Explaining Ukraine

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (chief editor at UkraineWorld.org) welcomes Hennadiy Druzenko, a well-known Ukrainian intellectual and volunteer, and the co-founder of a volunteer mobile hospital helping soldiers on the frontline and people who suffered from COVID-19 pandemics. They talk about Zelensky's presidency and how it compares to Poroshenko's; about the Ukrainian volunteer movement and its future; about the veteran community, and about why Ukraine still lacks a visionary leader.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes Olga Tokariuk, a Ukrainian independent journalist and documentary filmmaker, formerly of Hromadske.ua. She is now finalizing a documentary film “The Wrong Place” with her Italian colleagues. The film is about Vitaliy Markiv, a Ukrainian soldier with Italian citizenship who was sentenced to 24 years of prison by an Italian court for the alleged murder of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rochelli in May 2014, amid the most violent stage of the Donbas War. The story, however, is far more complicated than it seems.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes experts Orysia Lutsevych and Mathieu Boulègue from Chatham House, to discuss their report, “Resilient Ukraine: Safeguarding Society from Russian Aggression.” https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/resilient-ukraine-boulegue-lutsevych

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (chief editor of UkraineWorld.org) welcomes Dana Pavlychko, director of Osnovy Publishing, to talk about Osnovy’s famous book series “Awesome Ukraine.” They also talk about the things that are "awesome," "weird," "odd," and "horrible" in Ukraine today; how the country can be interesting for foreigners; what its attitude is towards its Soviet past; and what’s happening in the Ukrainian book industry, culture, and society.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes Duncan Allan, Associate Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House in London to talk about the prospects of the Minsk agreements aiming to end the war in Eastern Ukraine. The conversation focuses on Chatham House’s research paper, “The Minsk Conundrum: Western Policy and Russia’s War in Eastern Ukraine” (https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/minsk-conundrum-allan)

Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, welcomes famous Ukrainian author and journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk to talk about Ukraine's experience of the coronavirus pandemic and what it tells us about Ukrainian society and media.

Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, welcomes Christopher Miller, the reporter at BuzzFeed and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, to talk about Biden-Poroshenko tapes and their impact on American and Ukrainian politics.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes two experts of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future: Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019, and Andreas Umland, General Editor of the book series "Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society" at ibidem Press in Stuttgart. They discuss the pandemic's far-reaching repercussions for the international system and Ukraine’s place in it.

In this podcast, host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes Yulia Fediv, the executive director of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. The conversation is focused on recent trends in the Ukrainian culture, Ukrainian creative class, current cultural renaissance, and the new ecosystem of Ukrainian cultural institutions.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes Ukrainian philosopher Vakhtang Kebuladze to talk about the current Ukrainian approach to World War II memory. They discuss the differences between Ukrainian and Russian commemoration approaches, as well as dilemmas of Ukrainian de-communization.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes Kostiantyn Kvurt, a well-known Ukrainian media expert and the head of board of Internews Ukraine, one of the leading Ukrainian media NGOs. They discuss whether Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is a part of Kremlin’s broader strategy in the post-Soviet space, and what are the key elements of Russian tactics in information warfare.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes Ukrainian foreign policy expert Hanna Shelest in an online podcast. They discuss the first year of President Zelensky’s foreign policy: Kyiv's relations with the US, Russia, and the EU, as well as the attempts to find a solution to the war in eastern Ukraine.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko welcomes well-known Ukrainian financial expert Serhiy Fursa (columnist at nv.ua). They discuss the threat posed by oligarch Kolomoyskyi for Ukraine's cooperation with the IMF, and about 16,000 (!) amendments introduced by Kolomoyskyi’s people in Parliament to the banking law, as well as Ukraine's resilience in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (Ukraine World, Internews Ukraine) welcomes to the studio Volodymyr Sheiko, the Ukrainian Institute's Director-General. They discuss the recent renaissance of the Ukrainian culture, the Ukrainian movie industry, visual arts, and music.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (Ukraine World, Internews Ukraine) welcomes to the studio Nataliya Gumenyuk, Ukrainian journalist specialized in international security and conflict reporting who has been regularly visiting occupied Crimea since the annexation. They discuss Gumenyuk’s book “The Lost Island” covering the situation in the occupied Crimea and life of the people on the annexed peninsula. Why do Crimean Tatars stay in Crimea notwithstanding the persecution? What is the life of people who supported the annexation by Russia? What can Ukraine and the international community do to help Crimeans? Nataliya Gumenyuk explains in our podcast.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (Ukraine World, Internews Ukraine) welcomes to the studio Christopher Miller, correspondent covering Eastern Europe for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, BuzzFeed News, etc. They discuss the outcomes of the Normandy Summit, as well as compromises and discrepancies between Russia and Ukraine.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (Ukraine World, Internews Ukraine) welcomes to the studio Robert van der Noordaa, leading Dutch investigative journalist working on the MH17 case. They discuss among other issues the recent developments and prospects for the investigation, Russia’s role in the downing and conspiracy theories around it.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (Ukraine World, Internews Ukraine) welcomes to the studio Dmitri Teperik, chief executive of International Center for Defense and Security in Tallinn and program director of Resilient Ukraine. They discuss why information and communication spheres are essential parts of national security and what the similarities and differences between Estonia and Ukraine concerning Russia’s information influences are. Dmytro Teperik explains what the ways to make Ukraine more resilient to external information threats are and why there is no need to overreact on Russia’s activities.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (Ukraine World, Internews Ukraine) welcomes to the studio Jakub Kalenský, the senior fellow of the Atlantic Council. They discuss what the main targets and tools of the Russian disinformation are and share some ideas on how it employs democratic values. This podcast was created with financial support from the International Renaissance Foundation.

Host Volodymyr Yermolenko (Ukraine World, Internews Ukraine)welcomes to the studio Gulliver Cragg, the correspondent for France 24 in Kyiv. They discuss the most important changes in Ukraine's society, culture and political life since Euromaidan took place in 2013-2014 and also note what Ukrainians failed to change in a positive way.