Krynytsya (The Well), your wellspring for Ukraine and Ukrainians

Stefan Korshak is the senior defense correspondent for the English-language newspaper the Kyiv Post. In this podcast interview, he talks about the strengths and weaknesses of Ukraine's air defense. He also suggests how to improve it in light of recent increased daily Russian bombardment. There is also discussion of recent Russian efforts to probe NATO defenses. Mr. Korshak briefly mentions his new...

Michael Drapan is a former Ukrainian British Headteacher and author of the new book about the Huddersfield Ukrainian emigre community, "Home from Home". The book is based on interviews with prominent Ukrainians in the community who emigrated there after World War II. The book covers harrowing, sensitive and previously undisclosed stories from a period of enforced slave labour under the Third Reich...

In April, 2022, Eduardo Llop and Rafael Moreno, two volunteers from the Barcelona NGO Accio Familiar, travel to a convent in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, where nuns are aiding refugees after the the Russian invasion. As missile attacks become a daily occurence throughout Ukraine, Mother Maria Cristiana Demianczuk with her nuns and the volunteers take a group of three-dozen refugees and famili...

Andreas Umland is an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and was an Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. His focus as a political scientist has been contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history, domestic politics and foreign affairs. In this interview, Mr. Umland...

Lykke Friis is director of the Think Tank Europa, an independent Copenhagen-based research institution focused on Europe. She is also a former Danish politician and has held several positions in the Danish government. Ms. Friis is Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and has researched and published extensively on issues related to German and European politics. Her bestselling 202...

The results of the recent Polish presidential election could bring changes to the relationship between Ukraine and Poland. The new conservative Polish president Karol Nawrocki has said he is against Ukraine's entry into the EU and NATO. Aleks Szczerbiak, Professor of Politics at the University of Sussex in the UK and a prominent analyst on politics in Poland, discusses key areas of conflict betwee...

Dr. Huseyn Aliyev is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. His area of expertise is Ukraine and Russia (particularly the North Caucasus region). His current research interests are civil war dynamics, non-state armed groups, violent mobilization and the radicalization and demobilization of armed groups. In this interview Dr. Aliye...

Dr. Luke Cooper is the deputy director of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep) at the London School of Economics (LSE). He also heads the Ukraine program at PeaceRep. PeaceRep is a consortium of research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and local research teams led by the University of Edinburgh Law School focused on understanding peace and transition process...

David Kirichenko, a Ukrainian American frontline war journalist and expert in autonomous systems and cyber warfare, discusses his transition from cybersecurity to journalism during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He highlights Ukraine's strategic use of drones and asymmetric warfare, noting that Ukraine built millions of drones to counter Russia's superior manpower and armor. Kirichenko emphasize...

Kurt Volker was the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine negotiations from 2017 to 2019 with the first Trump Administration and U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 2008-2009. He continues to be an insightful foreign affairs analyst and advisor. In this interview, Mr. Volker assesses Ukraine's current situation in the Russian invasion. He states that Ukraine is stronger militarily than it was when the...

Dina Smeltz is vice president and senior fellow public opinion with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The Council was established in 1922, as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization for the purpose of increasing knowledge and engagement in global affairs. Its mission is to promote general public interest in the foreign policy of the United States. To this end, the organization conducts online e...

Orest Deychakiwsky is a well known activist in the Ukrainian American community. He worked at the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission), an independent US government agency, from November 1981 to May 2017.  While at the Commission, Orest served as a member of official US delegations to numerous conferences and meetings of the Organization for Security and Coop...

Natalia Bariatska is a doctor of geology in Ukraine and the founder and CEO of the Ukrainian company Softmine LLC. In this interview, she talks about the significance of Ukraine's key critical minerals for the global economy and the United States in particular. Ms. Bariatska also reviews the potential for their development for intenational trade. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliia-bariatska-78b2...

