Could a new alliance be taking shape in Europe? In 2022, just before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UK, Poland, and Ukraine forged a partnership. Yet its path forward remains unclear. Does this format have a future? And what motivates each country? This episode is part of a joint series “Ukraine’s Global Partnerships” produced by UkraineWorld and the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”. In this episode, Deputy editor-in-chief at UkraineWorld Anastasiia Herasymchuk spoke with J...
Sep 26, 2024•37 min
Are Russians still using their troll armies to influence public opinion in Europe? Is their effect substantial? How does this work in different countries? How can we identify coordinated non-authentic behavior on social networks? The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Robert van der Noordaa, a Dutch journalist and analyst, and the founder of the Trollrensics initiative to uncover disinformation campaigns on social media. We discuss a recent study published by Robert and his team. Host: Volodymyr...
Sep 20, 2024•41 min
Germany has shown its support for Ukraine’s resistance against the Russian invasion. Yet questions arise whether this support is as substantial as it could be and needs to be. What are the deeper reasons for Germany’s cautious position on the Russian war against Ukraine? Guests: renowned German politicians and civil society figures Marieluise Beck and Ralf Fücks, co-founders of the Center for Liberal Modernity (https://libmod.de/en/) in Berlin. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, ...
Sep 18, 2024•55 min
What Ukrainian non-fiction books are available in English? Why is Ukrainian non-fiction important to read for those who want to understand Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Russia’s war against Ukraine? Why has documenting wartime reality become so important for today’s Ukrainian literature? The Explaining Ukraine podcast speaks to Iryna Baturevych, co-founder and development director of Chytomo.com, a Ukrainian media about books and literature. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chie...
Sep 17, 2024•57 min
Ukraine has succeeded in restoring its food exports to pre-2022 levels. It has achieved this tremendous victory despite the loss of large swaths of its agricultural lands to occupation, combat, and mines. Ukraine also had to overcome the loss of several key ports, Russia’s attempts to blockade Odesa and its surrounding ports, and the threat of ongoing Russian strikes. Despite all this, Ukraine has again shown a miraculous capacity to produce and export food globally. The Explaining Ukraine podca...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Ukraine and Qatar - two nations with seemingly little overlap. But what brought these countries closer? How did Qatar become involved in Ukraine's most sensitive humanitarian issues? How does Qatar navigate its stance on the Russian invasion, and why does it matter? And what cooperation opportunities between Ukraine and Qatar should we look out for? In this episode, Deputy editor-in-chief at UkraineWorld Anastasiia Hersymchuk spoke with Prof. Dr. Omar Ashour, Professor of Security and Military S...
Sep 06, 2024•41 min
On July 8th “The Guardian” featured an open letter titled, “The Nato Alliance should not invite Ukraine to become a member”. It claimed that, by admitting Ukraine into the Alliance it would reduce the security of other Nato allies, at a considerable risk to all. In this episode, we argue the opposite: that Ukraine’s NATO membership will be an asset for global security and can put an end to Russia’s aggressive wars. The guest of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Andreas Umland, Senior Expert at t...
Sep 05, 2024•27 min
Ukraine and Canada share a strategic relationship. It is bolstered by a large Ukrainian diaspora in Canada and an extensive legal framework, that allows for easy cooperation. Yet, we must ask: Does the label "strategic" reflect the real nature of their bilateral ties? And, in light of Russia’s aggression, is Canada responding adequately to the Russian threat on a global scale? In this episode, Deputy editor-in-chief at UkraineWorld Anastasiia Hersymchuk spoke with Dr. Balkan Devlen, Director of ...
Sep 02, 2024•43 min
What is the current situation on the frontlines of the Russo-Ukrainian war? What is the theory of victory for Ukraine and its partners? How can Ukraine use asymmetric approaches against Russia? What mistakes have Ukraine’s partners made, and what can they do now to help Ukraine win? The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a Ukrainian defense expert and the country’s former Minister of Defense (2019-2020). Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of Ukrai...
