Background Briefing: August 13, 2025
How Ukrainians Feel About the Upcoming Summit to Which They Are Not Invited
We begin and go to Kyiv, Ukraine for an analysis of how Ukrainians feel about the upcoming summit between Putin and Trump to which they are not invited and must hope that Trump does not sell them out as many expect he will. Joining us is Tamar Jacoby, the Kyiv-based director of the Progressive Policy Institute’s New Ukraine Project. She was a senior writer and justice editor at Newsweek and, before that, the deputy editor of the New York Times op-ed page. Now a regular contributor to Forbes.com, she is the author of Displaced: The Ukrainian Refugee Experience and we discuss her article at The Washington Monthly, “Ukrainian Fighters Aren’t Expecting Much from the Trump-Putin Summit.”
The 31 Years-Long Dictatorship That Served as a Backchannel For the Putin/Trump Summit
Then we speak with Simon Shuster, a reporter for Time Magazine based in New York City, by way of Moscow, Kyiv and Berlin. He has previously covered Russia and the former Soviet Union for Reuters, The Associated Press, The Moscow Times and Foreign Policy, and he is the author of The Showman: Inside the Invasion that Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky. We discuss his latest article at Time, “The Secret White House Backchannel That Paved the Way For Trump’s Summit With Putin” and his interview with Europe’s longest ruling dictator of 31 years Lukashenko who served as a backchannel with Trump envoys to set up the Putin/Trump summit in Alaska.
Trump and Hegseth Have Captured the Generals Who Will Show Loyalty Over Legality and Not Rescue us From Trump as Milley, Mattis and Kelly Did Last Time
Then finally we speak with Steven Simon, a Visiting Professor of Government at Dartmouth College and a Senior Research Fellow at The Quincy Institute who served on the National Security Council staff as senior director for Middle Eastern and North African affairs and also worked on the NSC staff on counterterrorism and Middle East security policy. He is the co-author of The Age of Sacred Terror and his latest book is Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East and we discuss his article at The New York Times “When the military won’t stand up to Trump“ which makes clear that Trump and Hegseth have captured the Pentagon’s generals who will display loyalty over legality and will not rescue us from Trump as Milley, Mattis and Kelly did in his first term.