Putin's mass drone attack 'fails' as Ukraine’s special forces wreck Russian fighter jets in daring night-time raid

Day 1,202.

Today, we assess the overall strategic picture as Russia sets its sights on one of the regions not illegally annexed after one the most furious, but failed, aerial bombardments of the war. Then we hear more from the fallout of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s meeting with Donald Trump and from the Polish Presidential election last week, before hearing from a historian of the Cold War about the right, and wrong, lessons we take from that era.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Memphis Barker (Senior foreign correspondent). @memphisbarker on X.

James Rothwell (Berlin Correspondent). @JamesERothwell on X.

With thanks to Vladislav Zubok (Historian of international relations, London School of Economics). @VladislavZubok1 on X.

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Content Referenced:

‘The World of the Cold War’ by Vladislav Zubok:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/303799/the-world-of-the-cold-war-by-zubok-vladislav/9780241696149 

Ukraine’s race to recovery after Russian devastation (Memphis Barker in The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/07/ukraines-race-to-rebuild-power-plants-russian-bombardment/ 

How Merz plans to avoid an Oval Office pasting (James Rothwell in The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/05/german-chancellor-merz-plan-avoid-oval-office-pasting/ 

Watch: New footage of Ukraine’s daring drone raid on Russian planes (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/08/watch-new-footage-ukraine-drone-attack-russia-planes/ 

Putin unleashes a summer offensive to break Ukraine (The Economist):

https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/06/08/putin-unleashes-a-summer-offensive-to-break-ukraine 

President Zelensky’s Interview with ABC News:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7gSoZ0_M8E 

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