Ukraine Without Hype

In this episode -

1:30 - Russian forces take control of the ruins of Bakhmut

11:15 - A questionable group of Russian volunteer soldiers fighting for Ukraine launch a raid into Belgorod Oblast of Russia and take a strangely long amount of time to be driven off.

37:30 - With the Russian success in Bakhmut, the war enters a new phase. What are the opportunities and concerns for how that new phase will shape out?

47:30 - Looking to the sky, Kyiv thwarts a massive missile barrage with the help of the Patriot missile defense system, and it looks like F-16s are on their way to the Ukrainian Air Force

52:10 - The Arab League, G7, and Chinese-Central Asia Summits all show opportunities for Ukraine and how far Russian soft power has fallen

1:06:30 - The (now former) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court gets caught in a bribery scandal

Twitter

Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

In this episode -

1:45 - An overview of the evolving situation in the war. Ukraine has made a series of localized micro-offensives throughout the front line resulting in numerous small victories against the Russian occupiers. Most importantly, in the area around Bakhmut, where they have retaken ground to the north and south of the city. This also enflames the struggle between the Wagner Group and the regular Russian army.

26:15 - Ukraine's acquisition of Patriot and Storm Shadow missile systems is changing the calculus in the war of long-range missiles.

40:25 - A eulogy for the left-wing internationalist volunteers Finbar Cafferkey, Cooper Andrews, and Dmitry Petrov, and the journalist Arman Soldin.

52:40 - The Red Square Victory Day Parade was a flop.

1:03:00 - Amnesty International was caught covering up an internal review showing the failings of the Ukraine reportage.

1:06:50 - Eurovision

Twitter

Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

Ukraine without Hype is joined by Armenian political scientist Karena Avedissian. Karena specializes in governance, access to justice, social movements, and new media/communications in Eurasia. We asked her about the background of the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, recent developments of Baku tightening their grip on the region and Yerevan looking like they may give in, and the role of civil society in either country.

Twitter
Karena: @KarenaAv

Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

In this Episode...

1:00 - Combat Update: Ukraine pushed back to the last few neighborhoods in Bakhmut, while a raid in Kherson Oblast gains attention as paving the way for the coming offensive.

12:05 - Putin visits occupied Kherson Oblast...maybe

17:05 - Wagner fighters blow the whistle, having been given extermination orders against Ukrainians

(https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/18/wagner-mercenary-admits-tossing-grenades-at-injured-ukrainian-pows)

25:12 - Ukraine's EU neighbors block Ukrainian agricultural imports in order to protect domestic markets, the EU is trying to negotiate a resolution.

International News

39:50 - Washington Post reports on deep Russian influence campaigns in Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany Party and left-wing Die Linke Party.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/21/germany-russia-interference-afd-wagenknecht/

47:35 - Azerbaijan closes down Nagorno Karabakh, and the next conflict looms closer.

57:35 - Civil War in Sudan is another conflict where the Wagner Group is showing its influence.

For Sudan: @YousraElbagir For Armenia: @KarenaAv

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

In this Episode...

01:10 - War Updates: The Russians advance through the city center of Bakhmut, but it seems pretty certain that the city will not be surrounded. No Russian progress around Avdiivka, and most other advances have ground down.

10:07 - The Wagner Group circulates a video of themselves beheading a live Ukrainian prisoner. We go into some of the sociology behind why they would go to such depths.

20:52 - The Russian Orthodox Church faces an increasingly frequent series of localized crises in the aftermath of their official expulsion from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

27:22 - In the main focus of the episode, a weirdo internet Nazi working for the Air National Guard leaks a trove of top-secret military documents in order to impress his friends on a gaming chatroom.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

In this News Digest...

00:50 - War Updates: The focus of the war is on Bakhmut and Avdiivka, two cities that have been largely destroyed and are threatened by attempted Russian encirclements. Russia knocks a US surveillance drone out of international skies, while Slovakia supplies Ukraine with fighter jets. Putin threatens to move tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus.

15:00 - International Relations: While Putin accepts his role as an inferior partner at a summit with China, Japanese PM Kishida makes a visit to Kyiv. Journalists release evidence of a years-long Russian plot to dominate Moldova in the midst of that plot seemingly unfolding ( https://kyivindependent.com/leaked-document-exposes-kremlins-10-year-plan-to-undermine-moldova/ ). Azerbaijan begins a new round of hostilities with Karabakh and Armenia.

