Everyone was shocked by the full scale war in Ukraine, but for some it was no surprise. For this episode we invited MEPs Markéta Gregorová and Mārtiņš Staķis to talk about their special relationship with Ukraine and its people.

Markéta and Mārtiņš had a frank discussion about Europe's strengths and weaknesses in this war, the typical cynical humour of Ukrainians people and the miscalculations by Putin when attacking the country. 

As the war drags on we are also looking forward: What gives moments of hope when we are looking for solutions? And how does this link with Green policies? (spoiler: energy independence)

Note: We recorded this podcast before the current dynamic of peace negotiations - nevertheless the conversation is still very relevant. 

In this episode

0:00 Welcome

0:32 A personal relationship with Ukraine

6:34 We saw it coming - anticipating the attack from Russia

12:47 Visiting Ukraine, a united and resilient nation 

16:12 Europe's will to fight

20:38 Adapting to a political reality

23:26 A message from Olena

29:40 Lightning round

31:46 Myth busting

35:25 Moments of hope

About our guests

• Markéta Gregorová is Member of the European Parliament for the Czech Pirate Party in the Greens/EFA Group. She is Vice-Chair of the Euronest Delegation, an exchange forum with parliamentarians from Ukraine, Moldova and other countries in the region.
• Mārtiņš Staķis is Member of the European Parliament for the Latvian Progresīvie Party in the Greens/EFA Group. He is a member of the committees on Security and Defence and on Regional Development. He was the mayor of Riga from 2020 until 2023.