Power Lines: From Ukraine to the World – Details, episodes & analysis

Ukraine’s economy has been one of the main bright spots after two years of brutal fighting. With decent preparation work undertaken over the past few years, and continued aid from Western partners, there has not been a bank run, there has not been an economic collapse, and Ukraine has been able to continue fighting the Russian invaders. However, as the war drags on and contributions of aid from Western partners come under the spotlight in their home countries, how will this macroeconomic success continue? Will things like frozen Russian assets be utilised by Ukraine to help it continue fighting, and even in the future?  In this final episode of season 2 of Power Lines, we assess this macroeconomic situation, and take a look at the big news from the last couple of weeks, that Ukraine’s Commander in Chief Valeri Zaluszny was dismissed by President Zelensky, in the culmination of a long running feud between the two men at the top of Ukraine’s war effort. To get some insight on all this, we spoke with Timothy Ash. Timothy has been an economist for 30 years, working for some of the most prestigious banking institutions in the world over that time. His focus has been on the economics of emerging Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, particularly Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey. You can find his writing on Chatham House, CEPA and his excellent Substack  @tashecon blog. Check out insights.Kyivindependent.com for more in depth analysis of the War in Ukraine, and follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. You can find Message Heard on our website at messageheard.com, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to never miss a show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The war in Ukraine has evolved a huge amount since it began nearly 2 years ago, not least in terms of the equipment now being used on the front lines. This has been most starkly seen in the use of drones, as these unmanned aerial technologies are now at the forefront of reconnaissance and combat operations for both sides. Ukraine’s drone industry, once chaotic and decentralised, is now one of the most significant in the world. Experts are looking to Ukraine to see how drones are being used in the war, and many see their use as the future of warfare more generally. In this episode, we speak with drone expert Federico Borsari, a Leonardo fellow at the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Centre of European Policy Analysis (CEPA). His work looks at Transatlantic Defense and Security dynamics with a focus on unmanned technologies and their military implications, and he has written a number of fascinating reports on how their use in Ukraine is at the forefront of innovation in the sector. Check out insights.Kyivindependent.com for more in depth analysis of the War in Ukraine, and follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. You can find Message Heard on our website at messageheard.com, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to never miss a show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year, Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine changed the world. But with the conflict reaching a kind of stasis, the questions surrounding it have changed. With interviews with world leading analysts and thinkers, Power Lines: From Ukraine to the World season 2 will prove why this war still matters to everyone across the globe, while looking ahead at the practical applications that will allow Ukraine to recover and rebuild in the future. Follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. You can find Message Heard on our website at messageheard.com, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to never miss a show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is it like to live through the psychological pain of war? How can you heal the trauma of genocide? How do you rebuild a country when a generation has been lost to war? Rebuilding Ukraine will not solely be about creating new cities and rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, there will need to be a new sense of a nation, one not cowed by Russia’s aggression, but stronger and more unified because of it. In the final episode of the series, we speak to historian and political scientist Eugene Finkel about what we can learn from the parallels between this war and those of the 20th century, to explore how an entire country can heal together and move forward to a brighter, peaceful future. Jakub and Nastya also hear from some of the Ukrainian guests who have featured across the series, to hear their reflections on a year of war in Ukraine. Sign up for 'Power Lines +' for ad-free content on Apple and Spotify. Support The Kyiv Independent by finding us on our Patreon: patreon.com/kyivindependent.  Also find us on our website at messageheard.com, or on our Power Lines Twitter, or our Message Heard Twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.  Sign up for 'Power Lines +' for ad-free content on Apple and Spotify. Support The Kyiv Independent by finding us on our Patreon: patreon.com/kyivindependent.  Also find us on our website at messageheard.com, or on our Power Lines Twitter, or our Message Heard Twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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’s homes, or hospitals, schools and roads? In this episode, we speak with two top European economists to answer these questions. First, Ivan Mikloš, a Slovakian politician and the country’s former Minister of Finance. Secondly, Tymofiy Mylovanov, who was previously the Minister of Economy in Ukraine, and is now the president of the Kyiv School of Economics and an advisor to the Zelenskiy Administration.  We also hear from Borys Dorogov, co-founder of interior architecture studio Balbek Bureau, and Adrii Kopylenko, the co-founder of charity organisation District One, to hear how smaller organisations are already beginning the rebuilding process from the ground up. Sign up for 'Power Lines +' for ad-free content on Apple and Spotify. Support The Kyiv Independent by finding us on our Patreon: patreon.com/kyivindependent.  Also find us on our website at messageheard.com, or on our Power Lines Twitter, or our Message Heard Twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 shifted. But is it more important than ever to hold power to account? Or is it a distraction for a country in conflict? Sign up for 'Power Lines +' for ad-free content on Apple and Spotify. Support The Kyiv Independent by finding us on our Patreon: patreon.com/kyivindependent.  Also find us on our website at messageheard.com, or on our Power Lines Twitter, or our Message Heard Twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Russian military. So how did some of these organisations get it so wrong? What would be a better aid paradigm in the future? And should we consider giving weapons to Ukraine as a humanitarian project? In this episode, we speak with Melaniya Podolyak, a broadcaster and member of the Serhiy Prytula Foundation, about her work in bringing aid to Ukrainians, as well as the faults of the major international organisations. We also hear from John Spencer, the author, veteran and chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute, about the specific mistakes made in a 2022 report from Amnesty. Sign up for 'Power Lines +' for ad-free content on Apple and Spotify. Support The Kyiv Independent by finding us on our Patreon: patreon.com/kyivindependent.  Also find us on our website at messageheard.com, or on our Power Lines Twitter, or our Message Heard Twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 control domestic public opinion? And even: how many of the Russian services’ agents are “nepo babies”? Sign up for 'Power Lines +' for ad-free content on Apple and Spotify. Support The Kyiv Independent by finding us on our Patreon: patreon.com/kyivindependent –  Also find us on our website at messageheard.com, or on our Power Lines Twitter, or our Message Heard Twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 under Putin tell us about the way the Kremlin works today?  In this episode, we speak to Michael Weiss, a journalist, author and expert on Russia’s intelligence services, to discover more about the successes and failures of covert warfare in Ukraine, and how it has changed the outcome of the war. Sign up for 'Power Lines +' for ad-free content on Apple and Spotify. Support The Kyiv Independent by finding us on our Patreon: patreon.com/kyivindependent  Also find us on our website at messageheard.com, or on our Power Lines Twitter, or our Message Heard Twitter as well as Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow The Kyiv Independent on Twitter and Facebook, and Instagram to get latest news and to stay up to date with our coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices