Ukraine and Poland are now going through one of the worst periods of their recent mutual relations. Historical memory clashes have reared their heads again, and controversy about Ukrainian grain exports to and through Poland shows signs of a serious trade dispute. What happened to the seemingly rock-solid relations from a year ago, when Russia started its cruel invasion against Ukraine, and Poland stepped up as one of the leading countries in helping Ukrainian refugees and supporting  Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion?

Our guest on this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Wojciech Przybylski, a Polish political analyst and author. Przybylski is Editor-in-Chief of Visegrad Insight and President of the Res Publica Foundation. 

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and chief editor of UkraineWorld.org

UkraineWorld is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of the most reputable Ukrainian media NGOs.

Support UkraineWorld at patreon.com/ukraineworld. Patrons get exclusive content. 

Support our volunteer trips to the frontline areas at PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

What’s wrong with Ukrainian-Polish relations? - with Wojciech Przybylski

In September 2025, in Kyiv, a prominent American historian Timothy Snyder received the Vasyl Stus Prize — a Ukrainian award honoring the name of Vasyl Stus, one of Ukraine’s greatest poets and dissidents of the 20th century, killed by the Soviet regime in 1985. Founded in 1989 by Yevhen Sverstiuk, another prominent Ukrainian dissident, the prize is now awarded by PEN Ukraine, the publishing house Dukh i Litera, and the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School.
Before the award ceremony, we held a public conversation with Snyder on the good and bad ways of thinking about history. Since interpretations of history often lie at the heart of both the good and the evil that people do, this question remains vitally important.

***
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Thinking in Dark Times seeks to find the light through — and despite — today’s darkness. 

***
UkraineWorld is an English-language media about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine
Listen to our podcasts:
Explaining Ukraine: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
Thinking in Dark Times: https://li.sten.to/thinkinggg

***
Special thanks to the Ukrainian History Global Initiative, PEN Ukraine, and the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School for helping organize this event.
This episode was made possible with the support of Politeia, a Ukrainian NGO dedicated to preparing a new generation of change-makers in Ukraine.

***
You can also listen to several other conversations with Timothy Snyder from previous years:

On freedom: Timothy Snyder in Kyiv
https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-344

Timothy Snyder in Kharkiv: A conversation about freedom
https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-340

Freedom as a value and a task
https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-258

Ukraine, the war, and the plurality of values
https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-144 

***
SUPPORT: 
You can support UkraineWorld on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
We rely on crowdfunding to continue our work. 
You can also support our regular trips to the frontlines, where we provide support to both soldiers (cars) and civilians (books): PayPal, ukraine.resisting@gmail.com 

***
CONTENTS:

00:00:00 Timothy Snyder, world-known historian
00:03:04 What are the good and bad ways to use history to understand who we are?
00:08:53 How does a 'single line' view of the past, like Putin's or Trump's, take away our freedom?
00:25:18 Why recognizing the 'difference' of people in the past is a liberating act for us in the present?
00:49:55 Is the world truly living in a 'post-history' era where conflict and tragedy are safely in the past?
00:56:22 Does seeing a pattern in history mean the war is repeating, or is it a moment of new responsibility?
01:03:35 Was the US response in March 2022 a failure because American leaders were stuck in 'memory' instead of 'history'?
01:13:52 How does the power of data-driven tools force us to be careful about the human questions we ask?
01:24:21 Was the printing press as disruptive to society as social media is today?


Timothy Snyder on why history matters — and how we get it wrong

Where do Ukrainians get their news? What are the key trends in Ukraine’s media sector during the war? Do citizens trust information coming from the government? And why is Ukrainian society so dependent on Telegram, a Russian social network?

In this episode, we discuss a report, “Ukrainian media. News Consumption and Trust in 2025”—a new study conducted by Internews Ukraine with support from its partners.

