How It Happened: Putin's Invasion

National

In part one of How it Happened: Putin's Invasion, Axios' Dave Lawler presents reporting and analysis from the Axios newsroom on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Lawler shares insights from a career covering global affairs and dozens of interviews with experts and high ranking officials about how Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power and how the autocrat has wielded it.

The podcast also features Jonathan Swan, Axios national reporter and host of the first season of How It Happened, speaking about his exclusive Axios on HBO interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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For more of Dave Lawler's world reporting, subscribe to Axios World.

Credits: This episode of Putin's Invasion was reported by Dave Lawler in collaboration with the Axios newsroom and produced by Naomi Shavin with help from Sabeena Singhani. Julia Redpath is executive producer. Alison Snyder is the series editor. Sara Kehaulani Goo is the Editor-in-Chief. Mixing, sound design, and music supervision by Alex Sugiura. Additional mixing by Jayk Cherry. Theme music and original score by Michael Hanf. Special thanks to Axios co-founders Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz.

1. Putin's Invasion Part I: How We Got Here

Dave Lawler and Jonathan Swan explain how Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky each came to power.

Photo illustration of President Vladimir Putin and tank barriers.

Photo illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photos: Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency, Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Russian invasion of Ukraine

How It Happened

<p>In part one of <strong>How it Happened: Putin&#x27;s Invasion,</strong> Axios&#x27; Dave Lawler presents reporting and analysis from the Axios newsroom on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</p><div><iframe frameBorder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/AXIOS2715218259?" width="100%"></iframe><div style="display:none"></div></div>

Podcasts

In part two of How it Happened: Putin's Invasion, Axios' Dave Lawler explains how Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine catalyzed a chain of events that are reshaping our world.  

Lawler is joined by Axios managing editor Margaret Talev to discuss President Biden's decades of political experience with Russia and the sanctions the U.S. and Europe have brought against the country. 

Energy and climate reporter Andrew Freedman explains why it's so hard for the West to cut ties with Russia when it comes to energy, and why the Biden administration chose to do so even if it would send gas prices soaring. 

2. Putin's Invasion Part II: The Consequences

Why February 24 was such a major turning point and why pushing back on Russia is so complicated.

Illustration of the earth with a stock line and abstract shapes.

<p>In part two of <strong>How it Happened: Putin&#x27;s Invasion,</strong> Axios&#x27; Dave Lawler explains how Russian President Vladimir Putin&#x27;s decision to invade Ukraine catalyzed a chain of events that are reshaping our world.  </p><div><iframe frameBorder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/AXIOS1263749148?" width="100%"></iframe><div style="display:none"></div></div>

In part three of How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion, Axios' Dave Lawler examines the red lines being drawn by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in discussions about possible paths to peace.

This episode features interviews with Zelensky’s chief of staff, a member of Parliament in his party, two close observers of Putin and the Kremlin, and a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine with decades of diplomatic experience in the region. 

Across these interviews, Lawler tries to determine the end games for Putin and Zelensky and the likeliest scenarios for how this conflict could end. 

Go deeper: No clear pathway to peace in Ukraine

Credits: This episode of Putin's Invasion was reported by Dave Lawler in collaboration with the Axios newsroom and produced by Naomi Shavin. Barak Ravid contributed reporting. Julia Redpath is executive producer. Alison Snyder is the series editor. Sara Kehaulani Goo is the Editor-in-Chief. Ben O'Brien is the mix engineer. Mixing, sound design, and music supervision by Alex Sugiura. Theme music and original score by Michael Hanf. Special thanks to Axios co-founders Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz.

3. Putin's Invasion Part III: How It Could End

Across a series of interviews, Dave Lawler examines the likeliest ways the conflict could end.

Photo illustration of Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

Photo Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photos: Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency, Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

<p>In part three of <strong>How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion, </strong>Axios&#x27; Dave Lawler examines the red lines being drawn by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in discussions about possible paths to peace.</p><div><iframe frameBorder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/AXIOS4750193102?" width="100%"></iframe><div style="display:none"></div></div>

In part four of How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion, Axios' Dave Lawler digs into polling indications that Russians are rallying around their president even as Western sanctions and global condemnations escalate.

