Explaining Ukraine

What is currently happening on the frontlines of the Russo-Ukrainian war? Is Ukraine progressing with its counteroffensive, does it have a chance to win this war, and what does it need in order to do so? Are moving closer to better ensuring Ukraine’s security in the world? The guest of this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Fredrik Wesslau, a Swedish diplomat and analyst, who has been working for many years in Ukraine. Wesslau is now a Senior Advisor at Rasmussen Global, and a Distinguished Policy Fellow at The Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS). He has previously worked for the UN, EU, and OSCE in Kosovo, the South Caucasus, and Sudan/South Sudan, as well as on counter-piracy off the Horn of Africa. Until December 2022, he worked in Kyiv as Deputy Head of the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine. Fredrik has also served as Director of the Wider Europe Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld Support our volunteer trips to the frontline areas at paypal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Why is freedom the highest value? Are we really born free? Or is freedom instead a great task and mission for both society and the individual to achieve? Why is the negative idea of freedom (freedom from) not sufficient today, and why should we strive for positive freedom, the freedom to? What can the experiences of Ukraine and Eastern Europe tell us about other parts of the world with regard to this value of freedom? This episode is a recording of Timothy Snyder’s conversation with the Ukrainian cultural and intellectual community, organized by PEN Ukraine and UkraineWorld on September 6th, 2023. The conversation was moderated by Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, president of PEN Ukraine, and the chief editor of UkraineWorld. Timothy Snyder regularly travels to Ukraine. We had this conversation during his visit to Ukraine in early September 2023. He traveled to the southern regions affected by the war, and also stayed in Kyiv to finalize his new book about freedom. We dedicate this conversation to the memory of Ihor Kozlovskyi, a prominent Ukrainian intellectual, religious scholar and activist, who passed away on September 6th. Thinking in Dark Times is a podcast series by UkraineWorld. This series seeks to make Ukraine and the current war a focal point of our common reflection about the world’s present, past, and future. We try to see the light through and despite the current darkness. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. You can support our work at patreon.com/ukraineworld You can support our volunteer trips to the frontline areas at PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Russia continues to bomb Ukrainian ports, hitting Romanian territory in the process. In the meantime, Erdogan ends up unable to convince Putin to revive the Grain Deal. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, 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 our work at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Patrons get exclusive content. Support our volunteer trips to the frontlines at PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their gradual movement towards Tokmak in the country’s south. In the meantime, Ukraine expands the range of domestically produced weapons, both by own efforts and together with foreign defense companies who open factories in Ukraine. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, 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

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have reportedly broken through the first line of Russia’s defense in the south. Meanwhile, Ukraine further strengthened the F-16 coalition and organized the third Crimean platform summit to discuss the peninsula’s reintegration. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, 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

Ukraine’s armed forces continue its counteroffensive, advancing deeper into enemy lines in the south. In the meantime, Denmark and the Netherlands committed to delivering 61 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, 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

Russia continues targeting Ukraine’s peaceful cities as well as industrial and military infrastructure. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s counteroffensive is ongoing, with Kyiv attempting to conceptualize its partners’ support into bilateral security agreements. This is our weekly roundup of key events and trends in and around Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, is joined by Maksym Panchenko and Anastasiia Herasymchuk, 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

How can we think about imperialism and colonialism today? What can Ukrainians and Indians tell each other in this respect? How can we try to look for horizontal connections between formerly colonized nations? In this episode, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, and chief editor of UkraineWorld, speaks to Aman Sethi, an Indian journalist and writer, former editor-in-chief of HuffPost India. Aman Sethi is also the author of A Free Man. A True Story of Life and Death in Delhi. Thinking in Dark Times is a podcast series by UkraineWorld. This series seeks to make Ukraine and the current Russian war against Ukraine a focal point of our joint reflection on the world’s present, past, and future. We try to see the light through and despite the current darkness. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld

David Rieff is a famous intellectual and war correspondent. He is the author of many books, including Slaughterhouse: Bosnia and the Failure of the West; A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis; At the Point of a Gun: Democratic Dreams and Armed Intervention; The Reproach of Hunger: Food, Justice, and Money in the Twenty-First Century; In Praise of Forgetting: The Ironies of Historical Memory, and numerous others. He is also the editor of the journals and notebooks of his mother, Susan Sontag, published after her death. He is currently living between New York and Argentina, but regularly visits Ukraine. Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld, speaks to David Rieff about the role played by Ukraine and the Ukrainian struggle in the world today. Thinking in Dark Times is a podcast series by UkraineWorld. This series seeks to make Ukraine and the current Russian war against Ukraine a focal point of our joint reflection on the world’s present, past, and future. We try to see the light through and despite the current darkness. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support our work at patreon.com/ukraineworld

Yaryna Chornohuz is a Ukrainian poet who became a soldier to defend her homeland. She is a paramedic and a reconnaissance scout who went to the frontline before Russia’s full-scale invasion. Before her military experience, she was an activist organizing protests in support of the Ukrainian language and culture, and against capitulation to Russia. While on the frontline, she wrote two books of poetry, which had substantial resonance in Ukraine. Her profound poetry touches upon the topics of life and death, connection with those who are no longer alive, connection to the land, and Ukraine’s war experience today. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, and chief editor of UkraineWorld.org. Thinking in Dark Times is a podcast series by UkraineWorld. This series seeks to make Ukraine and the current Russian war against Ukraine a focal point of our joint reflection on the world’s present, past, and future. We try to see the light through and despite the current darkness. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the largest Ukrainian media NGOs. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld