Ukraine Without Hype

Latest Episodes:

Episode 36: The Downfall of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

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)

Episode 35: Remembering the Holodomor Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

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)

Episode 34: The Liberation of Kherson Nov 18, 2022

Show notes

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

Episode 33: When All the Lights Are Out Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

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)

Episode 32: Debriefing After a Trip to the Mykolaiv Frontlines Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

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)

Episode 31: A Rosh Hashanah Greeting - Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die? Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

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)

Episode 30: So...What Just Happened in Kharkiv? Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

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)

Episode 29: 31 Years of Independence, 6 Months of Total War Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

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)

Episode 28: An Injury to One is an Injury to All w/ Vladyslav Starodubtsev Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

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)

Episode 27: Sarah Ashton on the Situation in Kharkiv and Being "Trans at the Front" Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

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)

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