Explaining Ukraine

How can we look at Ukrainian history in new ways? How can we view it from a multi-national, international or global perspective? Is the “borderland” metaphor productive? How can we go beyond “imperial” or “national” approaches to history? What can Ukrainian history teach us about the present? What new approaches it can suggest to global history?

UkraineWorld’s chief editor Volodymyr Yermolenko talks with Katherine Younger, historian of Central and Eastern Europe, research director of the “Ukraine in the European Dialogue” programme at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna. Support us: patreon.com/ukraineworld

Russia has been increasing its military buildup all along the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian and international leaders and experts openly talk about a possibility of a full-scale invasion. Is Russia likely to attack, and are Ukraine and its Western partners prepared for it? UkraineWorld’s chief editor Volodymyr Yermolenko will analyze the situation with James Sherr, a well-known expert on Russia, Ukraine and international security. Mr Sherr is a senior fellow at the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the International Centre for Defence & Security in Tallinn, and an associate fellow at Russia and Eurasian Programme at Chatham House in London. Support us: patreon.com/ukraineworld

In our new episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast, we look at developments in and around Ukraine in November 2021. Last month, Ukraine witnessed an ever-increasing build-up of Russian troops along its border; President Zelensky found himself in the midst of a scandal following an allegedly failed special operation; Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarch, has become an enemy of the President following allegations over a failed special operation; the migration crisis at the EU-Belarus border has created imminent security threats for Ukraine.

This month’s episode of our Explaining Ukraine podcast focuses on major events and trends in October 2021. Ukraine accelerates vaccination amid stronger corona threats; the EU and Ukraine sign a deal on open skies and update their association agreement, opening up new possibilities for businesses and citizens; Russia weaponizes gas against both the EU and Ukraine, cuts coal supplies to Ukraine and threatens to leave it with an energy deficit in winter; Russian troops are reportedly massing on Ukraine’s border. Hosts of the podcast: UkraineWorld’s chief editor Volodymyr Yermolenko and analyst Maksym Panchenko.

In our new episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast, we look at developments in and around Ukraine in September 2021. Last month, the Verkhovna Rada passed an anti-oligarch bill; its chairman Dmytro Razumkov was ostracized by his own party; President Zelensky delivered an impassioned address to the UN; Ukraine was embroiled in a yet another diplomatic row with Hungary over its new gas contract with Moscow; and President Zelensky faced backlash and public scrutiny following revelations from the Pandora Papers.

In our new episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast, we look at developments in and around Ukraine in August 2021. Last month, the country celebrated the 30th anniversary of the restoration of its independence; the launch of the Crimean Platform gathered representatives from 46 countries and institutions for its inaugural summit in Kyiv; President Zelensky traveled to Washington for his long-awaited meeting with Joe Biden, and Angela Merkel traveled to Kyiv weeks before her retirement as Germany’s Chancellor.

Ukraine celebrated the 30th anniversary of the restoration of its independence last week. How is this independence perceived outside of Ukraine and, what is more importantly, inside Ukraine? Our guest on the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast is Peter Pomerantsev, a famous author and expert, as well as the director of the Arena think tank. Mr. Pomerantsev recently directed a research project called “Ukraine at 30: From Independence to Interdependence. What unites Ukrainians and what divides Ukrainians after 30 years of independence”

In our new episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast, we look at developments in and around Ukraine in July 2021. Ukraine’s longest-serving Minister of the Interior, Arsen Avakov, resigned from office; Putin published an article about the supposed “historic unity of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples”; the US and Germany struck a deal on Nord Stream-2 as the construction of the pipeline is being finalized; Ukraine is stepping up cooperation with China, but the political price may be worrisome. Hear about more events and trends in our monthly review.

UkraineWorld and the Kyiv Security Forum are holding a joint online event on recent major security and political challenges in Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus, other Eastern Partnership countries, and the Black Sea region.

In this episode of our “Explaining Ukraine” podcast, host Volodymyr Yermolenko talks with prominent Ukrainian public intellectual Yevhen Hlibovytskyi. We try to reflect on what makes Ukraine interesting to the world, what global processes and trends are being reflected in Ukraine, and how Ukraine's case can be essential to understand some other parts of the world as well.

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