Jul 23, 2024•48 min
Why should Putinism be considered as absolute evil? Why should we treat it in the same way as fascism or Nazism? Why does Europe need to view the task of defending Ukraine as its own war? UkraineWorld invites Nicolas Tenzer, the French philosopher and strategist. Mr. Tenzer’s latest book is "Notre guerre, le crime et l’oubli" (Our War: Crime and Oblivion). This episode is a recording of a meeting between Mr. Tenzer and the Ukrainian and international public in Kyiv, at the UkraineWorld Club and ...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr
Is this war somehow fundamentally new in character? What is the role of technology in this war? How can Ukraine protect its cities from Russian missiles and bombs, and why does the West need to do things much faster than it is now? The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of the United States Army Europe. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought t...
Jul 05, 2024•36 min
This war also concerns the politics of knowledge production. Today we will talk about the epistemically unjust myth of Russian imperial innocence and why the episteme of pacifism is deadly dangerous. In this episode, Daria Synhaievska, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld is joined by Olga Burlyuk, Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam and the co-author of the article that achieved the prestigious award Best Article Prize of the American Asso...
Jul 02, 2024•48 min
Ukraine and Australia - two geographically distant nations with shared values. But what was the tragedy that initiated real cooperation between these states? Why is supporting Ukraine important not just for Kyiv but for Canberra as well? And what prospects lie ahead for this partnership? In this episode, Deputy editor-in-chief Anastasiia Hersymchuk spoke with: - Mick Ryan, top-resident Fellow at Lowy Institute (Sydney) and Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Was...
Jun 26, 2024•30 min
What challenges does democracy face in light of the Russian war on Ukraine? How can Ukraine defeat Russia while remaining a democracy? The guest of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Lucan Way, Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, Co-Director of the Petro Yatsyk Ukrainian Studies Programme at the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (CERES), researcher of the evolution of political regimes in post-Soviet countries. Host: Daria Synhaievska, an analyst and jour...
Jun 21, 2024•33 min
Is democracy in decline today? What is “Post-Wall” Europe, born after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and why is it now gone? How is Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion changing Europe? UkraineWorld invites Timothy Garton Ash, a British historian, Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford, Isaiah Berlin Professorial Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. His latest book is "Homelands: A Personal History of Eu...
Jun 13, 2024•1 hr
How can history help us understand the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Why can Moscow not even imagine itself without Kyiv? Is Russia an empire in decline? The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Professor Serhii Plokhii, a prominent Ukrainian historian, director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI), and author of numerous books about Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe. His latest book is The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. This conversation was held in Kyiv on May 24th, 2...
Jun 11, 2024•50 min
Almost 20,000 Ukrainian children have been kidnapped by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine, according to Kyiv’s official data. Russia’s figures are much bigger: it says it has relocated more than half a million of Ukrainian children - and is not going to give them back. This is a horrible, systematic policy of depriving the Ukrainian nation of its future. The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Khrystyna Shkudor, advocacy manager of the campaign “Where Are Our People?” (https://deportation.org...
Jun 01, 2024•46 min
Do India and Ukraine share common ground for cooperation? What shared interests might emerge from their unique contexts? And in the face of Russian aggression, how can these nations forge relations that benefit both sides? In this episode, UkraineWorld's Deputy editor-in-chief Anastasiia Hersymchuk spoke withSwasti Rao, Associate Fellow at the Europe and Eurasia Center, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and Olha Vorozhbyt, an affiliated expert with the Foreign Policy Co...
May 31, 2024•47 min
What do citizens of the EU and the United Kingdom think about Ukraine? How substantial is their support? How high the Ukrainian topic is on their agenda? The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites experts from “More in Common” - an international initiative aiming to understand the forces driving people apart, find common ground, and bring people together to tackle shared challenges. Guests: Mathieu Lefèvre, CEO and Co-founder of “More in Common”; Luke Tryl, Director of “More in Common” UK. Host: Vol...
