Welcome to the first episode of Mildly Alarmed, a new weekly podcast about European and global security hosted by Anastasiia Lapatina, Fabian Hoffman, Minna Ålander, and Karen-Anna Eggen. To set up the show, we are dedicating the first three episodes to recent trends in Ukraine, Europe, and global security. This episode dives into the state of the war in Ukraine. With things looking brighter for Ukraine after a brutal winter, we discuss if they are headed for victory, and if the peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have achieved anything. If you want to support our show, go to our Buy Me A Coffee page. Email us at alarmedmildly@gmail.com with any guest feedback, suggestions, and questions. Mentioned in the show: The Kremlin’s Expanding Media Conglomerate 2026 from the Institute for the Study of War 'The state did not protect us' — Deadly mass shooting reignites Ukraine's gun control debate from the Kyiv Independent Global energy markets are on the verge of a disaster from The Economist 2026 NPT Review Conference: Why This Moment Matters from the United Nations Association — UK Credits: Anastasiia Lapatina is Ukraine Fellow at Lawfare. She writes a weekly newsletter about Ukraine called Yours Ukrainian. She is based in Kyiv. Karen-Anna Eggen is a Senior Researcher and the Head of the Programme for Ukraine and Full-Spectrum Threats at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. She is based in Oslo. Fabian Hoffman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Programme for Ukraine and Full-Spectrum Threats at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. He is the author of the Missile Matters newsletter about defence, missile technology, and nuclear strategy. He is based in Oslo. Minna Ålander is an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. She’s also an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and a Non-Resident Fellow at CEPA. Minna also writes a newsletter about European security called Northern Flank Notes. She is based in Stockholm. The podcast is engineered by Anthony Bartaway, who is also the co-host of a podcast called Ukraine Without Hype.