Explaining Ukraine

Does Ukraine’s fight have global significance? What might happen to the world if Russia wins? Is the liberal international order dead, or do we still have a chance to revive it? What is happening in America? And how can we manage the changes brought about by economic, political, social, and technological revolutions?
You are listening to Thinking in Dark Times, a podcast series from Ukraine.

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Thinking in Dark Times is a podcast series in which we try to explore profound ideas and understand how they can help us find a way out of the current darkness. It is brought to you by UkraineWorld, an English language media about Ukraine.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Fareed Zakaria, a renowned Indian-born American journalist and political commentator, host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN, columnist for The Washington Post, and bestselling author.

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Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

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SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.

You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

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CONTENTS:
0:00 Intro. Support: patreon.com/ukraineworld
0:53 Who is Fareed Zakaria, the guest on this episode, and how can listeners support Ukraine World?
1:49 Does Ukraine's fight truly possess global significance, or is it seen as just one of many issues in the wider world?
2:28 How important is the Russian war against Ukraine as a test for preserving the post-World War II international order, particularly the norm against changing borders by force?
4:59 What would the world look like if Russia were to win, potentially leading to a return to a pre-1945 order, versus if Ukraine were to achieve victory?
8:58 Is the liberal international order facing a "re-imperialization" trend, and will the process of democratization ultimately prevail against rising authoritarianism?
10:37 What is Fareed Zakaria's perspective on predicting the future, and how much lasting damage could Donald Trump's "naked imperialism" inflict on American foreign policy?
15:51 Why do some Western intellectuals exhibit a "tyranny of self-guilt," and how does this impact the discourse surrounding Western civilization's contributions and flaws?
22:03 Is the international order dead, or is it being tested, and how do "great powers" like the United States and its allies respond to violations of international law?
29:25 Can the transatlantic alliance recover from growing US reluctance to be a "global hegemon," and what role should Europe play in its own defense?
33:52 Is Europe truly prepared for the necessary transformation into a security union, given the challenges of national sovereignty and economic interests within the EU?
38:23 What lessons from historical revolutions, like the French Revolution, can guide us in managing contemporary transformations, such as the technological revolution, to avoid radical backlashes?
43:51 What is the optimal approach to societal change: gradual evolution through economic and cultural shifts, or radical political imposition?
48:10 What gives Fareed Zakaria hope about the future, and how should we temper nostalgia for the past with an understanding of historical complexities and incremental progress?

Ukraine might be facing the most difficult winter in its recent history due to Russian strikes on vital civilian infrastructure. But the crisis is already unfolding since August: Ukraine is nearly defenseless against Russian ballistic missiles and is finding it increasingly difficult to shoot down jet-powered drones. The Russian army is trying to make Ukraine unlivable, yet Ukrainians continue to resist. On the frontline, Russia is losing nearly fifty thousand men killed or wounded per month, with its total losses reaching one and a half million. Meanwhile, Ukraine is slowly liberating occupied territories, reclaiming almost 1,000 square kilometers this year.
So, where is this war heading? We try to explain.
You’re listening to the Explaining Ukraine podcast.

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Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and the editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld.
Guest: Tetyana Ogarkova, a Ukrainian literature scholar and journalist, head of the international department at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, and author of the French-language podcast L'Ukraine face à la guerre.

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Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.
You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

