Explaining Ukraine

SUPPORT: https://www.patreon.com/ukraineworld --- While Russian occupiers attempt to breach Ukrainian supply lines in Avdiyivka, Ukraine remains on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson oblast, rendering Russian forces unable to dislodge Ukrainian defenders. In addition to frontline developments, the previous week brought encouraging news regarding international support for Ukraine. France plans to increase artillery production of French-made Caesar self-propelled howitzers specifically for Ukraine while also ramping up the quantity of 155mm projectiles Ukraine requires. The Norwegian government has also allocated funds for artillery ammunition. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasiia Herasymchuk, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and Dariia Synhaievska, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Listen on various podcast platforms (Google, Apple, Spotify etc): li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine Support us at https://www.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.

Europe took a sleeping pill in 1989, and needs to wake up to face the challenge of Russian authoritarianism. Does it have the courage to do so? Pascal Bruckner, one of France’s most influential philosophers, came to Kyiv in December and participated in a public discussion at PEN Ukraine on December 7th. This episode is the recording of this conversation. This episode is part of our series "Thinking in Dark Times" 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. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons. FULL VERSION of this episode (with Q&A session) is available for our patrons https://www.patreon.com/posts/pascal-bruckner-96674503 You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com. Listen: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine --- Key topics: - How Russia has fallen into totalitarianism - Why the West represents something new in the history of civilization - The problem of the West is the loss of faith in itself - Europe and its colonialism: a critical analysis - Russian colonialism today - The problem of the West’s «tyranny of guilt» - «We have done horrible things but we also invented remedies to cure them» - On heroes and victims. Why today everybody wants to be a victim - Victim story and warrior story in Ukraine - Why the idea of fight is lacking in Europe - Why the consumer’s attitude to the Russian invasion is wrong - How overprotection decreases responsibility - Why did Europe take a strong sleeping pill in 1989 and needs to wake up

Over the past week, Russia has been attempting to establish a 15-kilometre "buffer zone" in Kharkiv oblast, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to launch a partial counter-offensive and recapture several positions occupied by the Russians near Kupyansk. Along with frontline developments, this episode focuses on the main achievements of the Security Agreement with the UK, delivered by “the representative of the oldest parliament to the most courageous parliament.” This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasiia Herasymchuk and Dariia Synhaievska, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. 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. Listen on various podcast platforms (Google, Apple, Spotify etc): li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

Why is the Soviet and the “Russian” story about Ukraine’s East misleading? Why is the concept of “Donbas” problematic? How are the eastern regions of Ukraine inscribed into the Ukrainian political and cultural history, as well as the history of Europe? The Explaining Ukraine podcast invites Kateryna Zarembo, a Ukrainian scholar and writer of the recent book Skhid Ukrainskoho Sontsia (The Rise of the Ukrainian Sun). The book tells the story of Ukraine’s east and was shortlisted for BBC Ukraine's Best Essays Book prize, as well as the Shevelyov Prize for the best essay book in Ukraine. 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. 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.

As the world celebrated the winter holidays, Russia launched its most intense missile attack on Ukrainian cities since the start of the full-scale invasion, killing and wounding hundreds. Now, similar attacks of this level are occurring on a regular basis. However, the last week was marked by a long-awaited event: Ukraine managed to bring home 230 prisoners of war from Russian captivity. It has been the first POW swap since August 2023 and one of the largest to date. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasiia Herasymchuk and Dariia Synhaievska, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. 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.

Over $330 billion of Russia’s central bank assets have been frozen abroad. These funds should be confiscated to fund Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as Ukraine’s recovery. The Explaining Ukraine podcast invited Olena Halushka, co-founder of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, and head of the international department at the Anti-Corruption Action Centre. An air raid siren in Kyiv interrupted our conversation but we continued and made this podcast despite it. 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. 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.

The past week was marked by the EU Council's decision to initiate accession negotiations with Ukraine, coinciding with Russia's buildup of forces near Mariinka and its ongoing terror against civilians. The US and Ukraine are fathoming a new strategy for future operations against Russia, slated for implementation in early 2024. The previous week saw Ukraine's persistent efforts to repatriate Ukrainian children abducted by Russian occupiers. Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language website about Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasia Herasymchuk and Daria Synhaievska, journalists and analysts at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events in and around Ukraine for the last week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support our work at patreon.com/ukraineworld. We provide exclusive content for our patrons. Support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

President Zelenskyy paid his first official visit to Latin America, attending the inauguration of Argentine President Javier Milei. In addition, he met with the leaders of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Ecuador. Meanwhile, Russia is ramping up its attacks along the entire frontline in eastern Ukraine, following the failure of the US Senate to pass a vote on Ukraine aid. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasiia Herasymchuk and Dariia Synhaievska, analysts and journalists at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. 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.

The previous week was marked by Ukraine's commitment to comprehensive security and defence sector principles while Russia is attempting to intimidate and spread chaos among the Ukrainian people. Meanwhile, Commander Syrskyi confirmed that the Russian occupiers, although uniting former Storm, Storm Z, and Storm V prisoners to assault Ukrainian positions, do not achieve success in the battle directions. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Anastasiia Herasymchuk and Dariia Synhaievska, analyst and journalist at UkraineWorld, to discuss key events and trends in and around Ukraine over the past week. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. 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.

What story can Ukraine tell people in Latin America? Why is it important to have a conversation beyond “geopolitics” and focus on human experiences, on suffering and compassion, and on courage and resistance? The guest of this episode is Sergio Jaramillo, former High Commissioner for Peace of Colombia and founder of the campaign of solidarity with Ukraine ¡Aguanta Ucrania!, which is mobilising Latin American writers, musicians, human rights defenders, politicians and other voices in support of Ukraine’s struggle against the Russian invasion. We had this conversation on June 25th, 2023, in Kyiv. The next day, Sergio traveled to the warzone in Eastern Ukraine, together with his Colombian colleagues: writer Hector Abbad, and journalist Catalina Gomez. They were accompanied by a Ukrainian writer, Victoria Amelina. On June 27th, as they were sitting at the Ria Lounge restaurant in Kramatorsk, 40 kilometers from the frontline, it was struck by a Russian missile. Victoria Amelina was severely injured and succumbed to her wounds a few days later in a hospital in Dnipro on July 1st. Since that tragedy, we didn’t know how to publish our conversation, or whether we should publish it all. Emotionally it was tough. It took us several months to come back to it, but we asked Sergio to meet again, this time online, to tell me what happened in Kramatorsk on that day. We attached this excerpt to our conversation. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org. Related episodes: Victoria Amelina. In Memoriam https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/victoria-amelina-memoriam On Empathy - with Catalina Gomez https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts/ep-269