This episode features interviews with a top political opposition leader, the director of the leading independent polling firm in Russia, a prominent sociologist from the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences and a journalist on the ground in Moscow. 

Across these interviews, Lawler sets out to learn why horrific allegations against Russia — such as the apparent massacre of civilians in Bucha— are being rejected by some Russians as lies. 

Go deeper: Inside wartime Russia, Putin isn't losing

Credits: This episode of Putin's Invasion was reported by Dave Lawler, Alison Snyder, and Naomi Shavin. Sara Fischer and Emily Peck contributed reporting. It was produced by Naomi Shavin. Alison Snyder is the series editor. Sara Kehaulani Goo is the Editor-in-Chief. Ben O’Brien is the mix engineer. Mixing, sound design, and music supervision by Alex Sugiura. Theme music and original score by Michael Hanf. Special thanks to Axios co-founders Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz.

4. Putin's Invasion Part IV: The View from Russia

Why horrific allegations against Russia have been being rejected by some Russians as lies.

Photo illustration of Vladimir Putin looking over Red Square

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Konstantin Zavrazhin, Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

<p>In part four of <strong>How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion, </strong>Axios&#x27; Dave Lawler digs into polling indications that Russians are rallying around their president even as Western sanctions and global condemnations escalate.</p><div><iframe frameBorder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/AXIOS3870563554?" width="100%"></iframe><div style="display:none"></div></div>

In part five of How it Happened: Putin’s Invasion, Axios' Dave Lawler zooms into the frontlines of the war, seen through the eyes of a journalist who has been covering the war there and a soldier who has been fighting there, both since 2014.

Why it matters: The battle to defend this region, which has been partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, will determine the outcome of this war.

After being repelled from Kyiv and other cities, Vladimir Putin has concentrated his forces in the Donbas and vowed to "liberate" the full territory. 

In Mariupol, the remaining Ukrainian defenders surrendered this week after a brutal siege. The Russians are making grinding progress elsewhere in the region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described soldiers in the Donbas as some of the best Ukraine has. 

Axios World editor Dave Lawler spent weeks interviewing Ukrainian Cpl. Andrii Shadrin and news producer Kateryna Malofieieva to understand the region’s history and significance, the realities of daily life on the ground, and why the stakes of this fight are so high.

Go deeper: On the front lines in Donbas: One Ukrainian soldier's story

Credits: This episode was reported and produced by Dave Lawler and Naomi Shavin. Alison Snyder is the series editor. Sara Kehaulani Goo is the Editor-in-Chief. Mixing, sound design, and music supervision by Alex Sugiura. Mixing by Ben O’Brien. Theme music and original score by Michael Hanf. Special thanks to Axios co-founders Mike Allen, Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz.

Additional thanks to Kristina Zelenyuk, Anastasiya Ringis, Igor Kazimirov, Tanya Zhukova, and Hiroaki Kuromiya.

5. Putin's Invasion Part V: The Fight for the Donbas

Why the stakes of the fight in Ukraine's Donbas region are so high — through the eyes of two Ukrainians, a soldier and a journalist.

Photo illustration of a Ukrainian soldier with a map of Ukraine and the Donbas region in the background

 Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Narciso Contreras/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Russia

<p>In part five of <strong>How it Happened: Putin’s Invasion</strong>, Axios&#x27; Dave Lawler zooms into the frontlines of the war, seen through the eyes of a journalist who has been covering the war there and a soldier who has been fighting there, both since 2014.</p><ul><li><strong>Why it matters:</strong> The battle to defend this region, which has been partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, will determine the outcome of this war.</li></ul><div><iframe frameBorder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" src="https://player.megaphone.fm/AXIOS6258326565?" width="100%"></iframe><div style="display:none"></div></div>

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

Putin's Invasion Part V: The Fight for the Donbas

Photo illustration of a broken window looking out over Kyiv

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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5. Putin's Invasion Part V: The Fight for the Donbas