Read the report: https://internews.ua/en/opportunity/media_trust_consumption_2025_release

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

Guest: Kostiantyn Kvurt, a Ukrainian media expert and chair of the board of Internews Ukraine, one of the country’s largest media NGOs.

***
Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine.

Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine 

This episode podcast is created by Internews Ukraine as part of the project “Strengthening Truth, Transparency and Democracy to Counter Disinformation”, supported by the Government of Canada.

***
SUPPORT: 

You can support UkraineWorld 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 – Introduction and Context of the Research
03:42 – Main Trends in Ukrainian Media Consumption 
06:00 – Trends of Different Media Platforms 
14:06 – Government Communication and Electoral Logic
17:45 – Media Literacy and the Disinformation Gap
25:49 – Changing Perceptions of War Coverage in Ukrainian Media
36:16 – Russian Information Influence 


Where Ukrainians get their news in war - with Kostiantyn Kvurt

In this episode, we discuss how Russia destroys Ukrainian families, kidnaps Ukrainian children — including those who have parents — and reprograms them, changing their identity, their way of thinking, their lifestyle, their homes. 

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

Guest: Kateryna Rashevska, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer, expert at the Regional Centre for Human Rights, and a tireless fighter for the liberation of Ukrainian children. 

***
Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine.

Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine 

***
The podcast episode is produced by UkraineWorld with the support of the Askold and Dir Fund as a part of the Strong Civil Society of Ukraine - a Driver towards Reforms and Democracy project, implemented by ISAR Ednannia, funded by Norway and Sweden. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of UkraineWorld and can in no way be taken to reflect the views the Government of Norway, the Government of Sweden and ISAR

***
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 Kateryna Rashevska, a lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights
02:00 How many Ukrainian children were deported to Russia? 
03:37 Why does Russia use words like "rescue" or "salvation" instead of "deportation"?
04:48 Ignoring the law: Why Russia refuses to return Ukrainian children 
07:54 Militarizing Ukrainian children and the role of "UNARMIA" (Young Army) 
08:25 Russia's plan to destroy the Ukrainian nation
10:36 Russia re-education: Children were taken to “camps” in Crimea and separated from their parents
15:33 The horror for parents: Losing contact and facing deprivation of parental rights as coercion
20:45 Will Putin or Lvova-Belova ever face justice?
25:33 Analysis of Melania Trump's letter to Putin
30:26 The humanitarian obligations Russia has failed to meet
35:05 Kateryna talks about her work: Submitting evidence to the ICC, proposing sanctions, and providing legal assistance 




Ukrainian children, kidnapped and reprogrammed by Russia - with Kateryna Rashevska

In this episode, we will talk about “Ukraïner”: a great initiative that has done a great deal to help rediscover Ukraine — both from within and from abroad. 

“Ukraïner” launched expeditions to villages and towns across the country, researched the lifestyles and cultures of Ukraine’s diverse communities, and created outstanding textual and visual projects that help us better understand our own land. It has also done much to tell the Ukrainian story to the world.

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

Guest: Julia Tymoshenko, head of Ukraïner.
Ukraïner website: https://www.ukrainer.net/en/ 

***
Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine.

***
The podcast episode is produced by UkraineWorld with the support of the Askold and Dir Fund as a part of the Strong Civil Society of Ukraine - a Driver towards Reforms and Democracy project, implemented by ISAR Ednannia, funded by Norway and Sweden. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of UkraineWorld and can in no way be taken to reflect the views the Government of Norway, the Government of Sweden and ISAR

***
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 - Intro
01:43 - The phenomenon of the Ukraїner project
15:13 - How did the full-scale invasion reshape the project
22:13 - Challenges of spreading Ukraine’s voice abroad
27:57 - Seeking stories that resonate with foreign audiences
33:48 - Shoving Ukrainians the world's perspectives
42:53 - Communication strategy of building a mutual understanding
48:51 - Outro
49:22 - Support us



How to rediscover Ukraine: the story of Ukraïner - with Julia Tymoshenko

Ukraine is not a burden for Europe — it’s a chance for Europe.

