History in the Making: The War in Ukraine

There's an information war going on related to the War in Ukraine, and unfortunately Russia has been very successful in spreading its propaganda into the West and influencing popular perceptions and also policy-makers themselves.  I thought it would be informative to have on the show a Ukrainian who recently moved to the US and what she has seen on the ground related to Americans' perspective...

Over 6 mn Ukrainians fled their homeland after the full-scale invasion and have since settled abroad, mostly in Europe. In country after country, Ukrainians economic and financial contribution far outpaces the social support provided to them by those countries. To delve into this story, specifically as it pertains to the US, I had a very informative discussion with Oleksandr Romanishyn , a former...

How do so many Russians either outright support this war or at least passively approve it?  And what about Russians in Moscow and St. Petersburg? Do they have a more Western political culture? Can Russia ever drop its imperialistic mentality and make the country less violent abroad? To answer these questions and more, I spoke with Dr. Botakoz Kassymbekova, an expert on Russia imperialism, to...

What is electronic warfare (EW), and how important is it to protecting Ukraine? How does EW work to detect and jam drones? How has EW evolved during the war, and how will it develop in the future? Serhii Skoryk, Commercial Director, Kvertus, former soldier in the Ukrainian military who now leads Ukraine's top electronic warfare (EW) company.  Listen in to understand the vital role EW is playi...

*Note that this was recorded the evening of Tuesday November 25 (Kyiv time), for publication the evening of Thursday November 27 (Kyiv time) Will we have a ceasefire/peace deal soon? How did they create this 28 point plan, and why now all of a sudden? Is the revised 19 point plan better? What is Russia's view of things? And if we get no deal soon, then what? I did my best in an almost stream of co...

*Apologies for the minor disruptions in the podcast as we were cut off by power outages in Kyiv. In light of the annual commemoration of the Holodomor on November 22, 2025 (always the 4th Saturday of November), I spoke with Dr. Iryna Skub ii, the Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on the social history of the 1932–1933 famine, the Holodomor. Listen in to hear:...

Is Pokrovsk going to fall, and if so what does it mean for Ukraine? There have been lots of doomsday scenarios arising about the loss of Pokrovsk and how it could lead to a collapse of the front for Ukraine. But is that true? Pavlo Narozhnyi, Founder of Reactive Post, an NGO that provides lethal and humanitarian support to the front since the war began in 2014, with a focus on long-range artillery...

In this episode, my business partner Andrew Pryma and I felt like we had to break alot of the misconceptions of the economy and business environment in Ukraine and delve into what's really happening on the ground. We speak everyday with the top Western investors in the country so have strong insight into what is actually happening, what they're seeing, how they're feeling, and how they view the fu...

Yes its extremely annoying, but we'll be ok.  Trump was supposed to give the Tomahawks, but then Putin calls, and Trump again believes his friend in the Kremlin is interested in peace. And then he pushes harshly on Zelenskyi, again... And now we're waiting another few weeks, again... Yes we should be concerned, but don't worry too much. Listen in to my quick thoughts on what happened and wher...

How do we help those suffering near the frontlines in Ukraine? People need to be fed, windows need to be repaired, pets need to be saved, environments have to be protected - how to go about doing all this? Listen in to hear the stories of Greater Good Charities and their critical work in helping the most vulnerable people and animals at the front.  This podcast is particularly timely consider...

“Ukrainians are producing hardware at speed of software” "We are seeing something remarkable develop in Ukraine: soldier-entrepreneurs" "What they're doing in procurement is like Amazon!" Nick Hawtin, Defense Tech Denmark, Nick's work has focused on technology and innovation - and especially on leveraging the interplay between researchers, startups, investors, and corporates in the Nordics for ove...

Alot has happened in recent weeks so I figured to give a quick overview of things and my view as to where things are going. In brief, lots of reasons to be optimistic. But prepared for a brutal winter here in Ukraine... To connect and message with Mark on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mcnamee-58950910 To learn more, visit: https://ubn.network/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters: https...

