Thrown under the bus: Ukraine abandoned by the Trump administration

featuring Emma Shortis
Paris Hosted a Trilateral Meeting Between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump.
President of Ukraine/Flickr

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Trump appears to want a quick and dirty end to Russia’s invasion, but at what cost to Ukraine and to America’s reputation?

On this episode of After America, Dr Gorana Grgić joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss Trump’s plans for Ukraine, the MAGA movement’s support for Europe’s resurgent far-right parties, and the new Cabinet’s approach to ‘prioritising’ China.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 20 February 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What’s the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Gorana Grgić, Senior Researcher, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zürich // goranagrgic.com

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis

Show notes: 

Bridges across regions: the effects of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific cooperation on European security architectures by Gorana Grgić, International Politics (January 2025)

Australia’s strategic thinking on the war in Ukraine, NATO, and Indo-Pacific security by Gorana Grgić, United States Institute of Peace (November 2024)

A former defense official warns about China’s military power, NPR (April 2024)

Image: President of Ukraine/Flickr

Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au

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