Since Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, Russia has drastically escalated its missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities. In January 2026, launches exceeded 6,000—a sharp increase from approximately 2,000 in January 2025. The use of guided aerial bombs (KABs) also reached a record high of almost 6,000 per month. With the Trump administration significantly cutting military aid to Kyiv, Ukraine now finds itself in an increasingly vulnerable position.

What are the underlying causes of this policy shift, and what does it reveal about Trump’s vision for global order and human rights?

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Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet covering Ukraine.

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

Guest: Christopher Atwood, an American human rights and communications expert and Head of Ukraїner International—the international branch of the popular Ukrainian media platform, Ukraїner.

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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: [email protected].

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CONTENTS:

00:00 Intro

06:00 Why is it important to be in Ukraine?

10:08 Analysis of the US political shift: Biden VS Trump

13:58 Trump and violence

15:00 "Empathy Recession": How cruelty has become a cultural zeitgeist

21:10 The role of the media establishment

27:11 Trump`s perspectives on Ukraine: Is he a mediator or closer to Putin’s vision?

30:43 The threat to Europe

35:27 Trump’s economics

40:01 Public vs. Political support: Why most Americans still favor Ukraine

44:04 Building a coalition of the willing