Bruno Maçães is a Portuguese politician and author. He is the former Secretary of State for European Affairs in Portugal, and the author of numerous books, including The Dawn of Eurasia; History Has Begun: The Birth of a New America; and Geopolitics for the End Time: From the Pandemic to the Climate Crisis. Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, spoke to Bruno Maçães in Lviv, during the Lviv Book Forum, about Europe, Eurasia, power, China, and the Russian i...
Nov 14, 2022•46 min
Ukraine has liberated Kherson. The biggest city occupied by the Russians since Feb 24, and the only regional capital the Russians had captured. This is the 3rd major defeat of the Russian army since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Learn more from the weekly digest of our Explaining Ukraine podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach at ...
Nov 12, 2022•30 min
Ukrainian higher education is facing enormous challenges during this war. Universities have been relocated from temporarily occupied territories and territories with active fighting to more safe regions of Ukraine. Many faculty members and students have moved abroad, and are now continuing their instruction and studying online. What can and should be next? Learn more from the new episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. This episode is hosted by Tetyana Ogarkova, a Ukrainian scholar and jour...
Nov 11, 2022•39 min
Jonathan Littell is a Franco-American writer and journalist. He is the author of the bestselling novel The Kindly Ones, a story of a Nazi SS officer on the Eastern front during World War II. Littell has also reported on the wars in Chechnya, Syria, and Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, spoke to Jonathan Littell in Lviv, during Lviv Book Forum, about war crimes in today’s world, fascism and putinism, and Ukrainian and Russian societies. The con...
Nov 09, 2022•42 min
Russia's grain blackmail has failed, as Moscow showed it was incapable of blocking Ukrainian food exports. The next big battle will be over Kherson, with the Russians preparing to defend the occupied city. Ukraine is still suffering from massive blackouts. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klychko says the city is making contingency plans to evacuate 3 mln people from Kyiv in case of a total blackout in the winter. Learn more from the weekly digest of our Explaining Ukraine podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko,...
Nov 07, 2022•39 min
Philippe Sands is a British and French writer and lawyer. He is a Professor of Law and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London. He also wrote the bestsellers East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity (2016) and The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive. His latest book is The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain's Colonial Legacy. Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and...
Oct 31, 2022•35 min
4-8 hours of blackouts per day: Ukrainians are facing rolling electricity outages after Russian missiles have hit civilian infrastructure in the previous weeks. Russia's warships are damaged in Sevastopol by drone strikes; in response, Russia withdraws from the grain agreement, which could result in a new global food crisis. Learn more from the weekly digest of our Explaining Ukraine podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and...
Oct 30, 2022•42 min
Luke Harding is The Guardian’s correspondent on Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe. He is the author of books "Mafia State", "Collusion", "A Very Expensive Poison", and "The Snowden Files" - books about Russia and its devastating influence on global politics. His upcoming book is called "Invasion: The Inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival". Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, spoke to Luke Harding about his experience of c...
Oct 25, 2022•55 min
Russian troops are preparing for street fighting in Kherson, as they cannot hold back the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the South. There is a risk that they will blow up the dam at the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, provoking one of the worst environmental disasters in Eastern European history. Learn more from the weekly digest of our Explaining Ukraine podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Uk...
Oct 24, 2022•38 min
This episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is made in partnership with Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast. With this podcast’s hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell we discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine through the lens of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. We talk about how Russian literature and Russian culture have separated crime from punishment, creating a society that distrusts laws and regulation, and values power and impunity. “Explaining Ukraine” hosts: Volodymyr Yermol...
Oct 23, 2022•48 min
We went to Kharkiv region again, to learn more about the life of Ukrainians near the frontline and in liberated villages and towns. In this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast, we tell you the story of the mass grave in Izyum, of an 8-year-old girl killed in Bezruky, of a Ukrainian writer who went missing in Kapytolivka, his autistic son, and of how Kharkiv remains brave and strong with a vibrant cultural life despite constant shelling. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher an...
Oct 19, 2022•45 min
Russia is using Iranian kamikaze drones to attack Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. On October 17th, several drone strikes on Kyiv killed at least 4 people, including a pregnant woman and her husband. Russia is continuing its state terrorism against Ukraine. The increasing number of missile and drone strikes on civilian targets testifies to Russia’s incapacity to win this war on the ground. This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosoph...
Oct 18, 2022•46 min
Russia carries out one of the most massive and horrible missile barrages on Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February. 83 missiles were launched at various Ukrainian cities, including the center of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Civilians have been killed and wounded, dead bodies are lying on the streets in downtown Kyiv. - Learn more from our podcast “Explaining Ukraine”. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and ...
Oct 10, 2022•35 min
Russia has made a new illegal annexation of the Ukrainian territories by grabbing 15% of the Ukrainian lands that it occupied in the past 8 years. This is the biggest annexation in Europe since World War II. Ukrainians responded by continuing their counter-offensive and taking control over the first annexed territories. Learn more from the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Te...
Oct 03, 2022•27 min
What are the cultural origins of Russian disinformation and propaganda? What is the attitude of the Russian intellectual tradition towards rationality and empirical truth? How can this intellectual tradition explain Russian habits of disinformation? Learn more in the new episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international...
