Explaining Ukraine

In the new episode of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast looking at developments in and around Ukraine in April 2021: the buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border; the risk of a full-fledged Russian invasion; the illusion of the withdrawal of Russian troops; diplomatic battles in Central and Eastern Europe after proof of Russian state terrorism. We also talk about Ukraine’s domestic agenda, in particular rollback of state enterprise reform and the dismissal of Andriy Kobolev,head of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s gas and oil giant.

Does Ukraine have soft power? If yes, how strong is it? How can Ukraine increase its attractiveness to the world? UkraineWorld talks to Steven Thomson, Insight Director of Brand Finance, and co-author of the report Global Soft Power Index 2021.

During March and April, Russia accumulated at least 90 thousand troops on Ukraine’s border, masking it as a “military exercise”. Ukraine and its international partners, however, saw it as a threat of full-fledged military aggression. Despite Russia’s announcement that it is ending its “exercises”, the risk of military escalation remains high. - What is happening, and what can we expect? UkraineWorld speaks toto Maria Zolkina, a Senior Fellow at the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation in Kyiv and a Ukrainian analyst of the developments around the war in Eastern Ukraine and the peace process.

We have released our March 2021 episode of “Explaining Ukraine,” our monthly podcast in which we talk about major events and trends in Ukraine. We focus on the anniversary of the occupation of Crimea, the escalation of the war in the Donbas, the record escalation of the pandemic, the creation of anti-disinformation bodies, protests against Zelensky and law enforcement, and the struggle over cultural institutions. UkraineWorld’s editor in chief Volodymyr Yermolenko talks with UkraineWorld analyst Maksym Panchenko.

What is unique about Ukraine’s democracy? How is it different from that of other countries in Central and Eastern Europe and from the democracies of Western Europe? Can we compare Ukraine’s pluralistic political culture with that of the United States? UkraineWorld’s chief editor Volodymyr Yermolenko talks with Emily Channell-Justice, Director at the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.

In this month’s episode of our Explaining Ukraine podcast, we look at major events in Ukraine in February 2021. We examine why Medvedchuk and his allies were put under sanctions by the government; what the situation is around COVID vaccination; why Ukraine hopes to review its Association Agreement with the EU; why Ukraine failed to get a deal with IMF and how to understand the Sternenko protests. UkraineWorld’s chief editor Volodymyr Yermolenko talks with UkraineWorld journalist and analyst Maksym Panchenko.

UkraineWorld is starting a regular monthly podcast taking snapshots of key developments in the country over the previous month. Here we look at early 2021: January and a bit of February. UkraineWorld chief editor Volodymyr Yermolenko is joined by UW analyst and journalist Maksym Panchenko to talk about how Ukraine is struggling to get access to COVID vaccines, how it is developing relations with the EU and why it sanctioned Kremlin-linked TV channels.

What’s happening in the Eastern Partnership countries - Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus - and with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? What will be the consequences of Maia Sandu’s victory in Moldova’s presidential election over pro-Russian Igor Dodon? UkraineWorld talks with Nicu Popescu, a prominent Moldovan expert, the director of the Wider Europe Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in the cabinet of Prime Minister Maia Sandu in 2019.

President Zelensky's party "Servant of the People" failed to curb the power of local mayors in Ukrainian local elections on October 25th. Why did this happen, what is new in Ukrainian politics, and what are the pros and cons of the Ukrainian decentralization process? We focus on these issues in our next UkraineWorld podcast with Maksym Yakovlev, The Chair of International Relations and Director of the School for Policy Analysis at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

Following last week's EU-Ukraine summit, UkraineWorld discusses what is happening in Ukraine's EU integration under the presidency of Volodymyr Zelensky. Are reforms going forward or they are being stalled? What is the future of the EU-Ukraine visa-free regime, and are low-cost air travel links here to stay? Listen to the conversation with UkraineWorld analysts Volodymyr Yermolenko and Maksym Panchenko.