Ukraine Without Hype

Some outside pressure is asking why Ukraine won't be having wartime elections. We start by going over why that would be impossible, then dig deeper into Ukrainian electoral politics and would would come of an election. 00:01:24 - Holding elections in Ukraine would be illegal, dangerous, and logistically insurmountable. 00:14:53 - A pretty confusing bill is in the works to allow for elections a...

In this episode... 00:42 - Anthony recounts a reporting trip to Kharkiv and back to the former Kakhovka Reservoir 07:42 - Russia launches a massive assault on Avdiivka, and takes massive casualties in the process. Meanwhile, Ukraine launched a large but secretive incursion across the Dnipro River. 22:12 - The newly arrived ATACMS missiles from the US devastate Russia's helicopter fleet station...

We are joined by Joey Ayoub, PhD, host of The Fire These Times, about the recent massacre by Hamas in southern Israel and Israel's subsequent retaliation against Gaza's civilian population. The ferocity of Hamas' attack was unprecedented, but so was the systemic weakness and dysfunction of the Israeli state. Why did it happen, and is there any solution to Israel's ongoing siege of...

In this episode... 00:49 - Russia hits a grocery store and cafe holding a wake for a deceased community member in a village in Kharkiv region, killing over 50 people. 03:15 - Ukraine advances beyond the second line of defenses in the Tokmak direction 05:17 - After heavy attacks on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, including its headquarters in Sevastopol, the Russian Navy retreated away from Crimea to...

In this episode... 00:01:20 - Visiting a Hungarian-speaking town in the Zakarpattia region 00:18:40 - The anniversary of the assassination of Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze in 2000, and how the protest movement against it helped form Ukraine's democratic path. 00:33:11 - A trade dispute over agricultural goods stirs diplomatic row between Poland and Ukraine. 00:41:48 - Azerbaijan invade...

In this episode... 00:01:21 - Ukrainian forces begin to pierce Russia's second line of defense in the south, and retake positions near Donetsk city. 00:08:35 - Russia caught by the Cuban authorities illegally trafficking potential soldiers. 00:11:51 - Russia looks to North Korea as a source of arms. 00:16:10 - Russia holds elections, including in the occupied territories. 00:21:07 - Elon Musk...

In this episode... 00:01:16 - Despite naysaying in the Western press, the Southern offensive makes a major breakthrough by taking Robotyne and pushing forward. 00:25:32 - How Ukraine, the country that barely has a navy, is taking the fight to the Russians in the Black Sea and Dnipro River 00:43:00 - Three Ukrainian pilots die in a training accident, including the famous ace known as "Juice&qu...

Anthony has returned from a reporting trip to the south of Ukraine and relays what he saw on the ground. 00:02:10 - Odesa's Transfiguration Cathedral was badly damaged by the recent Russia strike on the city landmark, but Odesa is undeterred from the August vacation season. 00:19:05 - We had a bit of an adventure with the Transnistria border and a drunk, possibly, maybe marijuana farmer, but s...

In this episode... 00:00:36 - Announcements; join our Discord 00:02:44 - Russian counterattack thwarted in the Luhansk Oblast while progress continues in the south and Bakhmut 00:11:20 - Russia cancels grain deal, then bombs Odesa city center and port infrastructure 00:25:44 - The Ballad of Igor Girkin, the Forrest Gump of Russian Imperialism. One of the men most personally responsible for the Rus...

In this episode... 01:30 - Ukrainian army attacks the first line of Russian defense in the south while making gains around Bakhmut. Meanwhile, deep attacks take down the Crimean Bridge and an assassination of a Russian submarine commander. 13:30 - An update on the after-effects of the Wagner Coup attempt 20:30 - The NATO Summit in Vilnius proves to be disappointing. 27:00 - Zelensky clashes with B...

In this episode... 00:50 - The Ukrainian counteroffensive lurches forward across the front lines 07:23 - Wagner Group and its leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin launch a day-long uprising against the Russian government. What happened? Why? What now? 41:15 - A locked Kyiv bomb shelter leads to the death of a mother and child. 45:00 - Russian targets a restaurant in Kramatorsk used as a hub for journalists a...

Following the Russian destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Dam in the Kherson region, the area downstream was flooded, causing a massive amount of destruction. Anthony went to the city to cover the aid efforts in a city in which he has memories of a better time. While there, the Russians fired on a group of humanitarian aid workers Anthony was helping and reporting on. One was wounded but is...

