Explaining Ukraine - podcast cover

Explaining Ukraine

UkraineWorldukraineworld.org
A podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a multimedia project about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine. Explaining Ukraine, its politics, society and its culture. Support us: patreon.com/ukraineworld

Episodes

More international support for Ukraine and tense lines on the battlefield, - Weekly, 14-23 Oct

While Russian occupiers attempt to breach Ukrainian defense lines and encircle Avdiyivka, Ukraine cuts them off south of Bakhmut, forcing them to retreat to the Bakhmut-Horlivka highway. In addition to frontline developments, the previous week was marked with encouraging news regarding international support for Ukraine. The US has agreed to supply Ukraine with ATACMS missiles on an ongoing basis. Meanwhile, the Bring Kids Back UA platform was created to raise awareness about Russia's genocidal d...

Oct 23, 202332 min

Zelenskyy brought encouraging news home from Brussels amid Russia’s new offensive - Weekly, 7-13 Oct

Russia has launched a massive offensive in the Avdiivka area (the Eastern direction). Ukraine holds its position. Despite the volatile situation on the frontlines, the previous week was marked with encouraging news regarding international support for Ukraine. President Zelenskyy brought home new aid packages and assurances of continued support from Brussels and Bucharest. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineW...

Oct 13, 202323 min

52 people killed in Russia's missile attack on civilians in Ukraine - Weekly, 30 Sep-6 Oct

Russia has carried out a series of heinous and bloody terror attacks on Ukrainian civilians in Kherson, Kharkiv, and Hroza. The aggressor murdered a large part of Hroza's population who gathered to pay tribute to a fallen soldier, their countryman. As Ukraine advances, Russians resort to more brutal tactics on the frontlines. Meanwhile, Ukraine is attempting to gain more international support by acting on a global scale. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. ...

Oct 06, 202339 min

What is happening at the front? - with Mykola Bielieskov, a Ukrainian military analyst

What is happening at the front in the Russo-Ukrainian war? Can Ukraine break Russian defense lines in the South? What are the key frontline spots, and why are they important? How are drones changing the art of war? What arms does Ukraine need, and how could they change the situation on the frontline? The guest on this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Mykola Bielieskov, a Ukrainian military analyst, research fellow at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, and chief analy...

Oct 05, 202343 min

What’s wrong with Ukrainian-Polish relations? - with Wojciech Przybylski

Ukraine and Poland are now going through one of the worst periods of their recent mutual relations. Historical memory clashes have reared their heads again, and controversy about Ukrainian grain exports to and through Poland shows signs of a serious trade dispute. What happened to the seemingly rock-solid relations from a year ago, when Russia started its cruel invasion against Ukraine, and Poland stepped up as one of the leading countries in helping Ukrainian refugees and supporting Ukrainian r...

Oct 02, 202343 min

NATO chief visits Ukraine amid counter-offensive progress - Weekly, 25-29 September

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit, along with French and British Ministers of Defense Sébastien Lecornu and Grant Shapps. Meanwhile, Russia continues its terror against Ukrainian cities. However, that’s not all that caught our attention. In Russia, a sham trial against Ukrainian POWs has begun. 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 Her...

Sep 29, 202334 min

Headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet destroyed in Sevastopol - Weekly, 16-25 September

Capitalizing on its previous successes, Ukraine has continued its operations in occupied Crimea, destroying the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. On the international plane, President Zelensky has visited the US to partake in the UN GA, as well as to hold bilateral talks. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analysts and jou...

Sep 25, 202343 min

How to learn from the emerging future? - with Otto Scharmer

How can we think about the future today - and learn from it? How is the war influencing our thinking and action? Why are societies polarized, and can we overcome this polarization? Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, speaks to Otto Scharmer, a German-born American intellectual who introduced influential concepts like Theory U and presencing in an attempt to learn from the emerging future and act in a more creative way. Otto Scharmer is a Senior Lectu...

Sep 18, 20231 hr 11 min

Black Sea: Ukraine’s new military operations - Weekly, 9-15th September

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have significantly enhanced their operations in the North-Western part of the Black Sea. In the meantime, Ukraine has remained largely absent on the agenda of the recent G20 summit. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over...