And the title story - the International Criminal Court puts out a warrant for Vladimir Putin and "Children’s rights commissioner" Maria Lvova-Belova for the mass kidnapping of Ukrainian children.

28:40 - Domestic News: Standoff as Russian Orthodox priests refuse to vacate Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. A gay marriage bill is introduced to the Verkhovna Rada. New picks for Ministerial positions in the government seem promising.

37:05 - Entertainment: At the Oscars, "Navalny" documentary beats Ukrainian documentary "House Made of Splinters." I have thoughts.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

James is a US Army veteran who supported Ukraine for years before the full-scale invasion and enlisted when the time came. We talk to him about how his many years living in Russia opened his eyes to the country's simmering fascism and his path into the Ukrainian army. Since he also has a YouTube channel where he talks about old movies, we also go into how evolving technologies and pop culture shape popular perceptions of the nature of war.

James
Twitter: @SpaghettiKozak
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SpaghettiKozak

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

00:45 - Combat Update, including the increasingly brutal fight to defend the strong point of Bakhmut while preparing a counter-offensive.

10:50 - A militia made up of Russian dissidents fighting for Ukraine makes a cross-border raid into Bryansk region of Russia in order to get the rest of the country to revolt. We have questions.

26:00 - China presents a peace plan while rumors swirl of them possibly beginning to sell Russia military equipment.

34:30 - Pro-Russian protests in Moldova raise concerns over Russian aggressive actions in the country.

45:34 - Georgian demonstrators force their government to abandon a repressive "foreign agent" law.

57:40 - Russian occupation authorities illegally sentence a Ukrainian civil society activist turned soldier turned POW to 13 years in prison.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

The glory of Ukraine has not yet perished, nor the will.
Still upon us, young brothers, fate shall smile.
Our enemies shall vanish, like dew in the sun.
We too shall rule, brothers, our country.

February 24th is the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, a day that shall live in infamy. It has been a full year since the Russian-fascist forces began their three-day campaign to conquer and exterminate Ukraine. We talk to former Ukraine Without Hype co-host Maria Romanenko about becoming a refugee on the first day of this war and the advocacy and support work she has done in the United Kingdom since then.

Twitter
Maria: @Rommari
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Resources and Charities
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

For this week's combat update, Russia continues to grind away at Bakhmut, making the most progress in the northern suburbs while being fought back in the south. In what appears to be the start of their much-awaited Spring offensive, most other fronts are successfully holding the Russians off. Then...

30:45 - The execution of Russian neo-Nazi could be another sign of inter-fractional fighting either within the ultra-nationalist camp or being it and the regular army.

40:50 - Zelesnky's makes a diplomatic trip to the UK and EU, which shows some signs of possible future deliveries of fighter jets.

53:45 - Anti-corruption raids continue throughout the country, targeting oligarchs and government officials suspected of graft.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

LinkTree
https://linktr.ee/ukrainewithouthype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

The second half of January has been extremely busy and there are many headlines to cover.

00:42 - Combat Update: Russian forces make troubling gains to the north and south of Bakhmut, but Bakhmut still stands. Russia fails in offensives along the southern line at Orikhiv and Vuhledar. Ukraine advances against Kreminna but is met with an increased Russian buildup.

09:10 - Russia missile strike hits an apartment building in the central city of Dnipro, killing 46 people.

19:12 - A helicopter crash in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary kills the top leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, though the causes are still unknown. The helicopter also crashed into a kindergarten, killing one child.

27:30 - A corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defense leads to an anti-corruption hunt that leads to several officials resigning. There is also more turnover in high-level posts which could possibly be coincidental timing rather than wrongdoing.

48:00 - Tanks. Ukraine's allies have begun supplying Ukraine with a variety of tank models that are superior to what the Russians have readily available, though the process of doing this was extremely politically fraught.

