit to resist even if GB was not prepared at all at that moment, they carried on, because they believed in success. I guess it is the same with UA now, they can get all the help from a technical , logistical even military hardware which is upscaling rapidly from the west and I do not think Russia is ready for a full scale war, they treat with nuclear and keep on destroying but at the same time the country is cannabalised by this war as P. simply overplayed his hand and did not at all expect the massive support from the west for UA, this was his major mistake from the beginning to think he could simply overtake another country and the west would not interfere at all and let go, no not this time. We should have stopped Hitler also 10 y before instead of after, that is the lesson we have learned, dealing with tyrants.

The expertise and experience of retired Luitenant General Glen Grant was on fine display in the highly compelling advice being given. Everything he said was based on objective analysis and makes perfect sense.

Listen to this man, Ukraine. He is brilliant and absolutely right.

You can not fight and win a war on borrowed equipment alone.

very great interview

I didn’t expect to be blown away by another conversation with an expert. But this is just brilliant! Alina - great interview, fantastic dynamic. And Lieutenant Colonel Grant - my greatest respect for your knowledge and bravery to call things by their names. I’ll share this interview with my friends here in Poland. Once again, thank you!

Thank you again for this absolut excellent talk. I'am not sure if Selensky is understanding what Mr. Grant means. Mr. Grant is absolute right, Ukraine should have started defending itself much earlier. Instead, highways were built. When I went to Cernihiv in the fall of 2019, I had not seen a single bunker with prepared embrasures. The roads and bridges had no prepared explosives, there were no underground ammunition caverns, the production facilities for weapons were not transported to the Carpathian Mountains. It seams to me, 2019 also the society wasn't ready to accept to spend more money for defence. The result is total depency of US and Europe - and Europe is on a similar unprepared level as Ukraine was. Ukraine once prduced the Satana nuclear missile. Why is that not possible today? Why Selensky do not ask own and foreign experts and scientists to improove war economy and civil defence? It is never too late. And I stand behind Ukraine one ifs and buts. As part of civil society, we are helping Ukrainians as much as we can. We are not tired, but just as motivated as we were two years ago ❤️🇺🇦🇪🇺🇬🇧🇺🇦❤️.

Glen Grant has a lot of great points which opens up the audience to the actual situation. The government of Ukraine should be taking notes on the advice he is giving

Excellent in-depth discussion with great insights and observations about the facts. Not iterating the usual media talking points but looking ahead what is required.

This was a very good interview with extremely robust answers and opinions from Mr Grant. The message from him was absolutely clear; Ukraine needs to be totally dedicated to defeating Russia. Production capacity, supply chains, transportation, food production, energy production, training, and integrating foreign expertise, as well as integrating all this into civil society must be the absolute focus for the Ukraine government. In WW2 it took 13,000 hours to build a Spitfire airframe compared to 4,000 for a Messerschmitt Me109 but how effective were they? These are the things you need skilled engineers from industry for and to understand.

Ukraine had better get its act together. - and Glen Grant also makes a good point about transitioning leaders as with Zaluzhnyi , as it is very stressful and there needs to be a rotation after a period of time. Same goes with President... The fact that Ukraine has canceled elections due to the war is very troubling. It is first anti-democratic. The argument that Ukraine can't have an election when they are at war is total BS. The USA had an election in the middle of their civil war and never - by constitutional mandate - has it not had elections during all of their wars. I understand some European nations also waive elections in case of war - but we are talking about countries who are new to democracy for the most part relative to the USA - which is the oldest existing democracy in the world. It's not perfect, but it has worked for 248 years. My guess is that Zelenskyy would likely be replaced if faced with a serious opponent like the mayor of Kyiv - just as Churchill was replaced. People understand that keeping people in power for too long is very bad for democracy. Dahh (look to your enemy). If this war goes on for many more years - are there never to be new elections? That by definition is a dictatorship, even if benign. In any case, if what Glen Grant is saying is even partially true about Ukraine not being on a total war footing... then that indicates something is very wrong... very wrong. If that Ukraine halfhearted war footing news becomes a narrative among the nations who are currently supporting Ukraine, I can guarantee both material and moral support will fall dramatically for Ukraine. However, what really blows my mind is that Ukraine has not declared war on Russia!!! If another country is invading your territory, and killing and raping your citizens - is not a reason to declare war - than what is? That is just unbelievable. I did not know that fact until now... Jeez. Unbelievable.

Great talk!

India has no choice, but to be neutral, because they are buying most of their weapons from Russia and are dependent on them getting long term supply. It will take years for them to change their dependency on Russia.