Today, European security is unthinkable without Ukraine. Ukraine has the strongest army in Europe, a dynamic defense industry, and citizens with vast military experience.

The real question is: to what extent does Europe itself understand the threat posed by the new authoritarianisms? And to what extent does it realise that helping Ukraine is, in fact, a matter of its own survival?

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

Guest: Yevhen Hlibovytskyi, a prominent Ukrainian intellectual and director of the Frontier Institute. 
Frontier Institute: https://frontier.pro-mova.com/en

***
Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine run 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:
00:00 Yevhen Hlibovytskyi, Ukrainian intellectual and director of the Frontier Institute.
02:04 Has the dynamic shifted, making Ukraine a supplier of security to Europe rather than just a recipient?
07:49 Is the acute 'need' driven by war a stronger motivator for entrepreneurship and creativity than peacetime opportunity?
10:25 Why is the historical understanding of the Russian threat still proving ambivalent in some Central and Southern European countries?
15:01 Should the European Union transform into a geopolitical union by adding a military security component to its integration?
22:36 Is the Ukrainian governance model inherently more resilient because of civil society?
27:59 Why is Europe failing to find the necessary political will to take decisive action on Russian assets, sanctions, and information warfare?
30:31 Is the perception of Ukraine as a 'burden' outdated?
35:03 What about NATO?
43:48 What long-term economic and demographic impacts will follow if the current threat isn't addressed?


Why Europe’s security depends on Ukraine - with Yevhen Hlibovytskyi

How is the life of a soldier different from that of a civilian? Which aspects of it are hardest for civilians to understand?
What is happening on the frontline today — and how will the outcome of this war depend on the technological race?

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

Guest: Vladyslav Urubkov, a former soldier of the Ukrainian army and now a manager for military affairs at Come Back Alive (Povernys zhyvym) — one of Ukraine’s most prominent charitable foundations, supporting the military and veterans since 2014.
Come back alive: https://savelife.in.ua/

***
Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine run 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.


Being a Ukrainian soldier - what is it like? - with Vladyslav Urubkov

She is not only a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She is not only one of the most visible human-rights defenders in Europe in recent decades. She is not only a tireless activist with profound empathy for others. She is also a thinker — someone who reflects deeply on the moral foundations of freedom and dignity. 

Our guest today is Oleksandra Matviychuk, a prominent Ukrainian human-rights defender and head of the Center for Civil Liberties, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

In this episode, we discuss the moral ideas that hold Ukrainian society together.

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

Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media platform about Ukraine, run 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:
00:00 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk: On Freedom, Dignity, and War
02:24 "Not Nobel Peace Prize changed my life - the large-scale war has changed my life" 
08:32 Torture, rape, enforced disappearances, filtration camps — the reality of Russian occupation
11:55 Why are Ukrainians not "ideal victims"?
15:57 The horror of Russian captivity: Ihor Kozlovskyi`s experience
19:44 Why is freedom existential for Ukrainians?
24:16 Ukrainian strength lies in the people's belief that their efforts matter
31:38 Over 170,000 registered Russian war crimes in Ukraine
32:18 Why is justice important now, not after the end of the war?
35:41 Why is the Russian war against Ukraine genocidal?
43:50 What gives Oleksandra Matviichuk hope today?

***
The podcast episode is produced by UkraineWorld with the support of the Askold and Dir Fund as a part of the Strong Civil Society of Ukraine - a Driver towards Reforms and Democracy project, implemented by ISAR Ednannia, funded by Norway and Sweden. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of UkraineWorld and can in no way be taken to reflect the views the Government of Norway, the Government of Sweden and ISAR


Nobel Laureate Oleksandra Matviychuk on Ukraine’s Moral Core

Russian propaganda claims that Ukraine is not a separate nation, but merely a “preliminary form” of Russia. Today’s Kremlin ideology seeks to annex Ukrainian history in order to justify its territorial aggression. But this myth has a birth certificate. It emerged in the 19th century, when the Russian Empire started inventing its “ancient” medieval roots. Before that, Russian travellers in Ukrainian lands showed little interest in such historical questions. 

