Ukraine 242 Podcast

Can North Korea's military involvement significantly alter the course of the Ukraine war? Join us on Ukraine 242 as Sarah Ashton Cirillo, an American journalist turned combat medic and sergeant in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, provides an unfiltered look into the complex alliances shaping this conflict. Our candid conversation uncovers the unsettling collaboration between Russia and North Korea, including the surge of North Korean troops and outdated yet deadly weaponry on the front lines. Sarah provides a firsthand perspective on the grim reality of "slave labor" involving North Korean workers in Russia and the formidable obstacles faced by North Korean soldiers contemplating defection. This episode offers a comprehensive examination of the broader international stakes and the resilience required to confront such formidable adversities.

Beyond the battlefield, we navigate the intricate geopolitical landscape impacting Ukraine, from President Zelensky's views on former President Trump to the implications of the Israel-Hamas conflict. With Sarah's insights, we explore the waning American attention on Ukraine amid other global crises and the vital importance of sustained U.S. support. As Sarah shares her personal journey, you’ll gain a unique understanding of the identity challenges faced by a trans soldier living under the shadow of an international wanted list. Discover how she finds solace in music and the companionship of her dog, Rexa, while reflecting on the courage and resolve of the Ukrainian people amidst prolonged conflict.

Journalists Alya Shandra and Bohdan Ben describe what happened on the ground during the Euromaidan Revolution of Dignity. Both participated in this historic grassroots peoples rebellion in 2014 that solidified Ukraine's pivot away from Russia towards Western Europe. Euromaidan with its preceding Orange Revolution is one of the most successful grassroots popular revolts in modern times. As a result. the then-president of Ukraine fled the country, leading to the formation of the government we know, today.

Last week, in the first half of our conversation, Alya Shandra and Bohdan Ben described the political situation and events leading up to Euromaidan. This week, they describe what happened once the mass movement became unstoppable. According to them, the revolution was sparked when violence was used against the Euromaidan protestors.

Alya and Bohdan frame the meaning of the Euromaidan revolution of dignity as the pivotal moment for Ukrainian society in two irreversible ways: the country completely turned away from Russia towards what they perceived as western democracy, and participatory citizenship became cemented in their culture, enabling Ukrainians to fight the current war.

The second part of an interview with Sarah Ashton Cirillo an American journalist who enlisted as a combat medic in the armed forces of Ukraine. She is an American trans woman and the only American female soldier at zero line, the front-most trenches.

This interview comes one year after Sarah first spoke with Ukraine 2 4 2. After being hospitalized from serious injury incurred on the frontline, she describes in deeply personal terms, her difficult transition away from combat areas on the front to serving the military in Kyiv as a soldier and an analyst. Sarah also describes, with remarkable candor, her spiritual experience during war and how it has affects her identity, offering an unusual window into the soldiers experience.

One year after an interview with Ukraine 2 4 2, the first of a two-part interview with Sarah Ashton Cirillo an American journalist who enlisted as a combat medic in the armed forces of Ukraine. She is an American trans woman. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she was the only transgender journalist and then the only American female soldier fighting at zero line, the front-most trenches.

Sarah was hit by a missile on the front. After surgery and extended hospitalization to heal, she was presented with the Armed Forces of Ukraine's commander in Chiefs Golden Cross badge of honor. She was assigned as media director of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and is currently in Kyiv, working as a soldier and an analyst.

Sarah talks about her new moniker of terrorist given to her by the Russian media, and her job as soldier and analyst, as well as her projections of developments in Ukraines fight, including weapons and Ukraines new military leadership.

Mark Lindquist is a United States Air Force and Afghan war veteran. Since March of 2022, Mark has lived in Ukraine, which he calls his second home. He is on a self-directed humanitarian mission to voluntarily deliver non-lethal aid directly to Ukrainian civilians. After two years of his aid work, he gives an update. He discusses the nature of how this on-going war has developed, what is needed by Ukrainians to fight effectively, food-aid, and reasons why the US and other Western countries may prefer to delay the resolution of this war. 

Poetry by: 
Marianna Kiyanovska
Karen Khiel
Nancy Eaton
Vidma

Read by Kate Wallace Rogers

Music:
Anthem by Leonard Cohen
Editing by Michael Hill-Levine
Editing by Ursula Rudenberg

Ukrainian/ English political scientist Dr. Taras Kuzio discusses ways that Russia is seeking to destroy Ukrainian national identity and replace it with militarization and glorification of the Soviet ethos.

He discusses new textbooks being used to influence children, kidnapping of children, persecution and murder of Ukrainian citizens who facilitate Ukrainian civil society, and the contrived hunt for Nazis in Ukraine. Kuzio also discusses Russias historical antisemitism and the resurgence of Jewish culture in Ukraine.

Dr. Taras Kuzio is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. He is Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society in London. He was the Winner of the 2022 Peterson Literary Prize for his book Russian Nationalism and the Russian-Ukrainian War: Autocracy-Orthodoxy-Nationality (Published by Routledge, 2022)

Ukrainian political scientist Dr. Taras Kuzio discusses the global ramifications of Russias President Putins meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un in far Eastern Russia, early in September. He describes the coalition that is solidifying to support Russias invasion of Ukraine, including China, Iran and Korea, united against the West and their perception of a US-dominated uni-polar world.

Kuzio also discusses how the war is transforming NATOs orientation, how it has affected Russia on the world stage, post-soviet oligarchic society, and what Russias defeat would mean for its allies and other regimes in the area. He draws a contrast between Russian hierarchical vertical society and Ukraines horizontal society where the military is integrated with citizens acting as volunteers and partisans.

Dr. Taras Kuzio is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. He is Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He was the Winner of the 2022 Peterson Literary Prize for his book Russian Nationalism and the Russian-Ukrainian War: Autocracy-Orthodoxy-Nationality (Published by Routledge, 2022)

At the beginning of September, Ukrainian Defense Minister was removed in response to allegations of corruption. Former American Ambassador Daniel Fried discusses this removal along with other internal leadership shake-ups, including the death of leaders of the Wagner military group in Russia as well as how Putin's future is tied to the outcome of his invasion of Ukraine and Russia's patterns of leadership succession.

Fried also discusses Ukrainian and Russian actions and positioning on the world stage, including Africa and Syria, and briefly describes American Presidents Bush and Trump's responses to Putin.

In his forty-year Foreign Service career, Ambassador Fried played a key role in designing and implementing American policy in Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union. He was a National Security advisor to Presidents Clinton and Bush, Ambassador to Poland, and Assistant Secretary of State for Europe. He helped craft the policy of NATO enlargement to Central European nations and, in parallel, NATO-Russia relations.
Ambassador Fried is one of the U.S. governments foremost experts on Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. He is currently a Weiser Family Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He is also on the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy and a Visiting Professor at Warsaw University.