1:13:00 - Miscellaneous. New pro-Ukraine President of Czechia, revelations about Bulgaria's vital role in supplying Ukraine in the early days of the war, strikes on military facilities in Iran

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

After months of little but continuous defeat, the Russian military looks like it is on the verge of taking the Donbas salt-mining town of Soledar. The battle is ongoing, but the situation is dire and would leave northern Bakhmut more vulnerable. We go into what little we know about the situation on the ground. This is followed by a discussion on the mercenary company Wagner Group, who is leading the battle, and the designs of its owner Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The start of 2023 has seen Ukraine destroy several Russian barracks and logistics points, leading to Russia lying about its own barracks strike against Ukraine in order to save face.

Good news is coming in about new weapons shipments to Ukraine, including armored fighting vehicles and possibly tanks.

As a new session of Congression takes their seats, the far-right is better positioned to block support for Ukraine.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Shchedryk (Traditional)

On the last day of a very difficult year, we do a news roundup of the last headlines of 2022. President Zelensky leaves Ukraine for the first time of the full-scale invasion to hold a joint presser with President Biden, then a speech before a joint session of Congress.

In other news, Russia sends its New Year Greetings in the form of multiple murderous missile salvos against most of Ukraine's major cities. Russian ultra-nationalist and ex-space program head Dmitry Rogozin was wounded in a strike in Donetsk. The statue of Empress Catherine II was dismantled in Odesa. Azerbaijan blockades the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

 
Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Shchedryk (Traditional)

Our news update covers the continuing Russian offensive on Bakhmut while Ukraine steps up its campaign of HIMARS strikes and partisan sabotage behind enemy lines, the coming and going power blackouts, the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Ukrainian NGO, and what may be the final death of the corrupt Kyiv District Administrative Court. Plus, morbid packages are being sent to Ukrainian embassies throughout Europe.

Then (@19:15) the Ukrainian government is moving to ban religious organizations which are connected to the Russian Federation, which mostly means the Russian Orthodox Church. We go over the history that led to the ROC being in the position it is now in, why it is being targeted (spoiler: it is all the collaboration with an invading army), and then dig into some of the misinformation being spread about the topic.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Shchedryk (Traditional)

Kyiv is suffering from increasingly severe power outages as Russia focuses it strategy on making Ukraine as unlivable as possible for the civilian population during the winter.

Then (@11:45) we take our time to remember the Holodomor following its remembrance day on November 26th. What is was, why it was a genocide by the Stalinist regime against the Ukrainian people, and what it may have been like to live through. And, of course, how the genocide of the Ukrainian people in the 1930s is connected to the current one in the 2020s.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

In a rustic candlelit recording session, Anthony covers the liberation of Kherson - the steps that led to the victory, the immediate priorities for the civilian population, and where the fighting is likely to shift to.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Celebration in liberated Kherson

Recorded and edited during the windows where everyone has electricity, this episode traces what led Russians to change strategies to targeting civilian infrastructure. Frustrated by continuous battlefield failures, the Russians can only take comfort in making Ukrainians as miserable as they can. Then, ANthony and Romeo discuss some of their recent travels from one side of the country to the other.

Frontline report: https://english.nv.ua/nation/nv-visits-the-frontline-of-the-kherson-counteroffensive-ukraine-war-50278670.html

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

Greetings Comrades! This is a crossover episode with the Eastern Border podcast where Anthony and Kristaps discuss their recent reporting trip to the city of Mykolaiv and the nearby frontlines. But first, a combat update regarding the rapid Ukrainian advances on both the Kharkiv and Kherson fronts.

And a special thank you to our fixers at the Ukraine Frontline Media Platform.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Kristaps: @Eastern_Border
Fixers: @UFMPlatform

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

It is a short-form on-the-road episode by Anthony Bartaway, but these are all developing stories that deserve more focus. First up, the Ukrainian advance in the Kharkiv region and northern Donbas is continuing to roll forward and retake occupied territory, but they are discovering all of the horrors seen in all recovered territory. Putin swaps high-profile Ukrainian POWs for his flunky Medvedchuk. Russia holds a stage-play of a "referendum" in occupied regions of Ukraine, in a stunt that should fool nobody. The Russian military is bolstered through a "limited" and poorly-organized mobilization that seems to target minority groups. Conflicts in multiple points of the former Soviet Union show Russia's decline as a regional power.

