Explaining Ukraine

China’s leader Xi Jinping paid a visit to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin and stress the strength of the China-Russia axis. The visit took place days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin and Russia’s children rights ombudswoman Mariya Lvova-Belova for ordering and overseeing the kidnapping of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. Russia downed an American drone over the Black Sea, well beyond Russian territorial waters. In a new episode of the series Around Ukraine, Volodymyr Yermolenko, UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to UkraineWorld analyst Maksym Panchenko. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Askold Melnyczuk is a prominent American writer of Ukrainian descent, and author of books What Is Told; Ambassador of the Dead; House of Widows; The Man Who Would Not Bow, and others. His novels have earned honors as a New York Times Notable, an LA Times Best Books of the Year, and an Editor’s Choice by the American Library Association’s Booklist. Melnyczuk has also translated numerous Ukrainian authors into English. Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, speaks to Askold Melnyczuk about Ukrainian literature today, about culture facing death and suffering, and the Ukrainian diaspora in North America. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the oldest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Gillian Tett is a British journalist and author. She is chair of the editorial board and US editor-at-large of the Financial Times. She is the author of "Fool's Gold"; "The Silo Effect" and "Anthro-Vision: A New Way to See in Business and Life". Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, speaks to Gillian Tett about how anthropology can help us understand the world, what the West has gotten wrong about Ukraine in the past, and how Russian imperialism is different from the Western imperialisms. This is "Thinking in Dark Times", a podcast series by UkraineWorld. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the oldest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

In this episode of our "Propaganda Diary", we discuss joint Ukrainian-Slovak research studying the key narratives of Russian propaganda in both countries. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld. Guests: Peter Dubóczi, Research fellow of Adapt Institute and Director of Infosecurity.sk, and Alona Hryshko, journalist and analyst at UkraineWorld. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the oldest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Is there a risk of the West changing course with its Ukraine policy? Are democratic values moving eastwards with the protests in Georgia? Why should we be worried about Russian-Iranian military trade? In a new episode of our Around Ukraine series, Volodymyr Yermolenko, UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to UkraineWorld analyst Maksym Panchenko. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk is a Ukrainian rock star, the leader of the rock band Okean Elzy, and one of Ukraine’s most popular modern musicians. He is also a civic activist, and formerly a politician, who founded the political party Holos (“Voice”). Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to Vakarchuk about Ukrainian culture, the country’s fight for freedom, music on the frontline, Ukraine’s difference from Russia, and the deep roots of the Ukrainian resistance. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Despite the war, many Ukrainian academics and students remain in the country and continue doing academic and research work. In this episode, we explain why Ukrainian universities and academics need support, and why the war is a time for thinking, but also for action. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, speaks to Aaron James Wendland, Vision Fellow in Public Philosophy at King’s College, London, and a Senior Research Fellow at Massey College, Toronto. We also talk about thinking and philosophy, and what philosophical ideas can be important today. Aaron Wendland is organizing a benefit conference titled What Good is Philosophy to raise the funds required to establish a Centre for Civic Engagement at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Ukraine’s oldest university. The conference will be held on March 17-19. More information: https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/kma-conference

A few days ago we made a trip to Nikopol, an industrial town in southern Ukraine located 6 kilometers from the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, now occupied by Russian troops. Russians shell the town every day with artillery, but despite this regular bombardment and the risk of a major nuclear disaster, we met active and optimistic people. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Kryvyi Rih is a big industrial Ukrainian city, and the hometown of president Zelenskyy. We went there to see what the city looks like during the war, and how (and if) it is changing. In this episode, we try to describe both the civic and political life of the city. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

In this episode of our Propaganda Diary, we analyze the vocabulary of Russian propaganda about Ukraine. An “anti-Russia,” “puppet of the West,” “former country”, “nezalezhnaya,” and “terrorist state” - why and how do Russian propagandists use these words, and what purpose do they serve? Volodymyr Yermolenko, UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to UkraineWorld analysts Alona Hryshko and Anastasia Herasymchuk. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Ukraine may be preparing a counter-offensive in the spring, and therefore needs military support, both in equipment and ammunition. Ukrainian pilots are in the US, which might mean that fighter jets may be on the way in the future. The G20 summit in New Delhi features Russia, but not Ukraine. In a new episode of the series Around Ukraine, Volodymyr Yermolenko, UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to UkraineWorld analyst Maksym Panchenko. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Marci Shore is an American historian and associate professor at Yale University, where she teaches modern European intellectual history. She is the author of Caviar and Ashes: A Warsaw Generation’s Life and Death in Marxism, 1918-1968; The Taste of Ashes: The Afterlife of Totalitarianism in Eastern Europe, and The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution. Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, speaks to Marci Shore about the importance of Central and Eastern Europe for the world’s culture, the problem of evil, the origins of Russian cruelty, and about contemporary Ukrainian writing. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the oldest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

