Hello.
I'm Shashank Joshi, the Economist's former defense editor and incoming Washington Bureau Chief.
My guest today is one of the most highly respected analysts of war anywhere in the world.
He has worked closely with Ukraine's armed forces since the full-scale invasion in 2022,
producing battlefield reports that are read avidly by governments everywhere.
Jack Watling is a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
Welcome to Inside Defense.
Jack, a very warm welcome to Inside Defense.
Good to be with you, Shashank.
I'm really glad you're on.
I've been wanting to get you on this show since we started.
Um, we've known each other for several years.
I remember when I started this job as defense secretary eight years ago,
having breakfast with you and getting your advice and it's it's helped me in in in good stead throughout that period.
A lot of the last several years of your work, of my life as well,
has been dominated by Ukraine.
You're back from there recently.
I think you got back last week.
So it feels like a sensible place to begin.
You wrote in June that the war was at a turning point,