Interesting interview. Mr Grant puts his finger on something that I haven't heard anyone say before: the Ukrainians, on all levels, are not fully committed to this war. Yes, some are very committed but most of them are not. I can sympathise with the young men fleeing to Poland, Hungary or Romania instead of sacrificing their lives on the battlefield, but that's not how you win a war.

Very well said on many points. Thank you! The part about governments on both sides of the Atlantic not taking this seriously enough is absolutely on target.

Very intelligent interview and conversation and finding an expert willing to hard talk on ways Ukraine maybe able to improve out comes. Production of weaponry would be a great start but would Ukraine be able to recruit workers when they already having problems with military recruitment numbers.

Although painful, sometimes you need an outsider’s perspective to pull the situation into focus. I didn’t view his comments to be demeaning. On the contrary, he gave props where props were due, maybe there’s something to his comments to consider and valuable

The preparation part is rather powerful. That process is important in and of itself. We lock our houses in prep for bad guys. It is not inciting bad guys. Every country engaged in this need to be on a mindful war footing. Using intelligence of people is key.

A very interesting interview. I really love your content.

Harsh words at points, but tough love.

I love how Ukrainians think they can just freeze the conflict.

Thank u for this interview 🇺🇦🌻

Ukraine has embarrassed Russian military for more than two years. If Russians can't take care of tires or military equipment. What makes you think they took care of nuclear missiles?

Very good interview; I enjoyed hearing a new perspective

My my, the Scots do love an argument. Any argument.

I hear this complaint about Zelenskyy that he uses his friends instead of better people. I hope that isn’t true but every politician and leader has those tney trust around them and that inly makes sense. Having said that I do think Ukraine should begin mandatory conscription from a younger age. This would just be an annual thing where the young soldiers get training as a reserve army. It would mean they were already trained when they came of age for service. I also see no reasin why women should also not be conscripted as they do in Israel. It could only benefit women in the long run.

9:50 This man just laid the smackdown on exactly what I've been screaming for years in the comments. As he said all of Ukraine should be in war mode making weapons and scaling to meet those needs. Instead of expecting handouts because aid is temporary and will run out. Ukrainian leaders have a golden opportunity to work with western professionals to get systems in place to manufacture the needs of Ukraine, but what do we see? Slowly talking about producing this and that while expecting handouts. Is this beautiful young lady Ukrainian? If so her mind set speaks volumes on how Ukraine is thinking. PRODUCTION is key, production wins conflicts, expecting others will end up in defeat. Everyone in Ukraine needs to really let this sink in. No one, No aid or No help is going to win this conflict; only you and your country and the decisions made will be the deciding factor. Ukraine needs to stop being ran from the top down and start running from the people up. As much as people tout "Ukrainian will"; where is the will of the people to demand results from leaders and accountability? It's no where because the leaders feed the people what they want and the people remain quiet. Ukrainian leaders have mastered the ability to divert accountability onto the west.

Thank you for this content 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦

"Close the metro and build missiles workshop down there" he says. Well, that's not the solution to the problem. That's not the way to win the war. While his own country doesn't have much military industry to show for and needs to catch up. Which will take a long time.

A nice journalist and really smart Lieutenant

great interview , thank you

Brilliant!!

Can't say I agree with everything this guy says, but it's good to hear other opinions as well.

wowa - stop the press!!!! Germany actually don't have Tarus !! That is totally outside of the BOX! Very interesting interview.

This guy is a serious man who is telling the truth. If Ukraine loses and I hope they do not, they will lose due to what this man is laying out.

Very smart man, better listen to him. And start doing what he said. Especially the metro idea sounds very interesting, worth considering IMHO. Why my previous comment disappear ???

Motivated, trained, organized people with no weapons still lose. His criticisms are valid but the supplies have to match or outmatch Russia's for victory.

Good interview

He is correct that Ukraine should have went to a 100% war footing right off the bat.

Funny, 42:05 he guesses about the „no“ to Taurus: “maybe they haven’t got any” - I can say for sure: they have But one speculative argument has not been mentioned yet: Scholz is personally blackmailed by Putin. (Wirecard, CumEx”)

The uk built loads of new stuff during the blitz most of which never got used but some where genius tanks swimming across the channel for one

It's disappointing to see someone claiming to be an international relations expert lack basic knowledge. It reflects poorly and gives the impression that Ukrainian experts are not knowledgeable, which is far from the truth.

Change the narrative, by changing the mindset.

He's 100% correct. Straight honest conversations are good🙏

Good discussion!

