Yaroslav Trofimov discusses Ukraine's history, identity, and war of independence. Topics include Putin's miscalculations, Ukrainian resistance, Zelensky's role, international support, Mariupol siege, Russian aggression, and the future of the conflict.
01:13:28
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Ukraine's Existence
Russia's historical narrative denies Ukraine's existence, viewing it as an inseparable part of Russia.
This denial undermines Russia's origin story, which traces back to Kievan Rus, a state predating Moscow.
insights INSIGHT
Historical Divergence
The Golden Horde's retreat from Ukraine and Belarus led to Moscow's rise as a tax collector for the Mongols.
Moscow inherited much of its state structure from the Tatar-Mongol state, while Ukraine developed under different legal systems.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Ukrainian Soviet Leaders
Two Soviet leaders, Brezhnev and Khrushchev, had Ukrainian roots, highlighting Ukraine's complex relationship with Russia.
Brezhnev was born in Ukraine, while Khrushchev's Ukrainian heritage is debatable.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Jim talks with Yaroslav Trofimov about his new book Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence. They discuss the reporting that went into the book, Yaroslav's connection to Ukraine, a brief history of Ukraine, the Golden Horde's conquering of modern-day Ukraine, Russia's inheritance of the Tatar-Mongol state, Ukraine's brief period of independence at the end of WWI, the complexity of Ukrainian identity, the Orange Revolution, the Maidan Revolution & its outcome, a period of low-intensity conflict, what caused full-scale war to break out, how Putin drank his own kool-aid, his expectation that there would be little resistance, the widespread underestimation of Ukraine, Russia's initial thrusts, the pivotal battle at Hostomel Airfields, the Bucha massacre, the negotiations in Istanbul, the siege at Mariupol, what made the Ukrainians so tough, the role of Zelensky in inspiring the resistance & rallying international support, the Russian drought, the counter-offensives of August-September 2022, the Republican party's stalling of aid to Ukraine, the arguments for supporting aid, Yaroslav's prognosis, possible endgames, the likelihood of a frozen conflict, and much more.
Episode Transcript
Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence, by Yaroslav Trofimov
No Country for Love, by Yaroslav Trofimov
Yaroslav Trofimov is the author of three books of narrative non-fiction and one novel. He has worked around the world as a foreign correspondent of The Wall Street Journal since 1999, and has served as the newspaper’s chief foreign-affairs correspondent since 2018. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting in 2023, for his work on Ukraine, and in 2022, for his work on Afghanistan. His honors include an Overseas Press Club award for coverage of India as well as the Washington Institute gold medal for the best book on the Middle East. His latest non-fiction book, Our Enemies Will Vanish, was a finalist of the 2024 Orwell Prize.
The Jim Rutt Show 