Stefan Korshak is the senior defense correspondent for the Kyiv Post English-language newspaper. He offers his insights into how the Ukrainian army has been able to effectively counter the attacks of the Russian army with its substantially larger manpower and more military equipment. He says the current ceasefire proposed by the United States is untenable. Mr. Korshak also comments on the morale o...

There are about 250,000 Ukrainian parolees who have entered the United States as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the context of U.S. immigration law, an immigration parolee is an individual granted temporary permission to enter or remain in the United States but without establishing a path to permanent residency. Iryna Mazur, a U.S. immigration attorney and Honorary Consul of Ukrai...

Bohdan Nahaylo is the Chief Editor at the Kyiv Post in Kyiv, Ukraine. He is a British-Ukrainian journalist and well-known writer whose career as a Ukraine-watcher spans more than four decades. Reflecting on the mood in Kyiv, Mr. Nahaylo does not believe Ukraine is ready for elections. He is extremely critical of the proposed U.S.-Ukraine rare earth minerals deal proposed by the Trump administratio...

Alexander Vindman, a Ukrainian American who was born in Kyiv, is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and former director for European affairs with the U.S. National Security Council (NSC). As a foreign area officer specializing in Eurasia, he served in the U.S. embassies in Kyiv and Moscow. Mr. Vindman received a Master of Arts degree in Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian studies from...

Larisa Didkovska is the Rector of the Ukrainian Free University (UFU) located in Munich, Germany. The university was originally established in Vienna, Austria, in 1921. This private graduate academic institution offers many students from Ukraine, Europe and elsewhere programs of study in the social sciences and the humanities primarily in the Ukrainian language. Noteworthy alumni of UFU include Vo...

Christian Borys is a Ukrainian Canadian journalist who covered the Russian war against Ukraine for a while. When he returned to Canada, he decided to create a fund-raising site for the Ukrainian army. Eventually this effort evolved into a social enterprise based in Ukraine that produces various consumer products. He hopes to continue this venture even after the war ends. https://www.saintjavelin.c...

Kira Rudik is a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and the leader of the Golos Party. Before her first election to parliament in 2019, she was a key player in Ukraine's technology industry as the CEO of Ring Ukraine. In this interview, Ms. Rudik assesses the current social and political mood in Ukraine and emphasizes how the country continues to fight for its freedom and sovereignty despite the Ru...

The third anniversary of the Russian invasion against Ukraine will occur in February 2025. Are Ukraine and Russia ready to begin peace negotiations? Will the U.S. continue to play a major role as an ally of Ukraine, or will the incoming administration of President Donald Trump change course? Taras Kuzio, professor of political science at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, offers his views...

Beginning in the 1940's, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was a key venue in the USSR for the development of cybernetics and information technology (IT). When Ukraine became independent in 1991, a new wave of creativity was unleashed in the field of technology leading to the development of innovative IT companies that sought to play a crucial role in the global economy. Serhii Kryvoblotskyi...

Tony Leliw is a London-based, freelance British Ukrainian journalist, playwright and filmmaker. His writing career spans some 30 years and he currently is a freelancer for The Kyiv Post. His new short film, "Ukraine's Gold", is based on the legend of Hetman Pavlo Polubotok. It has been warmly received in the UK and abroad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQKlXXtcfU8 https://www.kyivpost.com/author...

There has been significant destruction of Ukraine's national heritage sites and cultural institutions since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Kateryna Goncharova has been involved with the preservation of architectural heritage and historical sites in Ukraine, including research, management, and scientific support of projects. She is currently Country Director for Ukraine with the World...

Journalist Svitlana Oslavska and her photographer sister Anna Ilchenko started the Old Khata Project in 2020 intending to create a photobook about rural houses in Ukraine. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine slowed down the project, but the duo finally published their book in 2023. They were born in the city of Sieverodonetsk which is currently occupied by Russia. Ms. Oslavska and Ms. Ilchenko ta...