Cormac Smith works at the intersection of authentic leadership & effective communication. He travelled to Ukraine in 2016 to take up a special appointment as the ‘Strategic Communication Advisor’ to Pavlo Klimkin, the then Foreign Minister of Ukraine. Cormac was attached to the British Embassy in Kyiv but was embedded in Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil Dive into the ongoing war with Cormac Smith today. Dominic and Cormac discuss Mariupol, whether the war can be considered genocide, the disinformation war, the reality of Russian aggression, war crimes, hybrid warfare, the need for unity, and more! Today we are joined by Cormac Smith. Cormac works at the intersection of…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 16.10.2025 Late in the night of 4–5 October 2025, Russian forces launched one of the more intense combined missile-and-drone assaults of the war. According to Ukrainian officials, more than 50 ballistic and cruise missiles, along with nearly 500 drones, struck nine regions across the country, hitting energy infrastructure, civilian districts, and industrial…
In this episode Dominic Bowen and Dr. Jamie Shea unpack NATO at a moment of historic change. Find out more about how fear has re-emerged as a unifying force within the Alliance, the political and economic challenges of reaching unprecedented defence spending levels, industrial bottlenecks and Ukraine’s role as a partner in innovation and supply,…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil Dominic Bowen hosts Stefan Wolff back on the podcast to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. They dive into the current state of the war, how Trump’s ultimatum affects diplomatic tensions and whether this will actually change anything. Moreover they discuss Russia’s hybrid warfare and the challenges these bring to peace talks….
Written by Elisa Garbil – 04.08.2025 Diplomacy Without Traction As the Russia–Ukraine war enters its fourth summer, the balance between diplomacy and devastation has become increasingly precarious. While representatives from both sides have returned to negotiation tables in Istanbul and Doha, the intensifying violence across Ukrainian cities and the internal strains within Ukraine’s own institutions suggest that…
As Ukraine enters its third year of active conflict against Russia’s illegal invasion in 2022, and the world prepares for the impact of a second Trump presidency, a shift in the battlefield is unfolding and the international risks remain at the forefront of everyones’ minds. Despite being outmatched in size and military resources, the latest news reports…
Recent incidents involving undersea cables in the Baltic Sea have highlighted the fragility of critical infrastructure in an era of escalating hybrid threats. The suspected sabotage of power and telecommunications cables has raised alarms across Northern Europe.
Alexandra Ba-Tin is a doctoral candidate at the University of Edinburgh, where she researches the intersection of hybrid threats and space-based assets in national security strategies. Her unique perspective combines academic expertise with hands-on experience in the defence and security sector, where she specialized in business analysis, data ethics, and privacy protection. As a War…
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, we delve into the transformative impact of emerging technologies on modern warfare and international security with Alexandra Ba-Tin, a doctoral candidate at the University of Edinburgh specialising in hybrid warfare and AI ethics. Ba-Tin brings her unique expertise in defence, security, and data privacy to explore critical…