***
CONTENTS:
0:00 Intro
0:28 What is the contrast between the front-line situation and the security in Ukraine's rear?
3:00 How has the security situation in Kyiv worsened, becoming the worst since 2022?
3:17 What new tactics, including drone attacks with different types of drones, did Russia deploy against Kyiv since August?
5:50 What specific successes have Ukrainian forces achieved on the front line, including the Veles and Vivaldi operations?
8:02 Are there ongoing counter-offensive successes in the southern regions, including the liberation of previously occupied villages?
11:47 How has Russia's "deportation by missiles" strategy become systematic, aiming to force civilians out and destabilize the economy?
13:35 What economic impacts are constant air alerts and blockades having on Ukrainian industries like steel production and grain exports?
19:44 Why is Ukraine expressing concern over US moves to pressure it, rather than increasing pressure on Russia, and what is the impact on aid and resources?
21:29 What issues arose with Starlink and StarShield services, and how did they affect Ukraine's defense against new, faster Russian drones?
28:08 Is Russia's war truly about Donbas, given its constitutional changes and broader historical ambitions for Ukrainian territory?
30:03 What are the current prospects and conditions for negotiations, and why are Ukrainians skeptical about a ceasefire without recognizing Russian occupation?
33:06 What propositions did Zelenskyy make regarding Ukraine stopping attacks on Russian oil refineries in exchange for US support against Russian attacks?

What are the roots of Ukrainian resistance? Why can we describe Ukrainian culture and statehood not as something that exists thanks to favorable circumstances, but as something that has survived and flourished despite oppression and countless obstacles? How does Ukraine’s struggle today fit into the broader global challenges facing democracies? And why is Ukrainian resistance crucial to the survival of democracy in Europe and around the world?

This is the Explaining Ukraine podcast.

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Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine.

***
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.
You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

***
CONTENTS:
0:00 - Intro
1:52 - How does the "culture of despite" translate into everyday practices during wartime?
6:01 - How do Ukrainians maintain culture and self-realization as vital for survival, even as millions of books are destroyed?
11:21 - Does contemporary philosophy truly engage with raw, unfiltered experience, or has it moved too far from it?
14:42 - How does a historian view the birth of powerful ideas and concepts from the depths of horrific circumstances? Marci Shore, a historian, reflects on the tradition of profound thinking emerging from prisons and ghettos, connecting it to the intensity of ideas lived in Ukraine.
20:09 - Why is understanding Ukraine's deep historical ties to the Greek world and the Black Sea crucial to perceiving its current struggle?
28:28 - How does Ukraine's dynamic sense of temporality, driven by a vision for the future, contrast with Russia's nihilistic erasure of both past and future?
35:05 - Has the "faith in progress" poisoned the West, leading to an inability to recognize recurring dangers like new forms of totalitarianism?
37:04 - What is the "moral abyss" facing the United States, and why should Europe be wary of relying on it? Marci Shore issues a stark warning about the moral nihilism she perceives in certain American political figures, urging Europeans to step up.
40:11 - How does Ukraine's "natality" and commitment to creating new democratic rules offer lessons for a disillusioned world? The discussion highlights Ukraine's focus on future-oriented creation and democratic reform as a beacon for global progress.
42:09 - Why is "angelization" of the Russian regime a dangerous fallacy, and what can be learned from Ukraine's asymmetric warfare tactics?
45:57 - In what ways should Europe learn from Ukraine's speed, adaptability, and clear vision for the future?
48:47 - Could Ukraine's post-war society, focused on inclusivity and human dignity, become the new avant-garde for a "sleepwalking" West? Shore envisions a future where Ukraine, having overcome "untime," leads the way in restoring fundamental human values.
51:19 - How can a "balance of fear" be restored in international relations, and why is Russia currently not afraid of the West?

What role does religion play in Ukraine? How pluralistic is the country’s religious landscape? Which Christian denominations are the most influential, and how does Christianity coexist with Islam and Judaism? Why is Ukrainian Orthodoxy divided, and what is the story behind the emergence of an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine? And how does Russia use its branch of Orthodoxy in Ukraine as an instrument of political influence and propaganda?

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Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Guest: Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun, a prominent Ukrainian theologian.

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Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine.
We thank the Ukrainian History Global Initiative for helping us to organize this conversation.

