This week’s guest is Meduza special correspondent Lilya Yapparova, who just spent several days in Chernihiv, reporting on how the Russian invasion has destroyed local families and upended residents’ lives. She managed to leave the city just before Russian troops besieged it again. Now back in Kyiv, still reporting on the war, Lilya joined the podcast to talk about her latest article, “‘Mom, please make it stop’: Meduza special correspondent Lilia Yapparova was in Chernihiv in the final days before Russian troops cut it off from the outside world. Here’s what she saw.”

Timestamps for this episode

(4:37) What would you ask Zelensky or Putin?
(8:39) On the nature of war reporting
(10:55) How does a journalist engage people who are caught in the horrors of war? What was it like to visit Chernihiv and report on events there?
(15:47) Do Ukrainians treat Russian journalists as “aggressors”? Is there anti-Russian hostility from ordinary Ukrainians?
(18:17) The return of the barter economy, and the greatest true romance story ever told
(21:38) What are some of the internal conflicts among the Ukrainians defending the cities now under Russian onslaught?
(26:14) Will Ukrainians ever forgive the Russian people for this war?

Hanson Cheng Recap: Highlights from the Interview