The three things for the week of July 23rd, courtesy of The Corners magazine (www.thecorners.pl)

Welcome to our inaugural show, The Three Things with Preston Smith, which covers politics, current affairs, crime, spy/intrigue and all things in between in Central Europe. The Three Things is, however, exactly what it sounds like--in that we'll indicate three subjects to consider or be on the lookout for in the coming week. So expect analysis, predictions, eye-openers--and variety. Each section of the Three Things runs approximately 15-20 minutes, and we have provided markers to help you get where you need to go.

This week's topics include:

02:14 1) The war in Ukraine: have we reached a WWI-Somme type of standoff that paradoxically means a new level of escalation is coming our way--and can Ukraine use cluster munitions to break through layers of mines?
19:33 2) Belarus and the Suwalki Gap: are Wagner mercenaries really set to invade... and is there a precedent? And why is Evgeniy Prigozhin still active?
37:01 3) The Balkans--i.e. Kosovo and Serbia and just how much trouble is brewing?

Also, be sure to check out www.thecorners.pl, where the quarterly magazine is available, and where updates appear daily on the site and also on the paid-for Patreon site, accessible from the main site, that offers just a bit more. Although much, much more is coming soon.

Photo credits:
Cluster munition National Police of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kakhovka resevoir by Enno Lenze, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mine photo by Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Igor Girkin by Dom kobb, CC BY-SA 4.0 =https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Putin photo by government of the Russian Federation, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lukashenko photo by Информационное агентство БелТА, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Vucic photo by Leon E. Panetta, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Suwalki gap photo by User:NordNordWest, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Russian war map photo by UK MoD MoD UK Defence Intelligence, OGL 3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3, via Wikimedia Commons
Putin-Lukashensko photo by Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zelenskyy photo from Україна, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ferdinand photo byFerdinand Schmutzer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Kosovo protest photo by Voice of America, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Kurti photo by Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]
Serbian military byTech. Sgt. William Greer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons