Ukraine Decoded

This is the audio version of the March 1, 2026, article "Russia Signals Acceptance of U.S.-Backed Security Guarantees for Ukraine" in the Substack newsletter "Decoded: Ukraine, Russia, and Beyond." Subscribe by email to know what's actually happening beyond the headlines! Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

This is the audio version of the February 26, 2026, article "Trump Urges Zelensky to Reach Peace Deal 'Within a Month' in the Substack newsletter "Decoded: Ukraine, Russia, and Beyond." Subscribe to this newsletter by email to know what's actually happening beyond the headlines! Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Sergiy Tomilenko, the president of the largest journalistic association – the Union of Journalists of Ukraine - joined Viktor Kovalenko to talk about press freedom, relations between media and the government of President Zelensky, issues with press accreditations for foreign journalists, and war-time media solidarity. // Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded....

Vladislav Davidzon, a writer, translator, and critic joins Viktor Kovalenko to discuss the cultural and political transformations in Ukraine during the ongoing Russian war. We discussed the first days of the Russian invasion, his magazine the Odessa Review and his book From Odessa With Love , how he burned his Russian passport in front of the Russian Embassy in France, why some Russians aren't gra...

In this episode, my guest was Brian Mefford, a US expat from Kyiv who lives and works there for almost 23 years. We talked about Brian’s life and business during the Russian war against Ukraine, his relief project  Help Ukraine 22 Operation Palyanytsya  for those affected by the war, and what the Americans should understand about the modern Ukrainians. Mr. Mefford is a co-owner and managing direct...

Adrian Karatnycky , a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center (USA) joins this podcast episode. As the Russian war approaches the year mark, we discussed the major positive outcomes for Ukraine due to its heroic resistance. Mr. Karatnycky explained why the Russian elites are so hateful and genocidal in pursuing their occupation goals. He expressed his opinion about...

The guest of this episode is Brian Bonner, a former chief editor of the Kyiv Post, the English-language weekly newspaper in Ukraine. He is an American national from Minnesota who resides in Kyiv since the end of the 90s. It was a pure luck to interview Mr. Bonner between electricity outages in the Ukrainian capital city caused by the Russian missile attacks on the energy infrastructure. He explain...

In this podcast episode David Stulik, a senior analyst in European Values Center for Security Policy think tank (Czech Republic) and a former diplomat of the European Union in Ukraine talks with Viktor Kovalenko about what Europeans think about the Russian war against Ukraine. For twelve years, Mr. Stulík served in Kyiv as the press and information officer at the EU Delegation (then - the EU Embas...

Dr. Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (USA) and professor at Georgetown University (Washington D.C.) discusses with a journalist Viktor Kovalenko his ideas on how to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table in the middle of the war. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at...

Dr. Steven Seegel, a Slavic and Eurasian Studies professor at the University of Texas at Austin (USA), talks with a journalist Viktor Kovalenko about his February 24th Archive, a social media project exploring the Russian war and about what the US academia does and could do to support Ukraine. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to...

Dr. J Andres Gannon, a Stanton nuclear security fellow from the Council on Foreign Relations (New York city, USA) talks about the Russian nuclear threats, a game of brinkmanship, and occupation of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Ian Kelly, a former US Ambassador to OSCE and Georgia, and currently an Ambassador in Residence at Northwestern University (Illinois) talks about unexpected Russian war against Ukraine, why the West didn't help Kyiv in 2014, Ukraine's NATO aspirations, a disputed Nagorny Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and perspectives of Ukraine's support after US midterm elections. / Support this...

Mart Kuldkepp, an Estonian historian and Scandinavianist from University College London (UK) talks about Sweden, Finland, and Estonia in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine and legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Baltic countries. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscri...

Petro Burkovskyy, an executive director of the Ilko Kucheriv's Democratic Initiatives Foundation (Ukraine) talks about Ukrainian resistance, recent sociological surveys, and informational war. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Cüneyt Gürer, a professor from George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies talks about the interests and behavior of Turkey during the Russia-Ukraine war. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

A German historian Dr. Jan Claas Behrends talks about Germany and its relations with Russia and Ukraine. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Olexander Scherba, a former Ukraine's Ambassador to Austria and a political speechwriter explains the policy mistakes of the western countries regarding Ukraine. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Alexander Lanoszka from Canada explains defensive alliances around Russia and Ukraine. / Sound from Zapsplat.com   Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Brian Porter-Szűcs, a history professor at the University of Michigan (US) talks about Poland and how this neighbor helps Ukraine during the war with Russia. / / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Eugene Bondarenko, a lecturer in the Ukrainian language at the University of Michigan (US) talks about Ukrainian cultural resistance in times of the war against Russia. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

A British energy expert Dr. Lawrence Haar from the University of Brighton (UK) talks about the western sanctions on Russian oil and gas. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Jaroslava Barbieri, a doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham (UK) talks about what Russia does on the occupied territories in Ukraine. / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Natalya Chernyshova, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Winchester (UK) talks about the role of Belarus in the Russian war against Ukraine. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

The wartime story of the Ukrainian Snake Island in the Black Sea beginning from its capture in February 2022 till the Russians left it in June 2022. / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Alexander Motyl, a Pol. Sci. professor and a historian from Rutgers University (New Jersey, USA) talks about tectonic geopolitical shifts caused by the Russian war against Ukraine. / Support this podcast by donating to PayPal.me/MrKovalenko / Sound from Zapsplat.com Get full access to Ukraine Decoded at ukrainedecoded.substack.com/subscribe