***
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.
You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

***
CONTENTS:
00:04 Introduction. Support UkraineWorld: https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
01:57 What are the fundamental characteristics of religion in Ukraine today?
04:12 How does Ukraine challenge the simplified view of Eastern Orthodoxy being aligned with Moscow?
07:44 Beyond Orthodoxy, how diverse is Ukraine's religious landscape, and what makes its interfaith relations unique?
09:29 How did Ukrainian Orthodoxy, originally tied to Constantinople, become dominated by the Russian Church, and what has been the recent movement for autocephaly?
15:08 What is the fundamental difference in church-state relations between Western Christianity and Russian Orthodoxy, and how did the Orthodox "symphony" play out in Russia?
19:04 How does Ukrainian Orthodoxy's emphasis on "synodality" (conciliarity) offer a unique and horizontal model compared to the centralized Russian model?
24:27 Why does Ukrainian Orthodoxy remain tragically divided into two main parts despite the establishment of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine?
27:38 What specific reasons prevent many members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate-aligned) from transitioning to the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine?
29:15 What are the ideal and realistic future scenarios for unity within Ukrainian Orthodoxy?
31:59 How does Russian propaganda weaponize the presence of the Greek Catholic Church, and what is the ironic outcome of Russia's "protection" of Orthodoxy in Ukraine?
35:52 How should misleading claims of “religious persecution” in Ukraine, particularly regarding the Russian Church, be understood in the context of propaganda and national security?

Why does Taras Shevchenko remain the central figure of Ukrainian culture? Why is a poet who lived in the 19th century still perceived in Ukraine almost as a contemporary?

How does Shevchenko’s understanding of time and history differ from our present-day perspective, so focused on the immediate moment and often lacking the depth of historical memory? And how did he articulate powerful anticolonial ideas as early as the 19th century — particularly through his empathy and solidarity with other oppressed peoples?

This is the Explaining Ukraine podcast.

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Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Rory Finnin, the Notre Dame Collegiate Mission Chair in Ukrainian Studies and Global Affairs and director of the Ukrainian Studies Hub at the University of Notre Dame. He is a scholar of Ukrainian culture, literature, and identity, and the author of the award-winning book Blood of Others: Stalin’s Crimean Atrocity and the Poetics of Solidarity.

***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine brought to you by Internews Ukraine.
We thank the Ukrainian History Global Initiative for helping us to organize this conversation.

***
Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.

You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

***
CONTENTS:

00:00 Why does Taras Shevchenko remain a central and contemporary figure in Ukrainian culture, articulating anti-colonial ideas from the 19th century?
01:55 Why is Shevchenko a contemporary figure, rather than just a historical classic?
03:02 How does the West's tendency to mirror Russia psychologically, but not rhetorically, hinder its understanding of the war?
06:15 How does Shevchenko's understanding of "imperialist time" contrast with the West's short-term perspective, as seen in Russia's 19th-century conquest of Circassia?
09:49 How does Shevchenko's empathy for oppressed peoples like the Circassians differ from the imperialist narratives found in Russian literature?
12:40 What makes Shevchenko's poetry so contemporary, and how does his use of "anti-repoussoir" allow readers to connect personally with the struggles of conquered peoples, even his own friend who died fighting them?
17:57 How does Shevchenko's view of history as an "eternal return" and a series of constant tests, like those faced by early Christians or Jan Hus, make his work timeless?
20:25 How is Shevchenko's biblical worldview centered on profound empathy for the vulnerable, even applying this lens to Christ himself?
22:42 What tragic event in 1978, involving Oleksa Hirnyk's self-immolation on Shevchenko's grave, underscores the poet's enduring anti-colonial message?
25:40 Why does the West continue to misunderstand Russia, despite ample historical literature, by focusing on a "soothing" alternative rather than its vast, multi-ethnic, and often oppressive reality?
30:12 How does Shevchenko's poem "Haydamaky" navigate the complex issue of violence, seemingly romanticizing it while simultaneously depicting its descent into madness?
31:19 Does "Haydamaky" romanticize violence, or does Shevchenko's original perspective condemn the internal infection of violence within Ukrainian society?
37:31 What is Shevchenko's dual legacy of creating a national myth while also offering a critical perspective on Ukrainian history and the importance of family bonds?
38:41 Closing remarks and support information for the "Explaining Ukraine" podcast.