How is Russian imperialism similar to, and different from, other imperialisms that we know? What are its key traits with regard to the questions of difference and sameness, domination, nation-states, and mythology of the past? Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

In this episode of our Propaganda Diary, we continue looking at the genocidal rhetoric of Russian propaganda. We analyze the most common messages of the Russian “media” and “experts” that Ukraine should not exist, that Russia should “de-Ukrainianize” Ukraine, and that its strikes against civilians are “justified.” Volodymyr Yermolenko, UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to UkraineWorld analyst Anastasia Herasymchuk. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

China has released a peace plan with the aim of putting forward ideas that could stop Russia’s war against Ukraine - but are they realistic? The UN General Assembly’s recent resolution demanding a Russian withdrawal shows overwhelming support for Ukraine, but the “abstaining” countries form a stable block. Belarusian partisans reportedly blew up a military plane in Belarus, which is a sign to Lukashenka that internal resistance to his dictatorship is increasing. There are warnings that Ukraine has been given a deadline by the West to end this war, otherwise, it might be pressed to hold talks with Russia. In this new episode of the series Around Ukraine of the podcast Explaining Ukraine, Volodymyr Yermolenko, UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to UkraineWorld analyst Maksym Panchenko. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal

What are the parallels between Putinist Russia and Syria of Bashar al-Assad? Why is the cult of violence widespread in both countries? Targeting hospitals, humanitarian corridors, and civilian infrastructure - how have Russian tactics in Syria and Ukraine been similar? What are the parallels between the Arab Spring and Ukrainian Maidans? Why is Ukraine important for the Middle East today? UkraineWorld’s chief editor Volodymyr Yermolenko invites Jean-Pierre Filiu, a professor at Sciences Po (Paris), a specialist in the Middle East, and author of the books Apocalypse in Islam and Arab Revolution: Ten lessons from the Democratic Uprising. We held our conversation in Kyiv, where professor Filiu came to teach at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine’s oldest university. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

In this episode of our Propaganda Diary, we look at the genocidal rhetoric of Russian propaganda. Before starting the full-scale war, Russian politicians and media figures systematically spread the message that Ukraine does not exist and is an artificial state which should be eliminated. During the war, this propaganda turned into genuine genocidal rhetoric with calls to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and to kill two million Ukrainians. Volodymyr Yermolenko, UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to UkraineWorld analysts Alona Hryshko and Anastasia Herasymchuk. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

One year has passed since Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine. In this episode, we draw lessons from this past year: the strength of Ukrainian society, its transformative power, its grassroots nature, as well as the weakness of Russian authoritarianism and its imprisonment in the past. We also analyze the global dimension of this war, discuss the stages of this full-scale invasion, and try to reflect on what we can expect in the near future. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

This episode is an interview given by UkraineWorld’s chief editor and host of the Explaining Ukraine podcast Volodymyr Yermolenko to "Die Kulturmittler", a podcast by ifa, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, a German organisation for international cultural relations. Together, we look at the past year and how Ukrainian civil society and the cultural scene have developed during the war in Ukraine. Original publication: https://www.ifa.de/podcast-ukraines-cultural-scene-after-a-year-of-war-with-volodymyr-yermolenko/

US president Joe Biden paid an unexpected visit to Kyiv, showing support for Ukraine and sending a strong signal to Russia. The Munich Security Conference showed a solidified consensus among Western leaders that Russia must be militarily defeated. A Russian-planned coup-d’etat was foiled in Moldova. China announced that it would put forward peace proposals to end the Russian war in Ukraine, but there are doubts about how realistic they are. In a new episode of the series Around Ukraine, Volodymyr Yermolenko, UkraineWorld’s chief editor, speaks to UkraineWorld analyst Maksym Panchenko. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a website in English about Ukraine, brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Support our humanitarian trips to the frontline areas: Paypal - ukraine.resisting@gmail.com