Sep 16, 202344 min

Ukraine’s security: Are we moving forward? - with Fredrik Wesslau

What is currently happening on the frontlines of the Russo-Ukrainian war? Is Ukraine progressing with its counteroffensive, does it have a chance to win this war, and what does it need in order to do so? Are moving closer to better ensuring Ukraine’s security in the world? The guest of this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Fredrik Wesslau, a Swedish diplomat and analyst, who has been working for many years in Ukraine. Wesslau is now a Senior Advisor at Rasmussen Global, and a Disting...

Sep 15, 202324 min

Timothy Snyder: Freedom as a Value and a Task - a Talk in Kyiv

Why is freedom the highest value? Are we really born free? Or is freedom instead a great task and mission for both society and the individual to achieve? Why is the negative idea of freedom (freedom from) not sufficient today, and why should we strive for positive freedom, the freedom to? What can the experiences of Ukraine and Eastern Europe tell us about other parts of the world with regard to this value of freedom? This episode is a recording of Timothy Snyder’s conversation with the Ukrainia...

Sep 11, 20232 hr 44 min

Russians keep targeting Ukraine’s port infrastructure - Weekly, 2-8 Sept

Russia continues to bomb Ukrainian ports, hitting Romanian territory in the process. In the meantime, Erdogan ends up unable to convince Putin to revive the Grain Deal. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworl...

Sep 09, 202346 min

Ukraine steps up own production of weapons - Weekly, 26 Aug-1 Sept

The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their gradual movement towards Tokmak in the country’s south. In the meantime, Ukraine expands the range of domestically produced weapons, both by own efforts and together with foreign defense companies who open factories in Ukraine. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld...

Sep 01, 202345 min

Ukraine breaks through Russia’s first line of defense - Weekly, 21-25 August

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have reportedly broken through the first line of Russia’s defense in the south. Meanwhile, Ukraine further strengthened the F-16 coalition and organized the third Crimean platform summit to discuss the peninsula’s reintegration. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss k...

Aug 26, 202351 min

Ukraine set to get F-16 fighter jets - Weekly, 15-21 August

Ukraine’s armed forces continue its counteroffensive, advancing deeper into enemy lines in the south. In the meantime, Denmark and the Netherlands committed to delivering 61 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the p...

Aug 21, 202347 min

Ukraine doubles down on security talks - Weekly, 7-14 August

Russia continues targeting Ukraine’s peaceful cities as well as industrial and military infrastructure. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s counteroffensive is ongoing, with Kyiv attempting to conceptualize its partners’ support into bilateral security agreements. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key even...

Aug 15, 202345 min

Rethinking imperialism, a look from Ukraine and India - with Aman Sethi

How can we think about imperialism and colonialism today? What can Ukrainians and Indians tell each other in this respect? How can we try to look for horizontal connections between formerly colonized nations? In this episode, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, and chief editor of UkraineWorld, speaks to Aman Sethi, an Indian journalist and writer, former editor-in-chief of HuffPost India. Aman Sethi is also the author of A Free Man. A True Story of Life and Death in Delh...

Aug 10, 202356 min

Ukraine in the world today - with David Rieff

David Rieff is a famous intellectual and war correspondent. He is the author of many books, including Slaughterhouse: Bosnia and the Failure of the West; A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis; At the Point of a Gun: Democratic Dreams and Armed Intervention; The Reproach of Hunger: Food, Justice, and Money in the Twenty-First Century; In Praise of Forgetting: The Ironies of Historical Memory, and numerous others. He is also the editor of the journals and notebooks of his mother, Susan So...

Aug 08, 202358 min

Being a poet and a woman on the frontline - with Yaryna Chornohuz

Yaryna Chornohuz is a Ukrainian poet who became a soldier to defend her homeland. She is a paramedic and a reconnaissance scout who went to the frontline before Russia’s full-scale invasion. Before her military experience, she was an activist organizing protests in support of the Ukrainian language and culture, and against capitulation to Russia. While on the frontline, she wrote two books of poetry, which had substantial resonance in Ukraine. Her profound poetry touches upon the topics of life ...

Aug 03, 202347 min

The war seen by a Financial Times journalist - with Christopher Miller

What does it mean to live in Ukraine for over a decade, report on Ukraine’s revolution, the annexation of Crimea, and both episodes of Russia’s war against Ukraine? What does it mean to be a foreign reporter in Ukraine, and yet have a deep personal connection with the country? This episode is a conversation with Christopher Miller, the lead correspondent in Ukraine for the Financial Times. Miller was previously a world and national security reporter for POLITICO and the Ukraine correspondent for...

