Ukraine

Kyiv announced Thursday that it had signed an agreement with the United States to help move production of arms to Ukraine, as doubts hang over Western support for its conflict with Russia. Since the beginning of Russia's invasion, Ukraine has depended on Western weapons and ammunition to hold out against Russian forces. But after nearly two years of conflict there are signs of growing weariness in Europe and the United States to provide more financial and military aid. As Western resolve wanes, Ukraine risks being "left on its own against the Russian aggression". For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine, FRANCE 24's Shona Bhattacharyya is joined by Natia Seskuria, Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Lecturer in Russian Politics.

The start of Ukraine’s counter-offensive against occupying Russian forces was hailed as the breakthrough moment of the war so far. Now six months on, we ask what happened? The Secretary General of NATO has said we should be ‘prepared for bad news’ and the White House has warned that the US is running out of time and money to fund the war. In this week's Briefing Room with David Aaronovitch we find out why things haven’t progressed as hoped and how much Ukraine’s key backers still support the war. Joining David to discuss are: Karin Von Hippel - Director General, Royal United Services Institute Shashank Joshi - Defence Editor at The Economist Michael Clarke - Professor of Defence studies and Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy Prof. Dr. Daniela Schwarzer - Executive Board member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German foreign policy think tank based in Berlin

Neil Melvin, Director of International Security Studies at British defense and security think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)... [told] Newsweek that the Russian military fights with little regard to causalities. It throws troops into battle and then brings in fresh units to replace those destroyed, relying on the country's large population and with little regard to life, he said. "For this kind of warfare, prisoners are viewed by the Russian leadership as a resource that can be used with little risk of major political consequences," Melvin added.