The explanation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not only geopolitical, but also psychological. It is rooted in Russia’s culture of violence and political sado-masochism. We discuss this with Peter Pomerantsev, senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University and author of the best-selling books, This is Not Propaganda and Nothing is True and Everything is Possible. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Ukrainians are using Western-supplied high-tech weapons to destroy Russian ammunition stocks, thus undermining Russia’s whole artillery-dependent warfighting strategy. We focus on this key development in this week’s episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Chernihiv, a medieval city in Northern Ukraine, suffered heavily from Russian shelling and airstrikes in February and March. The city was without electricity and water for one month, and over 140 multi-storey buildings and over 2,000 private houses were damaged or destroyed. The number of dead could reach 1,000 people. If Chernihiv had fallen, the Russians were in position to take Kyiv next. We traveled to Chiernihiv, filmed the destruction, and talked to the local authorities and volunteers. – Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Russia made a missile strike on a trade mall in Kremenchuk, killing over 20 people; 36 went missing. This and others are cases of Russia’s increasing missile terrorism hitting civilian targets in Ukraine, which Kremlin propaganda tries in vain to deny. Unable to withstand Ukrainian strikes, Russia retreats from the Zmiinyi island in the Black Sea, but Russians continue their offensive in the whole Luhansk oblast in the East. The situation on the front is difficult as weapon disparity between Russia and Ukraine is still considerable. NATO summit in Madrid calls Russia “the most significant and direct threat” to Allies. – This and more in a new weekly digest of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

What are the key elements of contemporary Ukraine? How can we understand its past 30 years? We discuss decentralization, generational changes, people vs power, the fluidity of the language situation, and other topics. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

The team at the Explaining Ukraine podcast is traveling through the villages in towns around Kyiv which heavily suffered from the battles in March. We describe our impressions and share the stories told to us by people who lived through the war. Here is the story of Borodyanka, a town near Kyiv. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, Ukrainian scholar and journalist in charge of international outreach at the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld Video version: https://youtu.be/lurmbOJYOb4

In this episode of the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast, we ask whether Russian actions in Ukraine amount to genocide. Our guest is Christopher Atwood, a researcher at the Harriman Institute of Columbia University, and a contributor and advisor to a report on Russia's breaches of the genocide convention in Ukraine, recenently published by the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld.org. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld Link to the report: https://newlinesinstitute.org/an-independent-legal-analysis-of-the-russian-federations-breaches-of-the-genocide-convention-in-ukraine-and-the-duty-to-prevent/

In our new weekly digest we look back into the key lessons from the 4 months of Russia’s full-scale invasion. We analyze why Ukraine’s EU membership candidacy is important for Ukraine and the whole region. We also draw attention to Russia’s intensified missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and journalist, chief editor of UkraineWorld.org, and Tetyana Ogarkova, scholar and journalist, in charge of international outreach of Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld

Is Russian propaganda responsible for the current Russian atrocities against Ukraine? How has it tried to dehumanize its enemies, and has it succeeded? Chief editor of UkraineWorld.org Volodymyr Yermolenko talks to Vitalii Rybak, UkraineWorld’s chief analyst. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us at patreon.com/ukraineworld Our live coverage of Russian propaganda / disinformation narratives: https://ukraineworld.org/articles/infowatch/disinformation-warfare Watch our video explainers at youtube.com/c/UkraineWorld

In this episode we are asking what one can learn by looking at Ukraine from America. Our guest for this episode is Marci Shore, American historian and scholar, associate professor at Yale University where she teaches modern European intellectual history. She has written, among other works, The Taste of Ashes: The Afterlife of Totalitarianism in Eastern Europe, and The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld.org. UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine. Support us on patreon.com/ukraineworld