As winter grips Ukraine’s frontlines and Chinese warships circle Taiwan, the shadows of escalation stretch across two hemispheres, testing alliances and resolve.
In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps convenes experts from the Institute for the Study of War – George Barros (Russia & GEOINT Team Lead) on Moscow’s grinding push toward Pokrovsk, Matthew Sperzel and Daniel Shats (China Analysts) on Beijing’s intensifying grey-zone pressure around Taiwan. They explore Russian tactical gains amid Ukrainian shortages, China’s blockade rehearsals, and the dangerous interplay between these crises as Western resolve wavers.
What You’ll Learn
Pokrovsk Under Threat: Russia’s assaults exploit Ukrainian manpower and munitions gaps, risking a key logistical hub just as corruption crisis hits the Kyiv government.
China’s Creeping Coercion: Escalating patrols, simulated blockades, and military pressure are designed to isolate Taiwan and influences politics without firing a shot.
Linked Destinies: How weakness in Europe signals opportunity in Asia, underscoring the need for unified deterrence against coordinated authoritarian revisionism.
This exchange is a stark reminder that today’s battles are fought on parallel fronts and the outcome in one may well decide the fate of the other.
Facing Coming Storms is brought to you by the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, in partnership with the Project for the Study of the 21st Century, and produced by Urban Podcasts.
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