In this episode, we trace the genealogy of the myth that Kyiv is a “Russian city” and that its history somehow belongs to Muscovy.

***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media platform about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine.

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

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

***
Guest: Kateryna Dysa, a Ukrainian historian and Associate Professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She has been a visiting fellow at Harvard, Stanford, Paris, and Oxford, and a visiting professor at the University of Basel. Currently, she is researching how the image of Kyiv was constructed in travel literature from the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries.

***
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	Kateryna Dysa, a Ukrainian historian and associate professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
00:15	Where and when did the myth of Kyiv belonging to Moscow actually begin?
02:05	How did 18th-century Russian travelers initially view Kyiv, and why was their interest superficial?
04:05	How did the rise of history as a discipline change Russia's perception of Kyiv?
12:17	Why did the French philosopher Madame de Staël describe Kyiv as a "semi-Tatar" or nomadic place?
15:17	What were the two extreme ways Westerners described Kyiv?
21:04	When did the annexation of the past become an "aggressive policy" and a part of Russian imperial ideology?
35:03	Why were Russian travelers unwilling to communicate with locals, stressing that Ukrainians were "the other"?
38:07	Why did Russian travelers consistently feel "not at home" in a place the Empire claimed as its "cradle"?
39:16	What aspects of Kyiv's social and cultural history in the 19th century still remain "understudied"?


***
This episode is made in partnership with Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and under the framework of the project “HER-UKR: Challenges and opportunities for EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine”, co-funded by the EU within the ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Policy Debate action.


How Russia built its myth of Kyiv - with Kateryna Dysa

Ukrainian cultural heritage is not something that quietly settles into national archives. In reality, it is the result of a dramatic struggle against destruction and oblivion. This makes this heritage so magnetic—precisely because it is not always visible or accessible, yet can be reconstructed like a lost mosaic.

In this episode, we talk about what the Ukrainian cultural heritage is, and how we can understand it. And also about the role of cultural institutions during Russia’s genocidal war against Ukraine. 

***
Guest: Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, a prominent Ukrainian public intellectual and art manager, director of the Art Arsenal (Mystetskyi Arsenal), one of Ukraine’s major cultural institutions. Olesia regularly appears on lists of the most influential figures in the Ukrainian cultural sphere compiled by various media and rankings.

Host: Tetyana Ogarkova, a Ukrainian literary scholar at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the head of the international department at Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. She also runs the French-language podcast L’Ukraine face à la guerre.

***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media platform about Ukraine, run 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.

***
This episode is made in partnership with Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and under the framework of the project “HER-UKR: Challenges and opportunities for EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine”, co-funded by the EU within the ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Policy Debate action.


Ukrainian culture: how to reassemble a broken picture - with Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta

What makes the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church so unique? Why is it such a remarkable attempt to bridge the divide between Eastern and Western Christianity? How can its history help us better understand the history of Europe and of the Christian religion? How has it shaped Ukrainian national identity? And how did it survive the Soviet era, when the authorities sought to eradicate it?

***
Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media platform about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine.

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

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

Guest: Natalia Shlikhta, a well-known Ukrainian historian and professor at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.


***
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.

***
This episode is made in partnership with Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and under the framework of the project “HER-UKR: Challenges and opportunities for EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine”, co-funded by the EU within the ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Policy Debate action.


Why the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is unique - with Natalia Shlikhta

A podcast by UkraineWorld.org, a multimedia project about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine. Explaining Ukraine, its politics, society and its culture. Support us: patreon.com/ukraineworld

What’s wrong with Ukrainian-Polish relations? - with Wojciech Przybylski

UkraineWorld

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