Explaining Ukraine

Luke Harding is The Guardian’s correspondent on Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe. He is the author of books "Mafia State", "Collusion", "A Very Expensive Poison", and "The Snowden Files" - books about Russia and its devastating influence on global politics. His upcoming book is called "Invasion: The Inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival". Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, spoke to Luke Harding about his experience of covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, about the atrocities of the Russian army in Ukraine, and about Ukrainian political identity. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Luke Harding's new book "Invasion" will be available on Nov 24: https://sites.prh.com/luke-harding-invasion

Russian troops are preparing for street fighting in Kherson, as they cannot hold back the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the South. There is a risk that they will blow up the dam at the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, provoking one of the worst environmental disasters in Eastern European history. Learn more from the weekly digest of our Explaining Ukraine podcast. 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

This episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is made in partnership with Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast. With this podcast’s hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell we discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine through the lens of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. We talk about how Russian literature and Russian culture have separated crime from punishment, creating a society that distrusts laws and regulation, and values power and impunity. “Explaining Ukraine” hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, and chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, who heads the international department of Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld

We went to Kharkiv region again, to learn more about the life of Ukrainians near the frontline and in liberated villages and towns. In this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast, we tell you the story of the mass grave in Izyum, of an 8-year-old girl killed in Bezruky, of a Ukrainian writer who went missing in Kapytolivka, his autistic son, and of how Kharkiv remains brave and strong with a vibrant cultural life despite constant shelling. 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 on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Russia is using Iranian kamikaze drones to attack Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. On October 17th, several drone strikes on Kyiv killed at least 4 people, including a pregnant woman and her husband. Russia is continuing its state terrorism against Ukraine. The increasing number of missile and drone strikes on civilian targets testifies to Russia’s incapacity to win this war on the ground. This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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 on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Russia carries out one of the most massive and horrible missile barrages on Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February. 83 missiles were launched at various Ukrainian cities, including the center of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Civilians have been killed and wounded, dead bodies are lying on the streets in downtown Kyiv. - Learn more from our podcast “Explaining Ukraine”. 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

Russia has made a new illegal annexation of the Ukrainian territories by grabbing 15% of the Ukrainian lands that it occupied in the past 8 years. This is the biggest annexation in Europe since World War II. Ukrainians responded by continuing their counter-offensive and taking control over the first annexed territories. Learn more from the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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 . Patrons get full episodes

What are the cultural origins of Russian disinformation and propaganda? What is the attitude of the Russian intellectual tradition towards rationality and empirical truth? How can this intellectual tradition explain Russian habits of disinformation? Learn more in the new episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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. Patrons get access to full episodes.

The first episode of a new podcast series by UkraineWorld called “Thinking in Dark Times.” UkraineWorld’s chief editor, philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko, talks to world famous historian Timothy Snyder - about Ukraine, Eastern Europe, dissidents, climate change, tyranny, freedom and the plurality of values. The goal of the new series is to make Ukraine and its current war a focal point of our common reflection about the world’s present, past and future. We try to see light through and despite the current darkness. UkraineWorld.org is one of the most popular websites in English about Ukraine run by Ukrainians. It is brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

447 bodies have been found in a mass grave in Izyum, a liberated town in Eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv Region. 30 bodies bear signs of torture. Izyum is another example of Russian war crimes and atrocities. Russia declared partial “mobilization” is now holding fake “referenda” on the occupied territories of Ukraine. Learn more from the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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

Crime without punishment and punishment without crime. This is the formula which describes the psychology of Russian impunity during this war. Breaking this link between crime and punishment destroys the balance of justice and encourages the seeking of perverted forms of freedom in transgressing all possible rules and laws. In this episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast we try to understand the deep psychological and cultural causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We also try to see how these causes are remarkably intertwined with the Russian military tactics of massive missile strikes, which can be called a tactics of impunity. 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

We are witnessing a remarkable counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army in the Eastern part of the country. Ukrainians liberated more territories in 4 days than Russians took in 4 previous months. Let’s try to understand the Ukrainian successes. This is the weekly digest of our Explaining Ukraine podcast. 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

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have launched a counter-offensive against the Russian-occupied South of the country. Its aim is not to recapture territories immediately, but to disrupt Russia’s military logistics and make Russia's hold there untenable. IAEA experts came to the Russian-occupied Zaporizzhia Nuclear Power Plant to deter a potential nuclear disaster. We also analyze the weapons Russia is using in this war against Ukraine. – This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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

Wounds of war are visible and felt in places from which the war left five months ago. Buildings are destroyed, and human destinies have been destroyed too. We traveled to places around Kyiv and we felt again the pain of what happened in February and March. Learn more from our new episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Ukraine celebrated its independence day on August 24th amidst fears that Russia will use this date for major strikes against Ukrainian targets, including Kyiv. However, the doomsday didn’t happen. Does this mean that Moscow has no real military tools to achieve a breakthrough in this war? This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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 on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Ukraine celebrates its independence day. This is not a usual independence day. It is full of pain, destruction and death. But over 90 per cent of Ukrainians believe Ukraine will be victorious against the Russian invasion. In this episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast we explain the origins and meaning of the Ukrainian independence. 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 on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, is under Russian missile strikes every night. Situated 40 km from the Russian border, the city is wounded but remains strong. We went to Kharkiv with a volunteer and cultural trip. We’re telling you the Kharkiv story in a new episode of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. -- 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

Targets in Russian-occupied Crimea are regularly under attack now, which shows Russian weakness to defend the Ukrainian peninsula it occupied back in 2014. The war is severely damaging the Ukrainian economy and energy sector, with many regions risking to stay without electricity and heating during the upcoming winter. Ukrainian volunteers buy a space satellite for the Ukrainian army on money raised by the citizens. -- This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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 on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Russia has taken Europe’s biggest nuclear plant as a hostage and threatens to provoke a major nuclear disaster in Ukraine. At the same time, Russians are showing weakness with apparent incapacity to defend targets in the occupied Crimea. -- This is the weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. 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 on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Imagine a village near a European capital . Within several weeks, this village is totally destroyed by Russian troops. In its outskirts, you can barely find a house, out of hundreds, which is not either totally destroyed or severely damaged. The village is called Moshchun, near Kyiv. We have visited it, talked to its inhabitants, and are here to tell its stories. 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 on patreon.com/ukraineworld