What an absolutely good question to begin the conversation with. I remember reading it took America 2 years to gear up for WW2 and two years of costly defeats and lives. 😮

I love this guy. He is so right.!

Zelenski is verry tired of this war ! If you see photo's of him a few days before the war and now 2 years later .... This man is aged by 10 a 15 years in 2 years of time ! ! His heart and compassion for his country is dragging him down .... But the luck of the Ukrain people is Zelenski ! He is the only 24h to 24h president of the world !!!

The entire E.U. Needs to convert to a wartime economy! If they really want Ukraine to win.

Unfortunately,Russia being an authoritarian regime can expend it's troops without consequences(unto a point)but Ukraine's threashold for losses being a democracy is comparitively lower-the government has to listen to the will of the people-which of course is the way it should be.Engrossing interview.

Ask the guest about direct NATO involvement in Ukraine or by a few countries like France and Poland. Doesn't defeating Russia require a wider front?

Damn, i like this dude! i have been saying the same thing since 2022, every single word, but everyone thinks that I'm a fool who doesn't understand the world. Now, I'll just make them watch this video) Alina, please, stop blaming society for being tired - cause and effect, this is not a cause it's an effect

Diplomacy is appeasement and offering something on you own, nothing called Diplomacy! But other points I do agree.

Some big talk by this guy but in reality why doesn't Europe sendna contingent of willing volunteers.?why can't we help with boots in the ground with volunteers? We could do so much more when we know that we are holding back waves of slavelike Russian troops, mostly who have no idea why they are there. It seems a bottomless pit of bodies willing to be sacrificed and that nust be demoralising. Plus Ukrainian soldiers are being aerial bombed. The West does the bare minimum but keeps saying how much it matters. It sickens me who blase they are without making sacrifices themselves.

The Ukraine War is invaluable to how Western countries should prepare for war (drones, AI, EW) and what is now becoming obsolete (think MBTs). The US should revise its weapons procurement from old, very expensive tech, to adaptable, mass produceable, low cost tech.

This was an eye opener for the west, Glen Grant was fantastic .

Russia is so heavily sactioned, they even sanctioned sewing needles.

Alina showed impressive patience during this interview.

Ridiculous to say Ukraine can't produce their own weapons. Isn't there 9 billion USD in orders to the Ukrainian weapon manufacturing right now and 1,6 Billion of the 60 will go to ordering weapons from Ukraine.

To be war ready conscription MUST be mandatory from the age of 18 years. They undergo basic training for 3 months, then specialise and are posted where required. Two year mandatory service and then up to three months a year as reserves. It worked for the South African Defence Force fighting the Black Russian, East German and Cuban armies supported Communists. Ukraine does not have the manpower. They did not approach the Russian invasion as war. Ukraine is at war. Martial law must apply. Democracy must be temporarily suspended. Martial law will include the death penalty for treason, desertion and war crimes. WAKE UP UKRAINE! THIS IS WAR! NO PARTIES IN KIEV UNTIL THE WAR IS WON!

Put Glen Grant as a supervisor to Zelensky instead of Yermak. I am sure, things in Ukraine would going better. Thanks for this brilliant talk ❤️🇺🇦🇪🇺🇬🇧🇺🇦❤️

What an accusation baldly saying there might be NO TAURUS in Germany at all.

This women is being educated in real time!

When they use the word "we" in this interview, whom do they mean? Ukraine, Britain, Europe, NATO? I didn't get it. Sometimes it sounds like they talk about Britain, sometimes it sound like they talk from an internal Ukrainian perspective.

Thanks, Crossfire, Kyiv Post. Little Old Babushkas need money and they can work, they can't lift heavy items, but they can manipulate things once moved. Machinery can move heavy items, for them.

Interesting

This man is absolutely right about industrial will to gear up for war, and knowbody is, just like industry switching over to make supplies to fight the pandemic

Sounds like Ukraine still has a Soviet mindset in administration and that they may benefit from advice from a friendly nation. Some very valid criticisms here.