Finally, wrap up with a thought on the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

While the Russian army was focused on defending its holdings in Kherson, Ukraine pulled off a stunning offensive to the east of Kharkiv. In less than a week, the Russian garrison in the Izyum salient completely disintegrated, leading to them abandoning Kharkiv Oblast to the west of the Oskil River. This offensive has not stopped, so this episode may become immediately out of date - in the time between editing and posting Ukraine has taken more territory to the north of the Donets River. Anthony and Romeo go over how this happened and what it may lead to.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

This episode is dedicated both to Ukraine's Independence Day and the 6th-month anniversary of the war that threatens that independence. In our news round-up we cover:

00:00:45 - The combat update, including the long-awaited kinetic phase of the Kherson Offensive.
00:19:00 - Russia has been staging continuous provocations at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant that threaten a meltdown. The IAEA has arrived on the site to carry out an inspection.
00:30:45 - Morgue workers have managed to leak information back to Kyiv about the number of dead Mariupol. One out of Four people were killed.
00:34:05 - The daughter of Russian fascist philosopher Alexandr Dugin was assassinated in Moscow, theories abound over how
00:43:40 - The last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev passed away at the age of 91. To be generous, he had a controversial legacy.
00:45:35 - Ukraine marks Independence Day with a storm of Russian missiles, and Russia's longed-for parade in Kyiv
00:49:28 - Reflections on 6 months since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

In a brief news update, Russia focuses its efforts in Donbas on the Donetsk suburb of Pisky, which guards the way to the vital strategic Ukrainian fortress-city of Avdiivka. On the Kherson front, the Russian army pours into the region in order to forestall a Ukrainian offensive, but by doing so put themselves in an extremely logistically precarious position. This is helped by Ukraine, somehow, blowing up a Russian Air Force base in Crimea.

Then, we speak with Vladyslav Starodubtsev, a Democratic Socialist activist in the organization Sotsialnyi Rukh, or Social Movement. We discuss the new changes to Ukraine's labor laws that severely hurt worker's rights in a time when maintaining stability is even more important than ever. What sacrifices are actually necessary and useful in war and who should bear them?

Vladyslav's Contacts and Projects
Twitter: @VlStarodubtsev
Sotsialnyi Rukh: https://rev.org.ua/

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

In a brief news update, Russia shifts away from the Sloviansk front to Avdiivka in Donbas, while building up its defenses against the awaited Ukrainian offensive in Kherson. Meanwhile, they continue their intense missile strike campaign, especially against Mykolaiv and are suspected of an unusual mass execution in a prison camp in Olenivka.

Then, we speak with Sarah Ashton, an American journalist based out of Kharkiv. She tells us about the situation on the ground in the liberated front line towns in the north of the city that have to deal with the persistent threat of Russia returning. We also ask about what it is like as a trans woman coming to cover a war in a fairly conservative country.

Sarah's Contacts and Projects
Twitter: @SarahAshtonLV
Substack: https://sarahashtoncirillo.substack.com/

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

Ukraine struck a deal to secure its grain exports, but Russian perfidy meant Moscow broke the agreement almost immediately.

Following the end of the battle for Lysychansk, fighting on the front lines has slowed considerably, though that is very relative. Russia has not made any advances since then, and its artillery attacks are far less frequent. This is thanks in large part to the devastating effectiveness of the HIMARS system in destroying their logistics. This may be the key to a (hopefully) upcoming liberation of Kherson.

But a slow down of violence on the front lines has also been an increase in missile attacks behind them. Vinnytsia is one of the homes of Ukraine Without Hype, so we give our personal reflection on the attacks that shook the city on July 14th.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

A rapid Russian advance finishes off the long battle for Luysychansk, allowing them to occupy the entirety of Luhansk Oblast. The Battle for Donbas shifts westward to the Seversk/Bakhmut line. Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces continue to make grinding progress around Kherson and Zaporizhia and force Russia to abandon Snake Island.

Next, we discuss the protests in the Karakalpakstan region of Uzbekistan and the importance of watching Central Asia both in the broader regional and global contexts.

