<p>As&nbsp;Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine&nbsp;enters its fifth year, negotiations are finally entering&nbsp;a&nbsp;productive phase.&nbsp;<strong>Mark Leonard</strong>&nbsp;is joined by&nbsp;<strong>Jennifer Kavanagh</strong>,&nbsp;senior&nbsp;fellow and&nbsp;director of&nbsp;military&nbsp;analysis at&nbsp;Defense&nbsp;Priorities,&nbsp;and author of the new report,&nbsp;“An Armed Nonalignment Model for Ukraine’s Postwar Security”,&nbsp;to examine Ukraine’s security status and US foreign policy towards it.&nbsp;Mark and Jennifer&nbsp;explore&nbsp;her&nbsp;proposal that&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;should position itself&nbsp;as&nbsp;an&nbsp;“armed nonalignment” state,&nbsp;the future of&nbsp;the&nbsp;transatlantic alliance, and&nbsp;America’s&nbsp;National&nbsp;Defense&nbsp;Strategy.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Can Ukraine be nonaligned but also “armed to the teeth”? Could it become a&nbsp;porcupine that Russia&nbsp;cannot&nbsp;swallow?&nbsp;What&nbsp;should Europe and Ukraine&nbsp;do&nbsp;if&nbsp;future&nbsp;US foreign policy focuses more on the Indo-Pacific and the&nbsp;western&nbsp;hemisphere?&nbsp;Could Russia&nbsp;feasibly invade&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;again? And what happens if&nbsp;it does?&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Bookshelf</strong>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.defensepriorities.org/reports/an-armed-nonalignment-model-for-ukraines-postwar-security/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">An Armed Nonalignment Model for Ukraine’s Postwar Security</a>&nbsp;by Jennifer&nbsp;Kavanagh&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://ecfr.eu/publication/the-bear-in-the-baltics-reassessing-the-russian-threat-in-estonia/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The bear in the Baltics: Reassessing the Russian threat in Estonia</a>&nbsp;by Jennifer and Jeremy Shapiro&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8740790/episodes/?season=4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Season 4 of Bridgerton</a>&nbsp;on Netflix&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trump-susie-wiles-interview-exclusive-part-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff on Trump’s Second Term (Part 1 of 2</a>)&nbsp;by&nbsp;Vanity Fair&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trump-susie-wiles-interview-exclusive-part-2?_sp=a513afc0-688d-49d2-b419-48d43a10c84d.1770216004278" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Susie Wiles Talks Epstein Files, Pete Hegseth’s War Tactics, Retribution, and More (Part 2 of 2)</a>&nbsp;by Vanity Fair&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This podcast was recorded on&nbsp;30th&nbsp;January&nbsp;2026&nbsp;</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>