May 29, 2024•1 hr
A conversation about Ukraine, the Russian invasion, resistance, ideas, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things, - held during Volodymyr Yermolenko’s visit to Yale University in February 2024. Timothy Snyder is an American historian and Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University. Marci Shore is an American historian and associate professor at Yale University. Volodymyr Yermolenko is a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine. Let us tha...
May 24, 2024•1 hr 23 min
We tend to look at today’s world as a consequence of World War II. Yet, in the first years after that war, there were several directions which the world could have turned. There was a chance that China would not have become communist. There was also a chance that Europe would have become much more communist. A few years ago, Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, the current editor of Foreign Affairs magazine, wrote The China Mission, a book in which he explores the attempt by George Marshall, the architect of th...
May 17, 2024•50 min
Jen Stout is a Scottish journalist who has spent a significant amount of time in Ukraine during the hottest stages of the full-scale Russian invasion. She has just published a book "Night Train to Odesa: Covering the Human Cost of Russia's War", a very touchingly personal account of the people she has met and experiences she has lived traveling through war-torn Ukrainian cities and villages. The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Jen Stout to talk about her book and her experience of being in Uk...
May 15, 2024•52 min
Ukraine has passed the long-awaited mobilization law. It aims to ensure that Ukraine's army has more people, as it faces hundreds of thousands of newly mobilized soldiers on the Russian side. Ukraine's army, on the contrary, lacks personnel. But will this law solve Ukraine's problems? Particular criticism was voiced at the fact the law doesn't provide conditions for demobilization. This means that soldiers who are on the frontline don't know when they will come back home. This is our weekly roun...
Apr 16, 2024•37 min
Do we have the concepts and ideas necessary to think critically about Russian cultural imperialism? Why are the existing concepts not sufficient? Are “Russian studies” still dominating Western academia’s view of Eastern Europe? Why is it time to rethink Russian cultural imperialism and decolonize the “Slavic” or “Eurasian” studies? Our guest on the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Vitaly Chernetsky, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Kansas, and the current President...
Apr 12, 2024•51 min
Germany searches for Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine not only in NATO countries but also throughout the world. Meanwhile, NATO states consider establishing a fund to secure assistance for Kyiv if Trump returns to office. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasiia Herasymchuk, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and Dariia Synhaievska, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld, to discuss key ...
Apr 08, 2024•49 min
Russia returned to its tactics of destroying Ukrainian energy infrastructure, attempting to plunge Ukrainians into darkness. Ukrainians across the country endured a week of unprecedented combined aerial attacks. Meanwhile, as March marked the tenth anniversary of the illegal referendum in occupied Crimea, we reflect on political and ethnic persecution by the occupiers. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorl...
Mar 28, 2024•50 min
Why are identity and political values, rather than geopolitics, the genuine causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine? How can we locate the Russian invasion in the wider context of Ukrainian-Russian relations? How can we describe the divergent paths that Ukraine and Russia took after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and how do these divergent paths explain the current war? The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Maria Popova and Oxana Shevel, authors of the book "Russia and Ukraine: Entangled H...
Mar 22, 2024•46 min
In violation of international law, Russia held sham presidential elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine. But this was far from the only violation. The terrorist attacks against Ukrainian cities continue. Meanwhile, several European intelligence services warn about the possibility of Russian aggression against the West. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasiia Herasymchuk an...
Mar 20, 2024•42 min
The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraine’s former foreign minister, to talk about Ukraine in the world today, Ukraine’s endeavor to join the Western world, and the urgent need to stop Russia. Pavlo Klimkin was Ukraine’s foreign minister for 5 years (2014-2019), including during the first five years of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now he is an independent intellectual, serving as a board member of the International Renaissance Foundation and of the Come Back Alive (Povern...
Mar 14, 2024•46 min
While the Russians have resorted to the scorched earth strategy on the frontlines, the Czech Republic brings the much needed ammunition closer to Ukraine. Moreover, Ukraine holds the upper hand in the Black Sea after destroying the corvette Sergei Kotov. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasiia Herasymchuk, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and Dariia Synhaievska, analyst and journalist at Ukr...
Mar 12, 2024•46 min