Finally, we take a Patreon question on Turkey's attempt to stall out Swedish and Finnish NATO ascension, Ankara's geostrategic positioning, and how much Russia is capable of retaliating against the two (spoiler: very little).

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Hey Sokoli (Traditional)

A rapid Russian offensive captures territory around Lysychansk, leading to the Ukrainian withdrawal from Severodonetsk, with a tough fight still to come.

The Ukrainian parliament ratifies the Istanbul Convention, a landmark treaty against domestic and gendered violence.

Ukraine is granted European Union candidate status, paving the way for future membership. It has been the dream of a generation of Ukrainians, but they have paid a heavy cost for it.

The pro-Ukraine Bulgarian Prime Minister loses a vote of no confidence.

Lithuania blocks off land transit of sanctioned goods to the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @RomeoKokriatski
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, Performed by Bayreuth Festival Orchestra (1951)

Severodonetsk becomes the centerpiece of the war, as fierce urban fighting claims hundreds of lives.

Russian cruise missiles destroy a Kyiv civilian railcar repair plant in the first strike on the city in a month, increasing the difficulty of Ukraine's ability to export grain.

Three foreign-born fighters are sentenced to death by the Russian puppet authorities in Donetsk. We go over who these men are and why calling them mercenaries is malicious propaganda.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @VagrantJourno
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow (Traditional)

Brief news update: While Russia advances through the streets of Sieverodonetsk, Ukraine breaks through enemy lines in an offensive on the Kherson region. The US agrees to send Ukraine a new type of long-range rocket artillery after some very confusing negotiations. The branch of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine breaks away from Moscow and its future is uncertain.

(08:00) We have an interview with Christopher Atwood, a graduate student at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in New York. He is a co-author of a report by the New Lines Institute and Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights which makes a legal case to classify Russia's atrocities against Ukrainians as a genocide. We give special attention to the role played by Russian media in spreading genocidal rhetoric.

Report from New Lines Institute
https://newlinesinstitute.org/an-independent-legal-analysis-of-the-russian-federations-breaches-of-the-genocide-convention-in-ukraine-and-the-duty-to-prevent/

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @VagrantJourno
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Christopher: @tca1_

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow (Traditional)

Anthony Bartaway goes over the latest updates from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(1:00) The fears of Russian general mobilization on Victory Day proved to be false.

(1:40) The defenders of Mariupol finally surrender, and their future is uncertain.

(4:30) The Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv successfully drives Russian forces away from the city, in some places straight to the border.

(7:50) A deep dive into the role played by the Siverskyi Donets River in the Battle for Donbas, and the advantages and difficulties that it gives either side.

(20:20) What Happens Next?

(26:45) Complete Change of Tone: Ukraine Wins Eurovision

(32:00) Patreon Question: What is the situation in Poland with refugees who have been raped by Russian soldiers and need abortion services?

Eurovision Winning Song "Stephania" by Kalush Orchestra
https://youtu.be/UiEGVYOruLk
https://youtu.be/Z8Z51no1TD0

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @VagrantJourno
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow (Traditional)

The Russian offensive in Donbas becomes bogged down outside of Izyum and Sievierodonetsk, with only minor forward progress since our last update. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces take the initiative around Kharkiv and score more hits against the Russian Navy and its positions on occupied Snake Island in the Black Sea. Russia's effort to rope Transnistria into a suicidal war is subsiding, but still something to watch. The US lend-lease bill begins to show results in getting much-needed equipment to Ukrainian defenders.

(32:20) For our main segment, we focus on the incredibly antisemitic remarks made by Russian FM Sergei Lavrov and the Russian media who picked up on them. We do a bit of a deeper dive into the history and nature of Russian antisemitism, and how it is an integral part of the Russian imperial project.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @VagrantJourno
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
זאָג ניט קיין מאָל (Never Say) by Hirsch Glick, Performed by Leon Lishner and Friends

The Battle for Donbas rages on as the Russian army tries desperately to encircle Ukrainian forces in the east, while the defenders of Mariupol make their last stand in the ruins of the sprawling Azovstal metallurgical plant. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army presses in on Russian-occupied territory in the East from Kharkiv and the West toward Kherson. Ukraine has begun receiving shipments of heavy weapons in order to take the fight to the enemy.

