Episodes

  • 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 Histories, Diverging States", published last year.

    The book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-Entangled-Histories-Diverging/dp/1509557369

    Maria Popova is a professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal, Canada

    Oxana Shevel is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA, and Director of the Tufts International Relations program.

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • 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 and Dariia Synhaievska, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld
    We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

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  • 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 (Povernys’ Zhyvym) Foundation.

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • 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 UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Listen on various podcast platforms (Google, Apple, Spotify etc): li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld

    We provide exclusive content for our patrons. You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • There is an increased level of debate regarding the threat Russia poses to Europe. Emmanuel Macron’s statement that sending troops to Ukraine is not excluded stirred up the infospace, causing an ambiguous reaction from NATO allies. The message, however, reached the Russian leadership bringing with it yet another warning of “tragic consequences”.

    But what do the statements of European leaders mean?

    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 and Dariia Synhaievska, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld
    We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • Ukraine commemorated the end of the second year since the commencement of Russia's full-scale war, a testament to its century-long struggle against Russian imperialism. This war proves that those seeking peace must be prepared to fight against dictatorships' expansionist views in the coming future. Ukraine has consolidated partners, but the war proves more is needed.
    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 events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Listen on various podcast platforms (Google, Apple, Spotify etc): li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld
    We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • On the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and on the 10th anniversary of the Russian invasion in total, UkraineWorld's chief editor, Volodymyr Yermolenko, reflects upon the major causes of this war. These are the issues relating to identity, political values, and ethics. More - in our "Explaining Ukraine" podcast.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    SUPPORT us at www.patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

    LISTEN on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

  • The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites prominent American historian Larry Wolff to talk about history, imagination, and politics around Eastern Europe, in particular Ukraine.

    Larry Wolff is a professor of history at New York University. He is the author of numerous books about Eastern Europe, in particular Inventing Eastern Europe: The Map of Civilization on the Mind of the Enlightenment (1994), The Enlightenment and the Orthodox World: Western Perspectives on the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe (2001), The Idea of Galicia: History and Fantasy in Habsburg Political Culture (2010), and Woodrow Wilson and the Reimagining of Eastern Europe (2020).

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • Russia has intensified its military operations on the battlefield, as a result of which, after months-long campaign to take Avdiivka, it fell. Amid these developments, the call to introduce more technological solutions grows louder. Ukraine has increased military production but still seeks more international support. President Zelenskyy secured new important agreements in his latest visit to Europe. And Ukraine’s partners in Ramstein are looking for more effective tools to counter Russia.

    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 and Dariia Synhaievska, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld
    We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • 2024 could become a year of consolidation of authoritarian regimes. Liberal democracies are weak and often do not fully understand approaching threats. Can we still win the war against Russia in these circumstances? A new coalition of freedom-loving societies needs to assert itself, and the response to Russian aggression must be far more decisive.

    The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Peter Pomerantsev, the renowned British-American author, intellectual, senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University, and author of the best-selling books, This is Not Propaganda and Nothing is True and Everything is Possible.

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine

    Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • President Zelenskyy appoints Colonel General Syrsky to lead the Armed Forces in an attempt to reset the system, establishing an all-new management team for the defence forces. This episode focuses on the reasons for and impacts of this decision.

    Meanwhile, human rights researchers presented Russia's crimes in occupied Mariupol, occupiers continued to shell Ukrainian territory, killing citizens of Kyiv and Kharkiv and causing infrastructure damage in Mykolaiv, Lviv, and other cities.

    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 and Dariia Synhaievska, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    Listen our podcast on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • He is one of Ukraine’s top constitutional lawyers and experts in EU law. But he is also the founder of a mobile medical hospital which has saved hundreds of thousands of lives on the frontline since 2014. Today’s Ukraine is a country where these social roles are often combined.

    The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Gennadiy Druzenko, a Ukrainian lawyer and founder of the Mykola Pyrohov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital (PDMSh), which works every day to aid , evacuate, and stabilize wounded and sick Ukrainian soldiers from the frontlines.

    Hospital’s website: https://www.pdmsh.ua/en

    Support their work: https://www.medbat.org.ua/en/to-support-the-hospital/

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • A new method of war based on technology, a new training philosophy, and new combat capabilities - that’s what Ukraine needs to create a more favourable advantage on the battlefield, according to Valeriy Zalyzhnyy in his last article for CNN, which was published amid ongoing rumours about his possible dismissal. Meanwhile, EU leaders agreed on €50 billion of support for Ukraine - a vital aid package.

    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 and Dariia Synhaievska, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld
    We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • Let us look again at the human stories of this war. Let us recall the hundreds of people in Yahidne forced by Russian soldiers to live in a village school basement for almost a month. Let us hear the story of the crowd of people at Kramatorsk railway station struck by a Russian missile while they were waiting for an evacuation train. Let us remember stories of people living in residential buildings on which Russians warplanes dropped bombs in Chernihiv. Let us remember that the war is always about human suffering, and that this war in particular is about unthinkable Russian cruelty. Most of all, let us work hard to ensure that justice prevails.

