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Russian drone attacks are reshaping life in Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has settled into a grinding, no-end-in-sight war of attrition. Tens of thousands of drones now swarm the skies, threatening the lives of millions of Ukrainians near the frontline as well as western cities like Kyiv. On the latest episode of GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with Christopher Miller, chief Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times, for a firsthand look at how Russia’s war has transformed life into “hell” for Ukrainian civilians who live in constant fear of drone attacks, long range missiles, and aerial bombs.
Russian drones are now capable of flying nearly 40 or 50 kilometers, putting entire cities near the border within striking distance. Urban warfare in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region has become slow, bloody and devastating for the Ukrainians who still live there. Even far from the trenches, in Kyiv and Lviv, citizens endure nightly aerial raid sirens and attacks, hiding in bomb shelters and metro stations to avoid injury from shrapnel and debris. Miller says that drone warfare means nowhere in Ukraine is safe. From the frontlines to the border of the EU, it’s a war zone.
“I go to bed every night anticipating there to be another air attack,” Miller says, “We don't sleep much and we get up in the morning and we look outside and we see the destruction. That might mean 20 people killed on one day. It can mean 40 people injured the next.”
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
Putin's drone battle for Ukraine's skies
The battlefield in Ukraine has moved from the ground to the skies, with Russia ramping up drone production and launching bigger, more powerful aerial attacks across the border. As Moscow leans further into drone warfare, how much longer can Ukraine hold out? Christopher Miller, chief Ukraine correspondent at the Financial Times, joins Ian Bremmer on the latest episode of GZERO World to discuss how drones have changed life on the front lines and in Ukraine’s cities.
The war looks very different from the one Vladimir Putin launched over three years ago, when tanks rolled across the border and soldiers advanced in heavy columns. Now, thousands of attack-style drones and smaller tactical and FPV drones swarm Ukraine’s skies, redefining how nations fight and how civilians live. Putin has reoriented Russia’s military and entire economy to become an industrial drone powerhouse, eroding Ukraine’s early advantage. Can Kyiv regain its edge? How long can Ukraine hold out and is a peace deal at all a possibility?
“There are now tens of thousands of drones in the air at any given time in eastern Ukraine and southern Ukraine being used by both the Russian and Ukrainian armies,” Miller says, “That has changed everything.”
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube.Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
Ukraine's high-tech war of attrition, with Christopher Miller
The war in Ukraine has entered a dangerous new phase, with Russia sending bigger, more powerful drone attacks across the border nearly every day. Gone are the tanks, columns of troops, and heavy artillery from the early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Now, tens of thousands of drones swarm Ukraine’s skies at any given moment. How much longer can Ukraine hold out? Christopher Miller, chief Ukraine correspondent at the Financial Times, joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss the war’s evolution from a conventional land invasion into a high-tech war of attrition dominated by drones.
Artificial intelligence, drones, all types of unmanned vehicles are being used to wage war alongside traditional tanks and artillery. Russia's not advancing like it did in the first few months. Now it's inch by inch, meter by meter. Ukraine’s troops are stuck in positions for months at a time, some nearly a year. Civilians in Ukraine’s cities are under constant threat from drone attacks, sheltering in subways and bomb shelters every night. Despite immense resilience, Ukraine’s people are getting exhausted and the country is running out of manpower. Can Ukraine regain its drone advantage? Is a diplomatic ceasefire at all a possibility?
“A lot of people in the west like to say the Ukrainians are so brave, they can do anything,” Miller says, “Many of my friends and soldiers tell me, we're not superhuman. We die, we bleed. There are fewer of us than there were three and a half years ago.”
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're publishedA man holding a cake sings Happy Birthday for Calin Georgescu during an event to celebrate Georgescu's birthday, in Bucharest, Romania, March 26, 2025.
Far-right places first in Romanian election, sets stage for run-off
Far-right nationalist George Simion won the first round of Romania’s presidential rerun election on Sunday, securing 41% of the vote. Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, or AUR, is known for his pro-Trump, Eurosceptic stance and opposition to military aid for Ukraine. Simion came in first but failed to reach the 50% threshold needed to win outright. Independent Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan came in second with 21% of the vote, edging out centrist Crin Antonescu, and will face Simion in the runoff on May 18.
What led up to this election? The vote is a rerun after the Constitutional Court annulled Romania’s November 2024 presidential contest over allegations of Russian interference. Moscow was pushing for ultranationalist candidate Călin Georgescu on social media in November, and though barred from running, Georgescu remains influential – he even voted at Simion’s side on Sunday – and could play a significant role in an AUR administration.
How did Simion succeed – and where would he take Romania? Simion tapped into widespread public discontent with Romania’s political establishment, struggling economy, and skepticism toward EU institutions. His rise could bring Bucharest closer to Moscow, and he has pledged to end Romanian support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.People protest Ljubljana's Mayor Zoran Jankovic's support of Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic near the Serbian embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on March 5, 2025.