At the 37-minute mark, Anthony recounts a reporting trip into the Brovary region, where Russian soldiers sacked the villages of the eastern Kyiv countryside.

Article Referenced
https://english.nv.ua/nation/terror-and-looting-in-the-farming-villages-that-bore-the-brunt-of-russia-s-eastern-push-towards-kyiv-50236045.html

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @VagrantJourno
Ukraine Without Hype: @HypeUkraine

Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music
Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow (Traditional)

Russian soldiers have retreated from northern Ukraine and will try to re-focus on Donbas, but what they left behind is a path of destruction that must be called a genocide. There have been multiple statements from the Russian government showing genocidal intent, and that intent was followed with action. Evidence of mass murder and other crimes is found in nearly every location that Russia occupied.

To sort through some of the issues regarding genocide and denial, we speak with scholar Joey Ayoub of the Fire These Times podcast. Ukraine Without Hype is also partnering with Fire These Times to produce a Ukraine series on their channel.

Twitter
Anthony: @Bartaway
Romeo: @VagrantJourno
Joey Ayoub: @joeyayoub
Fire These Times: @FireTheseTimes
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https://www.patreon.com/UkraineWithoutHype

Music

Plyve Kacha Po Tysyni, Traditional performed by Unattributed CC BY

The state of the Russo-Ukraine War as it stood on March 5th. Russia is making gains in the South, but stalling out in the North, leading to their increased reliance on indiscriminate bombardments of civilian areas. While the Russian army is suffering from low morale and poor logistics, the Ukrainian people rally to defend their homes. We go into some of the important topics that come up so far, such as the Russian use of saboteurs and the threat posed to critical infrastructure such as the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Apologies for some audio problems, Ukraine Without Hype Studios in Exile has faced some difficulties.

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Short emergency episode: the long-feared war has come.

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Russia begins a barrage of both artillery fire and misinformation to drum up any excuse to go to war. Their claimed "troop withdrawal" turned out to be just another misdirection. Diplomatic efforts to calm the situation continue to fail.

The Russian legislature asks Putin to recognize the occupation authorities in Donbas as sovereign nations, but is rebuffed for now.

A Russian cyber attack brings down Ukraine's largest banks for a few hours.

Russian "naval exercises" bring most of the Black Sea under their control.

Scandals in both the Eurovision Song Contest and the Winter Olympics.

We close with an analysis of the present situation and what this all means.

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Ukraine and its allies continue to try to head off the possible Russian offensive, but there is tension between Kyiv and Washington over how severe the threat may be. Then, in local news, a mass shooting by a National Guardsmen of his fellow soldiers and a corruption scandal at the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone regarding nuclear waste.

Next, we list some of the most frequent errors made by foreign journalists and politicians when describing Ukraine and go into some detail on how to correct them.

We end by analyzing the arguments from the different sides of the political spectrum for why they might support Russia, and make a plea to the Left to re-adjust some of their assumptions and have solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

Here are some timestamps to better reach some of our arguments:

Style Guide

27:30 - Kyiv, not Kiev and other naming conventions.

33:00 - It is a Russian invasion, not a Civil War.

29:40 - The Far-Right is not as much of a problem as it is made out to be, do not focus on it to the exclusion of anything else.

45:00 - Ukrainian West vs. Russian East is vastly misunderstood.

49:30 - Do not rely on what you learned in WW2 movies and video games

Russia's Supporters and Fellow Travelers

53:00 - Bipartisan Bad Arguments

49:30 - Why the Right Supports Russia

1:04:30 - Why the Left Supports Russia

As the Russian military buildup continues on the Ukrainian border, diplomats from Ukraine, Russia, the UK, and the EU meet to avert catastrophe - to little effect thus far.

A likely Russian or Belarusian-based hack of multiple Ukrainian government-connected websites was mostly just an inconvenience. But, it highlights the years-long trends of both cyber warfare and using false flags to try and hurt Ukrainian-Polish relations.

Protests in Kazakhstan are met with lethal force by the government, who called in help from Russia and its other allies in the CSTO.

Former President Petro Poroshenko returns to Kyiv, where a judge was waiting for him to answer treason charges.