Aug 01, 202353 min

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is ongoing; Russia bombs cultural heritage sites - Weekly, 21-28 July

Ukraine’s counteroffensive remains underway, with Ukraine’s armed forces liberating several villages in the East and in the South. Ukraine is also blowing up more arms depots located in Crimea and in the Russian rear. Meanwhile, Russia has continued bombing peaceful Ukrainian cities, with a particular emphasis on Odesa this week. Among other things, Russia hit the UNESCO-protected parts of the city. This is our weekly overview of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Hosts: Volodymyr Yerm...

Jul 28, 202336 min

How can science help Ukraine win and recover? - With Yury Gogotsi

What role can science play in Ukraine’s victory and recovery?What problems has Ukrainian science faced over the past decades, and how can they be overcome? What are the central science and technology needs on the frontline? Could these needs serve as a boost to Ukraine’s future technological development? Guest: Yury Gogotsi, a Ukrainian scientist in the field of material chemistry and professor at Drexel University, Philadelphia. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and journalist...

Jul 22, 202332 min

Russia threatens global food security - Weekly, 15-21 July

Russia withdraws from the grain deal and puts global food security at risk. At the same time, it started regular shelling of the Ukrainian port cities, including Ukrainian grain depositories. This is our weekly overview of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org...

Jul 21, 202324 min

The NATO Summit; Russia’s continuing violation of international law - Weekly, 11-17 July

The NATO Summit in Vilnius: was it a complete disappointment for Ukraine, or was there a bright side? While experts are analyzing the results, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are gradually moving forward using changed tactics. Russia continues violating international law by terrorizing Ukrainian civilians and putting the world under the threat of hunger by refusing to extend the grain deal. This is our weekly overview of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief ed...

Jul 17, 202343 min

Russian narratives in the world: are they still powerful? - with Nina Kuryata

Russian propaganda is one of the foundations of this war. Are Russian narratives still widespread in the world today? What are the most toxic ones? Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, speaks to Nina Kuryata, a Ukrainian journalist and former chief editor of the Ukrainian service of the BBC. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld

Jul 17, 202342 min

Fascism vs Democracy in Today’s World - With Jason Stanley

What is fascism? Why does the fascist danger exist today, even within democratic states? Is Russia fascist? – Jason Stanely, American philosopher and author of books including How Fascism Works, How Propaganda Works”, is the guest of this episode of Thinking in Dark Times, a podcast series by UkraineWorld.org. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, and chief editor of UkraineWorld.org. Thinking in Dark Times is a podcast series by UkraineWorld. This series seeks to m...

Jul 11, 202345 min

Victoria Amelina. In memoriam

This episode is about Victoria Amelina, a Ukrainian writer, and our friend, killed by a Russian missile. Victoria Amelina, a Ukrainian writer and human rights activist, passed away on July 1st, 2023 after she was severely injured by a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk, Eastern part of Ukraine, Donetsk region, on June 27th. In this episode we will try to tell you her story. And to explain why she has to be remembered, read and translated all over the world. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrai...

Jul 10, 202351 min

500th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion. - Weekly, 1-10 July

As the world marks the 500th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Kremlin continues shelling Ukraine’s peaceful cities, while Ukraine awaits strategic decisions from the upcoming NATO summit This is our weekly overview of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld, to discuss 7 key events in and around Ukraine over the past week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is b...

Jul 10, 202341 min

Kramatorsk war crime; Russia’s nuclear blackmail - Weekly, 24-30 June

The failed mutiny by the PMC “Wagner” and its leader Prigozhin exposed flaws in Russian leadership. Despite internal problems, Russia continues to jeopardize the safety of Zaporizhzhia NPP. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Army continues to liberate its land, and its international allies stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. Russia committed another cruel war crime in Kramatorsk. This is our weekly overview of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of Ukra...

Jun 30, 202337 min

The Wagner “revolt”: what are its consequences for the world?

What are the consequences of the Wagner “revolt” against the Kremlin? Will it weaken Putin’s power? What is the future of Russian criminal paramilitary groups like Wagner? Listen to our Twitter space with Petro Burkovskyi and Maria Zolkina, analysts at the Ilko Kocheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, a Ukrainian think tank. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukrai...

Jun 30, 20231 hr