Dylan Burns is a political streamer on YouTube and Twitch who has made multiple reporting trips to Ukraine. We talk about his coverage of demining efforts and other topics, what it means to be a political streamer with a younger audience who stepped into the world of journalism, and the controversial value of debating more Russia-friendly figures. Dylan Burn's Info https://www.dylanburns.tv/ h...

In this episode - 00:40 - What is it like to go through a mass suicide drone attack? 10:43 - Combat update: Ukraine continues to advance around Bakhmut, but major shifts are unlikely until the counter-offensive. They also continue to hit strategic Russian points. Meanwhile, Russia struggles to find a solution to re-do's of the Belgorod border raid. 18:00 - A tangent about the rise of Russian P...

In this episode - 1:30 - Russian forces take control of the ruins of Bakhmut 11:15 - A questionable group of Russian volunteer soldiers fighting for Ukraine launch a raid into Belgorod Oblast of Russia and take a strangely long amount of time to be driven off. 37:30 - With the Russian success in Bakhmut, the war enters a new phase. What are the opportunities and concerns for how that new phase wil...

In this episode - 1:45 - An overview of the evolving situation in the war. Ukraine has made a series of localized micro-offensives throughout the front line resulting in numerous small victories against the Russian occupiers. Most importantly, in the area around Bakhmut, where they have retaken ground to the north and south of the city. This also enflames the struggle between the Wagner Group and...

Ukraine without Hype is joined by Armenian political scientist Karena Avedissian. Karena specializes in governance, access to justice, social movements, and new media/communications in Eurasia. We asked her about the background of the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, recent developments of Baku tightening their grip on the region and Yerevan looking like the...

In this Episode... 1:00 - Combat Update: Ukraine pushed back to the last few neighborhoods in Bakhmut, while a raid in Kherson Oblast gains attention as paving the way for the coming offensive. 12:05 - Putin visits occupied Kherson Oblast...maybe 17:05 - Wagner fighters blow the whistle, having been given extermination orders against Ukrainians (https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/18/wagner...

In this Episode... 01:10 - War Updates: The Russians advance through the city center of Bakhmut, but it seems pretty certain that the city will not be surrounded. No Russian progress around Avdiivka, and most other advances have ground down. 10:07 - The Wagner Group circulates a video of themselves beheading a live Ukrainian prisoner. We go into some of the sociology behind why they would go to su...

In this News Digest... 00:50 - War Updates: The focus of the war is on Bakhmut and Avdiivka, two cities that have been largely destroyed and are threatened by attempted Russian encirclements. Russia knocks a US surveillance drone out of international skies, while Slovakia supplies Ukraine with fighter jets. Putin threatens to move tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus. 15:00 - International Relati...

James is a US Army veteran who supported Ukraine for years before the full-scale invasion and enlisted when the time came. We talk to him about how his many years living in Russia opened his eyes to the country's simmering fascism and his path into the Ukrainian army. Since he also has a YouTube channel where he talks about old movies, we also go into how evolving technologies and pop culture shap...

00:45 - Combat Update, including the increasingly brutal fight to defend the strong point of Bakhmut while preparing a counter-offensive. 10:50 - A militia made up of Russian dissidents fighting for Ukraine makes a cross-border raid into Bryansk region of Russia in order to get the rest of the country to revolt. We have questions. 26:00 - China presents a peace plan while rumors swirl of them poss...

The glory of Ukraine has not yet perished, nor the will. Still upon us, young brothers, fate shall smile. Our enemies shall vanish, like dew in the sun. We too shall rule, brothers, our country. February 24th is the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, a day that shall live in infamy. It has been a full year since the Russian-fascist forces began their three-day campaign to c...

For this week's combat update, Russia continues to grind away at Bakhmut, making the most progress in the northern suburbs while being fought back in the south. In what appears to be the start of their much-awaited Spring offensive, most other fronts are successfully holding the Russians off. Then... 30:45 - The execution of Russian neo-Nazi could be another sign of inter-fractional fighting eithe...

The second half of January has been extremely busy and there are many headlines to cover. 00:42 - Combat Update: Russian forces make troubling gains to the north and south of Bakhmut, but Bakhmut still stands. Russia fails in offensives along the southern line at Orikhiv and Vuhledar. Ukraine advances against Kreminna but is met with an increased Russian buildup. 09:10 - Russia missile strike hits...