Time is running out for Serbia’s embattled president
After months of historic protests, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, is now up against something particularly formidable: the clock.
The context: Vučić, a right-wing populist friendly with Serbia’s traditional ally Moscow, has held power since 2012. Last year, the deadly collapse of a canopy at a renovated train station ignited anti-corruption protests that swelled into the country’s largest demonstrations in a generation.
Protesters want a probe and fresh elections. Vučić has dismissed several officials, including his PM, but refused to step down, blaming unnamed foreign governments for the unrest. On Sunday, he tapped a little-known medical professor, Djuro Macut, as PM.
Clock #1: Vučić’s governing SNS party has until April 18 to approve Macut or else face snap elections. SNS has the numbers in the legislature, but approving Macut, whose expertise is in endocrinology rather than governance, would inflame the streets even more. Rejecting him, however, would trigger elections that Vučić wishes to avoid.
Clock #2: Meanwhile, Vučić must also find a buyer for Russia’s stake in Serbia’s oil refinery to avoid crippling US sanctions on his country’s energy industry.
Why it matters: Serbia is a key player in the Balkans, an aspiring EU member, and a pal of Putin’s. The clock is ticking – if the bell rings, it could echo well beyond Belgrade.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attend a state reception in Pyongyang, North Korea, in June, 2024.
Can North Koreans help Russia push Ukrainians out of Russia?
North Korea's state-controlled news agency KCNA announced on Tuesday that the country has ratified a strategic partnership agreement that allows Russia to use North Korean troops to help push Ukrainians from Russia’s Kursk region.
Ukrainian, US, NATO, and South Korean officials have warned in recent days that Russia has amassed a force of about 50,000 troops to try to evict Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions – and they say the force includes 10,000-12,000 North Koreans.
The presence of North Korean soldiers could help Russia push forward with its offensive in Ukraine’s East. But beyond the ability of the North Koreans to draw Ukrainian fire away from Russian forces, it’s not clear how effective they will be on the battlefield. None of them has significant combat experience, and the Ukrainians they will be deployed to attack have been fighting in their country’s Donbas region for a decade.
In addition, throughout this war, Russian forces have faced command-and-control issues. It remains to be seen how Russian commanders can effectively coordinate real-time battlefield maneuvers with large numbers of non-Russian-speaking troops.
Ukraine swarmed Moscow on Tuesday with its biggest-ever drone attack. Russia said it had destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the country's capital and 124 more over eight other regions.
Hard Numbers: Moscow swarmed with Ukrainian drones, 9/11 first responder deaths rise, Argentinians head to the bank, Australia eyes age restrictions for social media
370: The number of 9/11 FDNY first responders killed from exposure to toxins at Ground Zero has risen to 370 – surpassing the number of department members who died on the day of the terror attacks 23 years ago. In the past year, 28 more members of the FDNY have died from 9/11-related illness. Meanwhile, federal funding is on the verge of drying out by 2028, when the program is expected to start turning away new applicants unless a proposed extension bill is passed.
700 million: Argentines are declaring hundreds of millions of previously hidden savings under a new tax amnesty program that President Javier Milei hopes will boost the country’s lagging economy. The program, which lasts until the end of the month, has fueled over $700 million of previously squirreled away cash to be deposited into banks in both July and August. Milei hopes the program will recoup $40 billion of the roughly $258 billion in undeclared funds that Argentines currently keep in mattresses, overseas, or otherwise outside its financial system.
16: The Australian government has set out to establish a minimum social media age, with the government expected to propose federal legislation later this year. Although the exact age limit has not been established, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he favors an age limit as high as 16 years old. The proposal has support across the political spectrum, but it is not clear that the technology exists to reliably enforce such a ban.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un arrive for a gala concert in Pyongyang, North Korea June 19, 2024.
Putin and Kim sign mutual defense deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Pyongyang early Wednesday for his first official visit to North Korea in 24 years. He met with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and signed a deal to provide “mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement.”
Putin called it a “breakthrough” document, but “aggression” is a vague term that leaves plenty of room for interpretation.
The real news. Russia, which has been isolated by the international community over its invasion of Ukraine, desperately needs more munitions to continue the war — that’s what this visit is really about. Moscow is deepening ties with Pyongyang to ensure it keeps the ammunition train rolling.
North Korea has sent roughly 10,000 shipping containers to Russia that could contain as many as 4.8 million artillery shells, according to recent comments from South Korea’s defense minister. Russia and North Korea have denied such arms transfers are taking place.
During Putin’s visit, North Korea notably declared “full support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
What does North Korea get? The expanding partnership between the two countries could see Russia provide North Korea with everything from food to military technology.
Like Russia over its war in Ukraine, the rogue state faces crippling sanctions over its nuclear program. Putin is also calling for increased cooperation between the two in fighting these sanctions, decrying such economic penalties as an effort by the West to maintain its hegemony.