The Issue with Aid

The humanitarian response to the full scale invasion of Ukraine has been immense - an outpouring of good will from people across Europe and indeed the world. But when it comes to the large aid organisations facilitating it, the story becomes more blurred. From Amnesty International to the Red Cross, there have been major blind spots, including reports situating the Ukrainian army as aggressors, to aid projects in support of the Russian military. So how did some of these organisations get it so wrong? What would be a better aid paradigm in the future? And should we consider giving weapons to Ukraine as a humanitarian project? In this episode, we speak with Melaniya Podolyak, a broadcaster and member of the Serhiy Prytula Foundation, about her work in bringing aid to Ukrainians, as well as the faults of the major international organisations. We also hear from John Spencer, the author, veteran and chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute, about the specific mistakes made in a 2022 report from Amnesty. Sign up for 'Power Lines +' for ad-free content on Apple and Spotify. Support The Kyiv Independent by finding us on our Patreon: patreon.com/kyivindependent.  Also find us on our website at messageheard.com, or on our Power Lines Twitter, or our Message Heard Twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices