Explaining Ukraine

Ukraine is making gradual advances on the left bank of Kherson Oblast, while Russia's attempts to attack from five different directions have all failed. Amid Russia’s increase in military production, large supplies of weapons from North Korea to Russia, and lack of game-changing weapons in Ukraine, the war is entering the 'positional prolonged' phase - a concerning development for Ukraine. Command...

Olesya Khromeychuk is a Ukrainian historian and head of the Ukrainian Institute in London. She is also the author of the heartbreaking book "The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister", in which she tells the story of her brother Volodymyr, who was killed by the Russians on the frontline in 2017. In this episode, UkraineWorld’s chief editor Volodymyr Yermolenko speaks with Olesya Khromeychuk about...

Russian attacks are thwarted by Ukrainian defense forces, particularly near Maryinka and Novomykhailivka, while occupiers redeploy reserves from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia Aside from frontline developments, the previous week marked unwavering international support for Ukraine. Germany will contribute 54.3 million euros to Ukraine's Energy Support Fund, while the United Kingdom is set to contribute a...

What brings foreigners to Ukraine? What motivates them to come and help a country at war? What do they find in this country that they don’t find at home? This episode's guest is Jaap Scholten, a Dutch writer and journalist, who came to Ukraine to volunteer. He regularly visits Ukraine with his friends to bring cars to soldiers, as well as medical equipment and other aid. He is also the author of t...

What do we get if we turn away from the abstract “geopolitical” or “military” analysis of this war and talk about the human side of it? What do we see if we look at this war primarily as a story of human suffering and courage? This episode's guest is Catalina Gomez, a Colombian journalist working in Ukraine for France 24. In this episode, we talk about the empathy and compassion that spans oceans...

While Russian occupiers attempt to breach Ukrainian defense lines and encircle Avdiyivka, Ukraine cuts them off south of Bakhmut, forcing them to retreat to the Bakhmut-Horlivka highway. In addition to frontline developments, the previous week was marked with encouraging news regarding international support for Ukraine. The US has agreed to supply Ukraine with ATACMS missiles on an ongoing basis....

Russia has launched a massive offensive in the Avdiivka area (the Eastern direction). Ukraine holds its position. Despite the volatile situation on the frontlines, the previous week was marked with encouraging news regarding international support for Ukraine. President Zelenskyy brought home new aid packages and assurances of continued support from Brussels and Bucharest. This is our weekly roundu...

Russia has carried out a series of heinous and bloody terror attacks on Ukrainian civilians in Kherson, Kharkiv, and Hroza. The aggressor murdered a large part of Hroza's population who gathered to pay tribute to a fallen soldier, their countryman. As Ukraine advances, Russians resort to more brutal tactics on the frontlines. Meanwhile, Ukraine is attempting to gain more international support by a...

What is happening at the front in the Russo-Ukrainian war? Can Ukraine break Russian defense lines in the South? What are the key frontline spots, and why are they important? How are drones changing the art of war? What arms does Ukraine need, and how could they change the situation on the frontline? The guest on this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Mykola Bielieskov, a Ukrainian mili...

Ukraine and Poland are now going through one of the worst periods of their recent mutual relations. Historical memory clashes have reared their heads again, and controversy about Ukrainian grain exports to and through Poland shows signs of a serious trade dispute. What happened to the seemingly rock-solid relations from a year ago, when Russia started its cruel invasion against Ukraine, and Poland...

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit, along with French and British Ministers of Defense Sébastien Lecornu and Grant Shapps. Meanwhile, Russia continues its terror against Ukrainian cities. However, that’s not all that caught our attention. In Russia, a sham trial against Ukrainian POWs has begun. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and...

Capitalizing on its previous successes, Ukraine has continued its operations in occupied Crimea, destroying the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. On the international plane, President Zelensky has visited the US to partake in the UN GA, as well as to hold bilateral talks. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chie...

How can we think about the future today - and learn from it? How is the war influencing our thinking and action? Why are societies polarized, and can we overcome this polarization? Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, speaks to Otto Scharmer, a German-born American intellectual who introduced influential concepts like Theory U and presencing in an attem...

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have significantly enhanced their operations in the North-Western part of the Black Sea. In the meantime, Ukraine has remained largely absent on the agenda of the recent G20 summit. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, a...

What is currently happening on the frontlines of the Russo-Ukrainian war? Is Ukraine progressing with its counteroffensive, does it have a chance to win this war, and what does it need in order to do so? Are moving closer to better ensuring Ukraine’s security in the world? The guest of this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Fredrik Wesslau, a Swedish diplomat and analyst, who has been w...

Why is freedom the highest value? Are we really born free? Or is freedom instead a great task and mission for both society and the individual to achieve? Why is the negative idea of freedom (freedom from) not sufficient today, and why should we strive for positive freedom, the freedom to? What can the experiences of Ukraine and Eastern Europe tell us about other parts of the world with regard to t...

Russia continues to bomb Ukrainian ports, hitting Romanian territory in the process. In the meantime, Erdogan ends up unable to convince Putin to revive the Grain Deal. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld,...

The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their gradual movement towards Tokmak in the country’s south. In the meantime, Ukraine expands the range of domestically produced weapons, both by own efforts and together with foreign defense companies who open factories in Ukraine. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld...

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have reportedly broken through the first line of Russia’s defense in the south. Meanwhile, Ukraine further strengthened the F-16 coalition and organized the third Crimean platform summit to discuss the peninsula’s reintegration. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by...

Ukraine’s armed forces continue its counteroffensive, advancing deeper into enemy lines in the south. In the meantime, Denmark and the Netherlands committed to delivering 61 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, analyst...

Russia continues targeting Ukraine’s peaceful cities as well as industrial and military infrastructure. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s counteroffensive is ongoing, with Kyiv attempting to conceptualize its partners’ support into bilateral security agreements. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym...

How can we think about imperialism and colonialism today? What can Ukrainians and Indians tell each other in this respect? How can we try to look for horizontal connections between formerly colonized nations? In this episode, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, and chief editor of UkraineWorld, speaks to Aman Sethi, an Indian journalist and writer, former editor-in-chief of...

David Rieff is a famous intellectual and war correspondent. He is the author of many books, including Slaughterhouse: Bosnia and the Failure of the West; A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis; At the Point of a Gun: Democratic Dreams and Armed Intervention; The Reproach of Hunger: Food, Justice, and Money in the Twenty-First Century; In Praise of Forgetting: The Ironies of Historical Memo...

Yaryna Chornohuz is a Ukrainian poet who became a soldier to defend her homeland. She is a paramedic and a reconnaissance scout who went to the frontline before Russia’s full-scale invasion. Before her military experience, she was an activist organizing protests in support of the Ukrainian language and culture, and against capitulation to Russia. While on the frontline, she wrote two books of poet...

What does it mean to live in Ukraine for over a decade, report on Ukraine’s revolution, the annexation of Crimea, and both episodes of Russia’s war against Ukraine? What does it mean to be a foreign reporter in Ukraine, and yet have a deep personal connection with the country? This episode is a conversation with Christopher Miller, the lead correspondent in Ukraine for the Financial Times. Miller...