    The Explaining Ukraine podcast speaks to Nataliya Gumenyuk, one of Ukraine’s best-known reporters and founder of the Reckoning Project. It recently published a book of reports from this war titled The Most Horrible Days of My Life (Найстрашніші дні мого життя), telling some of the human stories of this war in detail.

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    SUPPORT us at https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • Russia intensifies cooperation with its allies striving to strengthen its international position and overcome the negative effects of the sanctions regime. Ukrainian partners keep looking for mechanisms not to let Ukraine lose its existential war. Meanwhile, Ukraine is seeking ways to find common ground with its neighbours, in particular Slovakia.

    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 and Dariia Synhaievska, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld
    We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • Yahidne is a Ukrainian village where the Russian army forced over 300 Ukrainians into a school basement and kept them for almost a month. 10 people died from suffocation and a lack of food and water. It was just one of Russia's countless war crimes during this war.

    A group of Dutch writers visited Yahidne in December 2023 as part of a trip organized by PEN Ukraine with support from the Ukrainian Institute and the Prague Civil Society Centre.

    We organized a discussion with them afterward to talk about war crimes, compassion, and solidarity.

    Speakers:

    Lisa Weeda – Dutch writer of Ukrainian origin, author of literary programs, screenwriter, and VR director.

    Florian Jacobs – Dutch writer, director of the publishing department at the International School of Philosophy.

    Jaap Scholten – Dutch writer and journalist. Author of a book about his journeys across Ukraine (Three Suitcases of Women’s Clothes and a Sniper). Founder of the charitable organization Defend Ukraine.

    Manon Uphoff – Dutch author, screenwriter, and artist.

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine
    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • SUPPORT: https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld

    ---
    While Russian occupiers attempt to breach Ukrainian supply lines in Avdiyivka, Ukraine remains on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson oblast, rendering Russian forces unable to dislodge Ukrainian defenders.

    In addition to frontline developments, the previous week brought encouraging news regarding international support for Ukraine. France plans to increase artillery production of French-made Caesar self-propelled howitzers specifically for Ukraine while also ramping up the quantity of 155mm projectiles Ukraine requires. The Norwegian government has also allocated funds for artillery ammunition.

    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 events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Listen on various podcast platforms (Google, Apple, Spotify etc): li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    Support us at https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld
    We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

  • Europe took a sleeping pill in 1989, and needs to wake up to face the challenge of Russian authoritarianism. Does it have the courage to do so?

    Pascal Bruckner, one of France’s most influential philosophers, came to Kyiv in December and participated in a public discussion at PEN Ukraine on December 7th. This episode is the recording of this conversation.

    This episode is part of our series "Thinking in Dark Times"

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    FULL VERSION of this episode (with Q&A session) is available for our patrons
    https://www.patreon.com/posts/pascal-bruckner-96674503

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

    Listen: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

    ---

    Key topics:

    - How Russia has fallen into totalitarianism
    - Why the West represents something new in the history of civilization
    - The problem of the West is the loss of faith in itself
    - Europe and its colonialism: a critical analysis
    - Russian colonialism today
    - The problem of the West’s «tyranny of guilt»
    - «We have done horrible things but we also invented remedies to cure them»
    - On heroes and victims. Why today everybody wants to be a victim
    - Victim story and warrior story in Ukraine
    - Why the idea of fight is lacking in Europe
    - Why the consumer’s attitude to the Russian invasion is wrong
    - How overprotection decreases responsibility
    - Why did Europe take a strong sleeping pill in 1989 and needs to wake up

  • Over the past week, Russia has been attempting to establish a 15-kilometre "buffer zone" in Kharkiv oblast, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to launch a partial counter-offensive and recapture several positions occupied by the Russians near Kupyansk.

    Along with frontline developments, this episode focuses on the main achievements of the Security Agreement with the UK, delivered by “the representative of the oldest parliament to the most courageous parliament.”

    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 and Dariia Synhaievska, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week.

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].

    Listen on various podcast platforms (Google, Apple, Spotify etc): li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

  • Why is the Soviet and the “Russian” story about Ukraine’s East misleading? Why is the concept of “Donbas” problematic? How are the eastern regions of Ukraine inscribed into the Ukrainian political and cultural history, as well as the history of Europe?

    The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Kateryna Zarembo, a Ukrainian scholar and writer of the recent book Skhid Ukrainskoho Sontsia (The Rise of the Ukrainian Sun). The book tells the story of Ukraine’s east and was shortlisted for BBC Ukraine's Best Essays Book prize, as well as the Shevelyov Prize for the best essay book in Ukraine.

    Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine

    UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs.

    Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons.

    You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: [email protected].