Netanyahu's message to Mr Zelenskyj: All Jews are equal, but some Jews are more equal than others. "Steiner... Yes! YES! STEINER WILL LEAD THE COUNTEROFFENSIVE! IT WILL ALL BE FINE! FINE! (trembling hands removes glasses)" - a line from Mr Zelens'kyj's favourite movie. * "The war has ended, not necessarily to the advantage of Japan" - Emperor of Japan addressing the nation after (un)conditional capitulation in 1945 * Mr Zelens'kyj's swan song. I am standing alone on the stage in front of the drawn curtain. The empty prompter's booth... and box-office. Deafening silence. No limelight. No fans. No applause. No flowers. Disappointed audience have left a long time ago. A cleaner is about to finish his work. The piano lid has slammed shut. Unbearable pain has brought me back to my senses. The show is over. *** "When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become king. But the palace becomes a circus!" - Turkish proverb *** "Put him on stage and remove a ladder" - Chinese proverb referring to bad performers. *** "There was once a comedian who killed people with stolen jokes and was hanged by his wits' end." - H.Warner *** "How pathetic the jester is, on the king's throne, How stupid the people who allowed it." - Robert Burns 1759-1796 * Пане Зеленський, сподіваюся, ви ще пам'ятаєте старе прислів'я рідною мовою: "Не по Сеньке шапка." Незабаром Україна стане однією великою Малинівкою. Втішає те, що Європа та Америка йдуть тим самим шляхом. До таких політичних проходимців і невдах, як Рютте, Джонсон, місіс Траст i... дo Вас пане Президенте, приєднаються Шольц, Бербок, Трюдо, Сунак і дідусь Джо. Почнуться взаємні звинувачення. Hа зміну обіймам i усмішкам прийдуть удари в спину. * “Ukraine shouldn’t sign anything with them at all - and let’s just fight.” - Boris Johnson, Kyiv on Apr. 9, 2022 * "Росія хотіла припинити війну в обмін на нейтральний статус України, який зобов'язав би Київ ніколи не вступати в НАТО. Водночас «коли ми повернулися зі Стамбула, приїхав Борис Джонсон до Києва і сказав, що ми взагалі нічого не підписуватимемо з ними - і давайте будемо просто воювати." - Давид Арахамія, в інтерв’ю Наталії Мосійчук (25 листопада 2023) * "Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has strongly rejected the claims that he interfered with peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in the spring of 2022." - Kyiv Post, January 11, 2024 Zelensky reminds me The Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail priceless scene. "Your arm's off!" "No it isn't!" “Look you stupid bastard you’ve got no arms left!” "It's a flesh wound. I've had worse. "Well what's that then?" "I’m invincible!” “You’re a looney.” “Alright, we’ll call it a draw!” Раджу запастися попкорном і побажати всім перемоги.

I am so impressed from this gentleman why don't Ukraine use this kind talent and why not Ukraine government not on full scale war mode. What are they waiting for it's make us very worried in united state please deliver our massage to Ukraine government use good talented people like this gentleman God bless you all

What if South Korea went for North Korea at this time? Just asking.

Budanov is not the person who take care about Ukrainians. Żaluznyj has had abilities to feel compassion to victims of meat grinder and he has refused to sending for death guys without any military trening. I have heard about propebbly arrest for Zalużnyj .Only rumors from Kiev.

The "Best Captain is always the one standing ashore criticising the captain of the ship in peril " I wonder if the critical old fart realizes that.!?!?..I am 71 years young and I am well capable of identifying know-all-critical-old-farts..... Greetings from Cape Town.😜😎

China will never involve itself in a process aimed at assisting Ukraine against Russia.

I dont agree with him. I think they will win for sure, but I think he lacks pieces in the big picture. I love for example Jack Broe, Vlad Vexler, Joe Blogs, Dennis etc... I think they might have got a broader picture and more correct than him. (I do think Zelensky, of what I know, is taking excellent desicions! U will BOUTH win and have an EXCELLENT future, Zelensky is not sacrificeing one for the other, I think U will move ahead of many countries in the future because of this. Its many ways to see easy solutions when you dont see the whole picture, its harder than that.)

Excellent interview, Master Yoda schooled young Jedi about military terminology and potential of Ukrainian people to create military weapons locally instead of depending on the West. Ukraine is at war yet there is no conscription of 18 year old males is beyond me and try to leave the country.

This Colonel is so sure of himself she should ask him this question why the Russian is winning at this stage. Remember viewers no explanations here are true and has a perfect explanation no matter how clever this colonel is. At this point in time the result of the conflict being the Russian will come up on top unless an unforeseen circumstance occurs e.g. a Nuclear tactical weapon is employed by the west.

