Why are identity and political values, rather than geopolitics, the genuine causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine? How can we locate the Russian invasion in the wider context of Ukrainian-Russian relations? How can we describe the divergent paths that Ukraine and Russia took after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and how do these divergent paths explain the current war? The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Maria Popova and Oxana Shevel, authors of the book "Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States", published last year. The book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Ukraine-Entangled-Histories-Diverging/dp/1509557369 Maria Popova is a professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal, Canada Oxana Shevel is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA, and Director of the Tufts International Relations program. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons. You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.