Leaders of NATO countries at their summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2022 (AP)

UPDATE 0920 GMT:

I chatted further with Ticker TV on Friday about the political, military, and humanitarian situation in Ukraine, culminating in a further analysis of how Vladimir Putin has brought NATO together rather than splitting it with the invasion of Ukraine.

The reason that we are getting these Russian killings of civilians, these sieges, is that Vladimir Putin has failed in Plan A: to get into Kyiva and detain and possibly kill Ukraine’s leaders including President Zelenskiy.

UPDATE, MARCH 25:

I joined Turkey’s ANews on Thursday to discuss the NATO summit and the wider significance of the international community’s response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

We saw this Russian disinformation shtick in Syria, turning black into white, up into down.

The outcome has been different in Ukraine. The Russians are being called out because this is happening in Europe.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Policy and strategy advisor Charlie Herbert and I joined Times Radio’s Nadira Tudor on Thursday morning to discuss the state of NATO, the US, and Europe amid Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

After summarizing the current situation — and dealing with some Russian disinformation — we note how Putin has unwittingly given NATO a sense of purpose through the defense of Kyiv. We consider the possible development of the war, with an immediate look at today’s summit of NATO leaders in Brussels.

Listen to Discussion from 20:59

Putin has managed to achieve the complete reverse of what he sought. He’s sparked the purpose, the sense of unity in NATO which has been missing for many years. He’s managed to bring Europe together.