Power Lines: From Ukraine to the World

This week, it’s our last Q&A of the season. We reached out to our listeners on Twitter to see what they wanted answered on rebuilding, both now and after the war. We received a lot of questions, but most can be boiled down to: how on earth are we going to pay for this? 

Jakub and Nastya discuss the possibility of Russian reparations, foreign investment and post-war tourism. 

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The aftermath of war leaves physical scars in its wake. The abject destruction of landscapes and cities like Kherson, Kharkiv and Mariupol will take tens of years and maybe even a trillion dollars to rebuild, while systemic infrastructure like healthcare and energy plants have been equally affected. So where do you begin when you have to rebuild a country destroyed by war? Who pays for it? And what should be the priorities: people’...

This week, Jakub and Nastya are speaking to Anna Myroniuk, the head of investigations at the Kyiv Independent. They discuss the complexities of reporting on Ukraine’s corruption in the current climate, offering unique insight into the duty of the media during war. 

Since its founding, The Kyiv Independent has always been at the forefront of reporting on corruption within Ukraine’s government. Then, on 24 February 2022, priorities sh...

The humanitarian response to the full scale invasion of Ukraine has been immense - an outpouring of good will from people across Europe and indeed the world. But when it comes to the large aid organisations facilitating it, the story becomes more blurred. From Amnesty International to the Red Cross, there have been major blind spots, including reports situating the Ukrainian army as aggressors, to aid projects in support of the Rus...

This week, Jakub and Nastya are doing a special Q&A episode on the Russian Intelligence Services. We reached out to our listeners on Twitter to discuss the things you really wanted answered on the FSB, the GRU and the history of this most secretive of organisations.

Expect answers to questions like: what is the history of tension between the Russian military and the FSB? Are these agencies focused on spying or just looking to co...

For years, Putin has used his intelligence, including the FSB and the GRU, to try and understand Europe - what they are thinking, how they would react to a crisis of war. The failure of Russia’s intelligence to predict Ukraine’s commitment to defending itself and Europe’s response of solidarity shows their failures. But what role do the Russian intelligence services play in modern warfare? And what does their history and growth und...

In this week’s episode, we again take a look into Cyber Warfare, this time from a more policy focused perspective, as Jakub speaks with Lauren Zabariek, the executive director of Harvard’s Belfer Centre. 

Lauren tells us about the various ways in which hackers across the globe are seeking to attack foreign targets, how this has affected the war in Ukraine, and the ways in which countries like the US are making policy to prevent atta...

The war in Ukraine is being fought by land, sea, air… and online. Russia, has long been infamous for its hacking and aggressive cyber warfare capabilities, having previously been responsible for devastating attacks in Ukraine and across the world. But how effective have they really been during the war? And what about the fightback? 

In this episode, we speak to Andy Greenberg, the journalist and author of Sandworm: A New Era of Cybe...

For many Ukrainians, holiday celebrations will look different this year. Some are in foreign countries, separated from friends and family. Some will have an empty seat at the dinner table. Christmas lights will be a little dimmer.

In this special festive bonus episode, we’re catching up with various Ukrainian guests we’ve had on throughout the series to hear about their holiday plans and hopes for the new year. 

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The 20th century saw the development of an international rule-based order dictated by the United States, with countries tacitly abiding by certain rules in order to trade and prosper with guaranteed security. But now that Russia has removed itself from this system through horrific actions that many deem to be state-sponsored terrorism – even genocide – what does this mean for the future of international relations? 

In this episode, ...

For this week’s bonus episode, we’re speaking more about Roman Ratushnyi, the Ukrainian activist who fought to preserve Kyiv’s green spaces, and was tragically killed by Russian soldiers earlier this year. 

We hear from two of Roman’s close friends: Arthur Kharytonov, the President of the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine, and Maryna Khromykh, an Executive Director of DEJURE Foundation. Arthur and Maryna discuss activism, Roman’s...

The demise of the USSR in the 1990s saw the state's vast wealth up for grabs by enterprising citizens; in making the public into the private, a new class of both Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs were born. For decades they played a pivotal role in both local – and often international – politics. But this era may be coming to an end. In both countries, political power is bringing the rich to heel. Will they manage? What does this...

This week’s bonus episode is an extended interview with Bektour Iskender, a journalist and co-founder of Kloop, an NGO and leading news publication in Kyrgyzstan.

Through his work with Kloop, Bektour trains young journalists to cover politics and investigate corruption, while also reporting on the most significant stories happening in his home country and near abroad. We spoke to Bektour about his work in journalism and the history ...

The countries surrounding Russia have long been on the frontline of the country’s aggressively expansionist policies. From Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia to Georgia in the Caucasus – these countries form a Eurasian region which is simultaneously at odds with Russia, but beholden to the Kremlin’s every move. But the war in Ukraine is rewriting old alliances and rivalries here, bringing further instability to a region still scarred by me...

In this week’s bonus episode, we’re giving you an extended version of last week’s interview with Kyiv Independent reporter Alexander Query. Alexander is originally from France, but has been based in Ukraine covering business and now war related issues for the Kyiv Independent, as well as being a TV correspondent at UATV. Nastya spoke with Alex about the recent suspected explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines that bring gas from Ru...

With its glut of resources and natural gas, cheap Russian energy has long been a lifeline for nations across the globe looking to give their citizens access to affordable fuel. But with the war in Ukraine breaking down relationships between Russia and the West, what will happen when the taps are turned off? And with simultaneous issues arising with disruptions to Ukraine’s agricultural centres, the global situation has become even ...

In this special bonus episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Radosław Sikorski, the Polish politician whose work across a wide range of Eastern European politics has made him one of the most consequential politicians over the past few decades. After beginning his career as a journalist, Radosław went on to serve as a minister in various positions in the Polish parliament throughout the 2000s and 2010s, before becoming a memb...

Ukraine is the most significant part of Europe’s eastern borderland: all black earth and agriculture, the last bastion before the steppe and the vastness of Russia. The country’s geography has defined its significance as a strategic centre as it becomes more entwined with the liberal values of the European Union. In this episode, we speak to Alexander Clarkson, lecturer for German and European Studies at King's College London, ...

Ukrainian history is defined by struggles for power. It has been the battleground of empires, defined by foreign domination, especially in the 20th century, when Nazi and Stalinist forces sought to dominate and strangle the country for its resources. The parallels with today are stark. Jakub and Nastya hear from the Ukrainian historian and writer, Olesya Khromeychuk, to discuss what Ukraine’s fractious, complicated and significant ...