Sep 29, 2022•25 min
The first episode of a new podcast series by UkraineWorld called “Thinking in Dark Times.” UkraineWorld’s chief editor, philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko, talks to world famous historian Timothy Snyder - about Ukraine, Eastern Europe, dissidents, climate change, tyranny, freedom and the plurality of values. The goal of the new series is to make Ukraine and its current war a focal point of our common reflection about the world’s present, past and future. We try to see light through and despite the...
Sep 26, 2022•44 min
447 bodies have been found in a mass grave in Izyum, a liberated town in Eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv Region. 30 bodies bear signs of torture. Izyum is another example of Russian war crimes and atrocities. Russia declared partial “mobilization” is now holding fake “referenda” on the occupied territories of Ukraine. Learn more from the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Og...
Sep 25, 2022•44 min
Crime without punishment and punishment without crime. This is the formula which describes the psychology of Russian impunity during this war. Breaking this link between crime and punishment destroys the balance of justice and encourages the seeking of perverted forms of freedom in transgressing all possible rules and laws. In this episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast we try to understand the deep psychological and cultural causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We also try to see how...
Sep 17, 2022•33 min
We are witnessing a remarkable counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army in the Eastern part of the country. Ukrainians liberated more territories in 4 days than Russians took in 4 previous months. Let’s try to understand the Ukrainian successes. This is the weekly digest of our Explaining Ukraine podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach a...
Sep 11, 2022•26 min
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have launched a counter-offensive against the Russian-occupied South of the country. Its aim is not to recapture territories immediately, but to disrupt Russia’s military logistics and make Russia's hold there untenable. IAEA experts came to the Russian-occupied Zaporizzhia Nuclear Power Plant to deter a potential nuclear disaster. We also analyze the weapons Russia is using in this war against Ukraine. – This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. H...
Sep 04, 2022•32 min
Wounds of war are visible and felt in places from which the war left five months ago. Buildings are destroyed, and human destinies have been destroyed too. We traveled to places around Kyiv and we felt again the pain of what happened in February and March. Learn more from our new episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of inte...
Sep 03, 2022•40 min
Ukraine celebrated its independence day on August 24th amidst fears that Russia will use this date for major strikes against Ukrainian targets, including Kyiv. However, the doomsday didn’t happen. Does this mean that Moscow has no real military tools to achieve a breakthrough in this war? This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and jo...
Aug 29, 2022•37 min
Ukraine celebrates its independence day. This is not a usual independence day. It is full of pain, destruction and death. But over 90 per cent of Ukrainians believe Ukraine will be victorious against the Russian invasion. In this episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast we explain the origins and meaning of the Ukrainian independence. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in ...
Aug 24, 2022•40 min
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, is under Russian missile strikes every night. Situated 40 km from the Russian border, the city is wounded but remains strong. We went to Kharkiv with a volunteer and cultural trip. We’re telling you the Kharkiv story in a new episode of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. -- Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international ou...
Aug 23, 2022•41 min
Targets in Russian-occupied Crimea are regularly under attack now, which shows Russian weakness to defend the Ukrainian peninsula it occupied back in 2014. The war is severely damaging the Ukrainian economy and energy sector, with many regions risking to stay without electricity and heating during the upcoming winter. Ukrainian volunteers buy a space satellite for the Ukrainian army on money raised by the citizens. -- This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymy...
Aug 21, 2022•40 min
Russia has taken Europe’s biggest nuclear plant as a hostage and threatens to provoke a major nuclear disaster in Ukraine. At the same time, Russians are showing weakness with apparent incapacity to defend targets in the occupied Crimea. -- This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach at ...
Aug 14, 2022•36 min
Imagine a village near a European capital . Within several weeks, this village is totally destroyed by Russian troops. In its outskirts, you can barely find a house, out of hundreds, which is not either totally destroyed or severely damaged. The village is called Moshchun, near Kyiv. We have visited it, talked to its inhabitants, and are here to tell its stories. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian s...
Aug 13, 2022•35 min
We are analyzing the key features of the Ukrainian civic and political identity: a long history of fighting against tyranny, a culture of self-organization, dynamism of social change, and a bottom-up understanding of politics. This episode is made in partnership with VoiCEE, a podcast from Central and Eastern Europe, launched by Notes from Poland together with several independent media outlets in this region. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of Ukra...
Aug 11, 2022•51 min
Amnesty International published a report in which it blamed Ukraine for “violating international humanitarian law” by “establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas”. The report faced harsh criticism in Ukraine, both from the government, human rights defenders and journalists. – Russians are sending more troops to the South in an attempt to counteract a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive. Heavy Russian shelling in Mykolaiv and in Donetsk oblast brings more dea...
Aug 07, 2022•44 min
Over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in an explosion in Olenivka, a town on the Russian-occupied territory in Eastern Ukraine. Earlier, a video circulated in Russian social networks showing a Russian soldier castrating and then killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war. We analyze these crimes, as well as the trends on the frontline and in the newly occupied territories, in our weekly digest of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalis...
Jul 31, 2022•35 min