15:10 “ you have to be prepared. If you don’t prepare it’s going to happen. “ Sad but true God Save the King & Героєм Слава

The failure of the negotiations will mean the beginning of a third world war." This is how Vladimir Zelensky described his desire to resolve the conflict in Ukraine through diplomacy. But exactly two years year ago, his rhetoric changed dramatically: instead of agreeing to a neutral and nuclear-free status for the country, Zelensky’s office decided to seek “victory on the battlefield.” What were the reasons for such drastic changes and are negotiations on Ukraine possible in the future? On March 29, 2022, the last round of Russian-Ukrainian talks to resolve the conflict formally took place in Istanbul(Turkey). As a result, Russia announced a reduction in military activity in the Kiev and Chernihov regions. And Ukraine submitted its proposals for a peaceful settlement. The proposals, among other things, stated: that Ukraine in the next 15 years refuses to try to return Crimea and Donbas by military means. Ukraine also promised not to enter into military alliances, to confirm its non-nuclear status, and not to deploy foreign bases and contingents, to conduct exercises without the consent of the guarantor countries, including Russia. On March 20, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN he was “ready for talks” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but warned that if the talks failed, “it would mean a third world war.” He called for negotiations "without delay", although he refused to carry out denazification. A week later, on March 28, 2022, Zelensky assured that Ukraine was ready to discuss its neutral status as part of a peace agreement with Russia. “Guarantees of security and neutrality, the non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it,” Zelensky quoted Reuters as saying. On June 17, 2022: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Ukraine to persuade its leader Vladimir Zelensky to accept negotiations with Russia “before it is too late.” The Italian newspaper La Stampa wrote about this. Journalists from the German newspaper Die Welt also suggested that "behind closed doors" visitors convinced Zelensky to come to the negotiating table. Everyone remembers the turning point after the talks in Istanbul(Turkey). Zelensky argued that Ukraine does not need NATO. He doubted that the alliance could even protect its own countries. He agreed to a non-bloc status and some other conditions. But then Boris Johnson arrived and the Ukrainian authorities refused all agreements. On June 18, 2022: Johnson, during a visit to Kiev, offered the opportunity to train up to 10 thousand Ukrainian soldiers every four months and announced plans to expand the training of Ukrainian troops. The UK will continue to actively support Ukraine, despite the world's fatigue with the Ukrainian conflict, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on his return from Kiev. On June 25, 2022: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson predicted increasing pressure from Western countries on Ukraine with the aim of concluding a “bad peace” with Russia. According to him, the pressure may increase due to the economic consequences of the sanctions for Europe. On June 26, 2022: Attempts to resolve the conflict [through negotiations] in Ukraine at this stage will only contribute to maintaining instability in the world, the head of the British government, Boris Johnson, told the French president, Emmanuel Macron, during a G7 meeting in Germany. From June 26 to 28, 2022: "We all have to show that we are cooler than Putin... We have to show our pectoral muscles." Boris Johnson made these statements at the G7 summit in Germany that lasted three days. On November 24, 2024: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke openly with CNN (Portuguese affiliate) about the fact that his efforts encouraged Ukrainian leaders to participate in military resistance. Zelensky was simply forbidden to conduct further negotiations with Russia. Moreover, it was not the conditional "collective West" that did this, but individual players: the United States and Britain. The initiator of the idea was the British authorities, but Johnson could not make such a decision on his own. He had long discussions about this with the White House. I think Johson convinced Washington with this argument: “We will make Moscow pay more".

Ukraine government is conscripting thousands and this jocker says Ukraine is only 25% geared up. 😂😂😂

MDBA make StormShadow AND Taurus..same damned company.

Both are living in alis in wonderland.

🇺🇸🍀✌️🇺🇦

This is a snapshot of my life growing up talking with my British father. He makes his point condescendingly with a heavy dose of arrogance and lack of patience for any view other than his own. LOL Good conversation!

It’s one off my favorite pastimes to, to tell everyone what they need to do, without me having any responsibility or needing to specify, how exactly to accomplish those tasks.

With all due respect; I’m rather embarrassed by the words here. Has he consulted with the Ukrainian government, recently? The Ukrainian government is fully on a war footing. Moreover it is using incredibly intelligent tactics, with severely limited resources. Intelligence. This is the key word here. The negativity here is quite dangerous and frankly, completely unfounded. It’s awkward to disagree with a person of such calibre; but I feel he needs to consult directly with the Ukrainian government, today. 💛 💙 🇬🇧 💪

You have a chose, you can pretend to live a normal life were every now and then some of your loved ones die in missal strikes, or the battlefield, or you can realise whether you like it or not YOU ARE AT WAR.

Okay, this guy is entitled to his opinion but some things are just more complicated.

Russian federation is about 32 countries plus Iran, the north korea, Belarus, country-stans, fighting against Ukraine.

Britain is in an economic crisis. WTF you talking about!

amazingly the lady is more level headed and less war mongor than this old man, i guess it comes naturally with british people

I think Russia should be banned from the Olympics. It would hit Putin where it hurts most - his pride and self delusion.