A NOTE: Our Russia-Ukraine Resources are updated weekly - if you're accessing the page a week or more past the below date, pieces mentioned in this post may have been removed to make room for up-to-date resources.
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Updated Resources - August 17, 2023
Flag Of Russia And Ukraine, Petr Kratochvil, CC0 Public Domain
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Kyiv Independent: Newsfeed
Novaya Gazeta Europe: Newsfeed
The Insider: Newsfeed
WAR MACHINES, Rant 73 - bizarre art. CC0 Public Domain
WHAT'S ON OUR MIND
The battle for ground, air and sea continue with military strikes of all kinds across Ukraine and into Russia's border towns. The stories of their impact on every day people are rising through the debris as you will note in today's resources.
This week, we notice a distinct effort to analyze this war as a reflection on statehood, culture, and who belongs where and to what society. Perspectives are saturated with propaganda, much as manufactured racism that divides societies and obfuscates reality is apt to do. A podcast series led by Masha Gessen offers a portrait, in their own words, of a young family trying to understand their divides and recognizing their own shortcomings. The power of propaganda and the commensurate power of righteousness clash but do resolve in understanding.
As LAProgress presents the case for Ukrainian "Russians" in the Donbass who were living in fear of Ukrainians in the region, the Moscow Times reveals the anti-war sentiment of Yandex founder Arkady Volozh among other Russians. The everyday cost of lives disrupted and lost is described in a piece in the Kyiv Post and the confusion for Russian recruits is presented in an interview of an escapee Russian fighter in Novaya Gazeta.
Russia appears to be more isolated than ever, but economic manipulation keeps the ruble from crashing; ties with the BRICS nations keep trade flowing. For Ukraine, Germany agrees to fund Ukraine's war machine for years to come as reported by RT. And in TASS, the Chinese defense secretary announces a cooperation with Belarus. If this is a war of attrition, what are the bargaining chips? And how might they be applied towards an armistice or other stop gap measure?
A report in Responsible Statecraft suggests five key elements of agreements brokered in the Irish conflict may provide some pillars for resolution between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides won and lost on multiple levels but nonetheless achieved a peace through long, patient and rational discussion that gave both their "wins."
In the Arts, a play by Natalia Lizorkina explores the emotional trauma between a mother and mobilized son communicating through the war. In Smithsonian Magazine, Ukraine counters the pillaging of art works by developing a database of stolen works for future reference.
Find these and many other articles on the current state of the war in Ukraine on our resource page.
As coverage of the war begins to shift, please note that going forward we will be adding additional coverage of Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet states in our weekly missives and posting.
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