FAQ-U: Ukraine Explained

Episode Summary The perception of the contemporary Russian state begins with the fundamental misconception that the Russian Empire has ceased to exist. In fact, it is fully thriving today, simply under a new name - the Russian Federation. The Soviet Union was considered a state of equality and fraternity. The Russian Federation is a democratic country. But it has always been an empire that steals...

Episode Summary Today, Yulia addresses some of the most popular misinformation circulating on the world wide web in the form of a true FAQ, with bite-sized rebuttals to some of the most ill-informed Ukraine-related tweets the Internet has to offer.  Learn More Read more about Russia's War Crimes at Svidomi Media's Website: More than 50 Russian servicemen sentenced for war crimes in Ukraine During...

Episode Summary You've probably heard of the one of the most elite brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine. Maybe you've heard of their bravery, or maybe you've seen the fear they inspire in the russian armed forces. Maybe you've heard the russian propaganda about them. The guest of today's episode, Vladyslav Zhaivoronok, callsign Wikipedia, of the former Azov Regiment (now Azov Assault Brigade)...

Episode Summary You've already heard of the events of February 20, 2014: a large group of unmarked soldiers known as “little green men” entered Crimea and occupied it by force. Although they presented themselves as a neutral militia, they were, in fact, russian armed forces, there to annex the peninsula to the “fatherland." They then oversaw an illegal and unconstitutional referendum with the inte...

Episode Summary russian propaganda spreads the false narrative that Crimea has belonged to russia for most of its existence. Their propaganda asserts its indigenous people, the Qırımtatarlar — more commonly known as the Qirimli — have always been a small part of the Crimean population and have lived with ethnic russians. The truth is much more grim: russia's attempted to wipe them off the map over...

Episode Summary In 2014, Western media took a liking to frequent reporting on what they have deemed to be the "Ukrainian conflict," labeling the paid-by-russia militia and their russian troops as "separatists." russia created the perception in the West that Ukraine was persecuting the culture and identity of an independent group of people in the Donbas. Perception in hand, russia spun the narrativ...

Episode Summary Yulia and Professor Kateryna Zarembo discuss the real history of Donbas region, how the russian language became prevalent in the area, and why the West takes as fact that the Donbas has "always been russian." Professor Kateryna Zarembo researches and lectures at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and is an author of the award-winning book, Ukrainian Sunrise. She specializes in the ethnocultural c...

Episode Summary Yulia and Professor Maria Shuvalova break down what the war in Ukraine has to do with Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling novel, why the world is outraged, and where russian propaganda fits into all of this. They explore how russia creates propaganda through literature, with narratives about "great russian authors for centuries." Guest Professor Maria Shuvalova is a literary scholar f...

Episode Summary On June 6th, 2023, the Kakhovka Dam on the Dnipro River experienced a critical failure and collapsed, rapidly draining the Kakhovka reservoir and flooding much of southeastern Ukraine. 48 settlements were flooded — 34 of them in Ukraine controlled territory — impacting hundreds of thousands of people. Thousands of species of animals and plants in parts of the Kherson and Mykolaiv r...