Russia shelled the center of Kherson on Dec 24th, on Chrismas eve, killing at least 10 and wounding over 50 people. Putin and Lukashenka are preparing a new attempt to attack Kyiv. Zelensky visited the frontline in Bakhmut, and made the first (since Feb 24) trip abroad to Washington and Warsaw. This is an overview of key events and trends in and around Ukraine on December 18-24th, 2022. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetya...
Dec 24, 2022•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ukrainian social and political life is profoundly decentralized. It is based upon the idea of the hromada, an autonomous grassroots community, able to defend itself when it is facing aggression. This is what is happening now with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. One of the intellectual roots of this decentralized political culture can be found in the prominent Ukrainian 19th century intellectual Mykhailo Drahomanov. In this episode, we tell you his story. - Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian...
Dec 21, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kazymyr Malevych was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. His Black Square and other paintings revolutionized the avant garde art of the early 20th century. He was born in Kyiv to a Polish family, and his style and thinking were inspired by Ukrainian folk art, but he is still presented worldwide as a Russian artist. In this episode, we will try to show you why Malevych should be seen in the Ukrainian context. - Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist...
Dec 20, 2022•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does it look like to spend 36 hours without electricity, water, mobile connection, and heating? We, along with so many other Ukrainians, are experiencing longer electricity cuts because of Russian missile and drone strikes, and are preparing for a challenging winter. - 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 the Ukraine Crisis Media Cent...
Dec 19, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast What can philosophy and literature contribute during wartime? How do we shape our relationship with the past? How do we assess our identities? Moreover, how do we deal with reality? In the podcast of the International School for Philosophy (ISVW) in Netherlands, its host Bart Geeraedts talks to Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org and host of the "Explaining Ukraine" podcast. In this conversation, Volodymyr Yermolenko speaks about the current situation ...
Dec 18, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast A feminist, environmentalist, and one of the greatest dramatists in European literature, Lesya Ukrainka’s works are now getting new attention from Ukraine and beyond. Her texts are not widely translated into foreign languages - a gap that certainly needs to be filled. Our conversation about Lesya Ukrainka is part of our new series Discovering Ukrainian culture. – Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian s...
Dec 13, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russian hostile propaganda against the “West” and the democratic world has been getting ever more insane over the past years. But the “anti-Western” topics in Russian propaganda have deep cultural roots. The opposition to the “West” has been a recurrent topic in the thinking of key Russian intellectual figures, regardless of their ideology. In this episode, we try to analyze and understand these roots. – Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWo...
Dec 12, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast We visited villages between Izyum and Slovyansk which were wiped off the face of the Earth in the spring. We talked to people still living there. Their living conditions are horrible. Listen to our dispatches from these places. – 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 the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld
Dec 11, 2022•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Discovering Ukrainian Culture is a new series of episodes of the Explaining Ukraine podcast. In our first episode, we discuss Hryhoriy Skovoroda, the founding father of Ukrainian philosophy. Skovoroda lived in the 18th century, but his lifestyle and teachings are just as vital now as they were in his day; his idea of personalized nature helps us find meaning in today’s world. – Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarko...
Dec 05, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast One week after Ukraine liberated Kherson, it renewed the train connection with the city. Ukraine’s president Zelensky visited Kherson only a few days after the Russians fled the biggest city they had occupied since February 24th. Ukrainians are renewing electricity supply across the country, though its infrastructure was heavily damaged by the Russian strikes. Russian propaganda says the West is afraid of Russia, although the reality is that Russian defeats in Ukraine provoke increasing disappoi...
Nov 21, 2022•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Odesa, a city on the Black Sea. One of the most beautiful Ukrainian cities. Always in danger of Russian strikes from the sea. And a key place for global food security, as Odesa ports export majority of Ukrainian food when other ports are occupied by Russia. We visited Odesa some time ago to understand how this city is living. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of in...
Nov 20, 2022•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast The war has made Ukrainian universities much more international than they used to be. Many students and professors are on the frontline, but many have also gone abroad. Universities are seeking international partnerships, while demand for expertise from and in Ukraine has also increased. Are we facing a brain drain, or is this the start of a true internationalization of Ukrainian universities? Learn more from the new episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast. This conversation is hosted by Tetya...
Nov 17, 2022•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 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•Transcript available on Metacast 
