How is America’s domestic politics impacting the war in Ukraine? Last week, the Biden administration authorised Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike within Russia’s borders – but, beyond July’s NATO Summit, the United States’ long-term strategy is unclear. As well as how the Biden administration’s response to Ukraine might develop, this uncertainty will only grow should the American public elect Donald Trump again in November. 

In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Jeremy Shapiro, director of research and director of ECFR’s US programme, to discuss the next moves in US policy on Russia’s war in Ukraine. What are the motivations behind the Biden administration’s latest decision? What is the American domestic consensus on supporting the war in Ukraine? And is it possible for NATO to protect itself from Trump?  

This episode was recorded on 5 June 2024. 

Bookshelf:

U.S. escalation in Ukraine needs a plan, by Jeremy Shapiro and Samuel Charap 

Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World’‘s First Empire, by Eckart Frahm 

New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West, by David E. Sanger