The New Year is right around the corner and our last episode of the year is a big one. Anthony Bartaway talks about what he saw and heard in some of the conflict-affected places in Donbas. Then he and Romeo Kokriatski get into the weeds about the likelihood of a renewed Russian invasion of Ukraine. The episode wraps up with news of former President Petro Poroshenko being accused of treason and how much it can be considered a power grab.

З Новим Pоком!

After a far too long August hiatus, Ukraine Without Hype is Back. Anthony Bartaway runs down some of the top news stories that we missed while we were away. These include the current Russian military buildup, Belarus spurring on a migrant crisis, an update on the Nordstream 2 pipeline, the end of the war in Afghanistan and Ukraine's role in evacuating refugees, Zelensky's bizarre presser and how it relates to press freedoms, the Crimea Platform, the Pandora Papers, checking in on the far-right post-Avakov, a covid update, public Hannukah observance as a mark of progress, and the death and rebirth of the Kyiv Post. A lot has happened.

For the August 3rd edition of Ukraine Without Hype, Romeo Kokriatski and Anthony Bartaway go over the large-scale personnel changes at the top of the Ministries of Defense and Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian military. Most of the attention goes to the newly-minted Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky. Then, on to a recent law that protects the rights of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine.

We wrap up with some comments on Belarus trying to kidnap one of their own Olympic athletes and the mysterious death of a Belarusian activist in Kyiv.

For the July 21st edition of Ukraine Without Hype, Romeo Kokriatski and Anthony Bartaway go over a bombshell story from the week: the irreplaceable Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has finally been replaced. Then, we cover how Ukraine is implementing one of the reforms most demanded from international partners: the opening up of agricultural land for purchase, something that was previously banned. Finally, a small section on the arrest of a left-wing activist on manufactured charges and his possible deportation to Belarus.

For the July 5th edition of Ukraine Without Hype, Romeo Kokriatski and Anthony Bartaway go over Ukraine's most recent attempts to spur NATO leadership into moving forward with its ascension into the alliance. Then, we cover the next oligarch to have come into the sights of the current, though flawed, push for de-oligarchization: Dmytro Firtash. We close with some brief thoughts on William Shatner's new business relationship with Russia Today, which even he seemed confused about, and the unfolding story of the assault on Tbilisi Pride.

For the June 8th edition of Ukraine Without Hype, Romeo Kokriatski and Anthony Bartaway cover delve into the story of pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, his treason investigation, and what that means in terms of a larger "de-oligarchization" effort. Then, updates on the situation in Belarus, where the Lukashenko regime is making such flagrant use of torture that they invited Russian militants from Donbas to help them do it.

For the May 25th edition of Ukraine Without Hype, Romeo Kokriatski and Anthony Bartaway cover the still-breaking news about Belarus forcing down a Ryanair flight en route to Vilnius in order to kidnap an opposition journalist. Then, the ridiculous case of a pro-Russian member of the Verkhovna Rada who bumbled and bribed his way into a doctorate.

For the May 10th edition of Ukraine Without Hype, Romeo Kokriatski and Anthony Bartaway delve into revelations about Russia's covert operations in Europe following a round of antagonistic diplomatic actions between Czechia and its allies, and Russia. Then, we discuss the career of possibly the most corrupt judge in Ukraine, Pavlo Vovk, and whether it might be coming to an end.

For the return of Ukraine Without Hype, Romeo Kokriatski and Anthony Bartaway look at the Russian military buildup that had positioned itself for war and set Ukraine on edge before the Kremlin announced it was only a military exercise. Then, we narrow our scope to look into the Ukrainian protest movement that has been built around supporting jailed right-wing leader turned anti-corruption activist Serhiy Sternenko.

On this week's episode of Ukraine Without Hype, Romeo Kokriatski and Maria Romanenko discuss the aftermath and early results for local elections in Ukraine, a controversial Constitutional Court decision that could spell the end of anti-corruption efforts in the country, and protests in Poland following the Polish government's total ban on legal abortions.

On this newly returned episode of Ukraine Without Hype, hosts and journalists Romeo Kokriatski and Maria Romanenko discuss the biggest stories of Ukraine, and the region. This week - the upcoming Ukrainian local elections, the players, the numbers, the parties, and much, much more!