Talking Ukraine Podcast

SIMON OSTROVSKY is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent. Simon was senior correspondent and a founding member of the original VICE News team, winning a Dupont for his documentary "Selfie Soldiers" and two 2016 Emmy nominations for "Russian Roulette", his series on the war in Ukraine. In this episode we discuss his new documentary about Russian occupation and oppression of Christian Evangelical churches in Ukraine, his previous work in Ukraine with Vice News, and his general take and thoughts on current events around Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Robert Van Voren is Chief Executive of the international foundation ‘Human Rights in Mental Health-FGIP’, an international foundation for mental health reform. He is also Executive Director of the Andrei Sakharov Research Center for Democratic Development and Professor at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania. Since 2000 he lives in Lithuania, and shuttles regularly to Ukraine, his main country of operation. Since the full-scale invasion he travels there on a monthly basis developing and implementing projects to support the country to deal with the psychological consequences of the war for both military and civilians.

Christian Borys is the founder of Saint Javelin, a Toronto based company that makes various clothing and swag to fundraise for charities that support Ukraine. He has years of experience working as a journalist and Saint Javelin social media is a trusted information source on breaking news from Ukraine.

Maksym Eristavi is a Ukrainian journalist, writer, and author of the award-winning book “Russian Colonialism 101,” an illustrated guide to Russian colonial crimes. He was also a co-founder of Hromadske International, an independent news start-up based in Kyiv Ukraine. His current mission is to create global awareness about the Russian colonial legacy.  We discuss the west's journalistic coverage of Ukraine over the years, Maksym's personal motivations for creating the Russian Colonialism 101 guidebook, and the importance of global recognition of Russia's imperial ambitions. 
 
 

Andriy Semotiuk is a Canadian and American immigration Lawyer, writer & Ukrainian leader. In this episode we discuss the legal aspects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the general standing of global current affairs, lessons from 20th Century history that are applicable today, the state of affairs in Canada, the Hollywood Trident Group and more! Join us for a wide reaching conversation!

Sasha Maslov is a photographer based in New York City. Originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine, he has extensively documented the front lines since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This year he partnered with St. Javelin to publish a photography book called “Saints” which portrays stories of Ukrainians who have devoted their lives to defend their country on the front lines .

Paul Hennemeyer is an American energy executive based in Europe with over 30 years experience in the energy industry. He and his partner Ralph Meima created “Re-energize Ukraine”, a volunteer initiative to help supply spare and retired electricity equipment to Ukraine. We discuss Paul’s work and recent trip to Ukraine, the closing of the last gas pipeline in Ukraine that transports Russian gas to Europe, Germany’s long term reliance on Russian energy and German energy politics, and the future of the Ukrainian energy industry. Email: phennemeyer@Avrioenergy.com
 

In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Kuzio we discuss potential scenarios and security guarantees for Ukraine under the Trump administration, the evolution of Volodymyr Zelensky as President, and reflections on Dr. Kuzio's last visit to Ukraine in 2023.  

Dr. Taras Kuzio is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. He is also an Associate Fellow at the Forum for Foreign Relations and has worked with various think tanks. Taras has written over 24 books, most recently,  “Fascism and Genocide, Russia’s War Against Ukrainians.”
In Part 1 we talk about the global dynamics surrounding the fall of Assad’s regime, the reluctance of Israel to cooperate with Ukraine, the roots of Russian sadism, and how the West missed its opportunity to defeat Russia’s army in Ukraine. 

In Episode #7 it is our pleasure to speak with one of the original American Expat pioneers in newly independent Ukraine, Jed Sunden. Jed started the Kyiv Post in 1995, the first English language newspaper in Ukraine, which continues on today. In early 2024, Jed founded the American Ukraine PAC to lobby for political support for Ukraine to the US Congress. We discuss his experiences maintaining an independent journalistic enterprise during his 15 year tenure as owner of KP Media Group, as well as the work that the American Ukraine PAC is doing today in support of “The War for Ukrainian Sovereignty".