In part three of How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion, Axios World editor Dave Lawler examines a difficult reality — that the only clear path to peace in Ukraine is a deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but the red lines drawn by the Russian and Ukrainian leaders do not intersect.

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. 

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.