Listen to the 2nd part of this episode. Perry Boyle, Co-founder & CEO of MITS Capital, the no.1 private investor in Ukraine's defense. Following a 35-year career in investment banking and asset management, Perry set up MITS Capital to drive capital into Ukraine's domestic defense sector. Perry serves on several boards and advisory boards in the fields of affordable housing, renewable energy, e...

For the next generation minimum, we will be looking back at these months and years to see how the new world of defense and security developed. And it's all happening in Ukraine - the center of Western defense. Meet the men at the forefront of this generational development in this podcast. Hear how they got inspired to develop Ukraine's no. 1 private defense investment fund, projects they are worki...

An absolute pleasure to do this podcast with my good friend and like-minded individual with a passion for Ukraine, the Greek ambassador to Ukraine, Alexandros (Alex) Dimitrakopoulos.  Pantelis Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos is the Greek Ambassador to Ukraine. He was appointed to the position and presented his credentials in September 2024. Prior to his appointment in Ukraine, he served in various...

Why did Putin invade Ukraine? Typically the answer to this question relates to geopolitical or historical reasons. However, in this episode, we delve into Putin's psychology and fundamental personal motivations to understand his preoccupation with Ukraine and willingness to unleash horrific levels of violence, sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths (and counting). To do this, I had the imme...

A very eventful past few days - historic summits in Alaska and DC - and felt the need to give my brief analysis of what it means and where things stand. In short, not bad and could have been alot worse. Not to mention a shocking promise by Trump. Now let's see how Russia responds (can't imagine well!) To connect and message with Mark on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mcnamee-58950910 To learn...

Listen in to an informal chat on all things Ukraine - from the upcoming Trump-Putin summit in Alaska to China to Russian imperialism to the importance of Ukraine to US national security to helping frontline communities devastated by the war - with Yuri Boyechko, a Ukrainian native running an NGO since 2016. Yuri Boyechko, Founder & CEO at Hope For Ukraine, a leading nonprofit organization focu...

Can Trump get China to stop supporting Russia? How will the trade war with the US develop?  Will China lead an axis of authoritarian regimes against the West? Has Beijing become more supportive of Russia lately? Will China be emboldened or deterred from invading Taiwan from the War in Ukraine? To answer these questions and more I spoke with former colleague Thomas Zhang, long-time China exper...

How will Trump's trade wars impact the War in Ukraine? What does the trade deal between the US and Europe mean for Ukraine? What about US-China trade relations and potential US secondary sanctions? And what happens to the dollar and euro? To answer these questions, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Michael Strain, a globally renowned macroeconomics and trade expert at the American Enterprise...

Did you know the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is a former KGB agent and multimillionaire who made his money in smuggling? Or that its priests routinely bless the missiles, drones, and weapons used against innocent Ukrainian civilians everyday? Even other Orthodox Church leaders, not to mention Pope Francis and Pope Leo, have condemned the Russian Orthodox Church's actions.  Hear how Ru...

It's an unfortunate reality but its true: the primary obstacle in US politics today to supporting Ukraine comes from the Republican Party. It's been strange to see the party of Reagan hesitant to stand up to Russia and support a democratic ally in its quest for freedom.  Why is that? And ultimately should the US support Ukraine? To answer these questions, I had on the show Larry Provost, a co...

Not many people know Canada has one of the largest Ukrainian populations abroad. And this fact has helped make Canada one of the most supportive countries of Ukraine in the Western world.  To understand the strong level of engagement Canada has here on the ground in Ukraine, I had the pleasure of having a very engaging discussion with Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Natalka Cmoc, whose positiv...

In this episode, I had the great honor of interviewing 4-Star US General Philip Breedlove, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO.  General Philip Breedlove, a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the commander of U.S. European Command, as well as the 17th Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO Allied Command Operations, from May 2013 until...

There's alot of talk about Western military support to Ukraine, but what about Ukraine's own capabilities? To discuss that, I had on the show Arsen Zhumadilov, the head of the Defense Procurement Agency. Arsen discussed some critical developments in Ukraine's ability to defend itself - with a particular focus on drones - while focusing on how the process works in terms of getting Ukrainian-produce...