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Updated Resources - September 6, 2023
Former Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov at the Ukraine Defense Consultative Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, April 26, 2002 (Chad J. McNeeley/U.S. Secretary of Defense, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Kyiv Independent: Newsfeed
Novaya Gazeta Europe: Newsfeed
The Insider: Newsfeed
Oleksandra Matviichuk, founder of Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties and 2022 Sakharov Prize laureate, hosted by European Parliament. December 14, 2022. (European Parliament, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
WHAT'S ON OUR MIND
This week we steer the collective gaze to war’s heart, the nation and people for whom war is most personal. Today’s collection weaves through Ukrainian society, offering perspectives on the macro - significant political developments, contemplations on corruption, intersections with the global community - as well as the micro - the intimate and personal experiences of war through the eyes of Ukrainian men, women, and children.
We open with a piece from Meduza on Zelensky’s decision to replace Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and another from The Kyiv Independent acquainting readers with the new appointee Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar MP with a background in finance. The war’s ramifications come into view as The Insider probes the medical fates of those in the annexed territories whose wartime ordeal is punctuated by a dearth of access to crucial medications and treatments and The Kyiv Independent reports that millions of students are unable to return to school full time this academic year. Foreign Policy tells the story of the Ukrainians who have turned against their compatriots, offering historical perspective on acts of treason.
Our attention turns to Ukraine’s ongoing struggle against evergreen corruption. Al Jazeera reports on corruption in medical exemptions from Ukrainian military duty and The Kyiv Post details how winter jackets have sparked the most recent corruption scandal. The Kyiv Post also offers a useful counter perspective, that pushes back against the notion that Ukraine is the ‘most corrupt country in the world,' breaks down anti-corruption measures, and suggests the criticism is just a narrative employed by the Kremlin to hamper Western support.
Through a global lens, The Conversation explains why many in Ukraine repudiate Pope Francis’ recent address to young Russians and Haaretz outlines points of friction between Israel and Ukraine over the course of the war and ahead of the Jewish high holidays.
Finally we journey to the center of war’s heart through intimate portraits of war. Meduza interviews Oleksandra Matviichuk, founder of Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, whose organization was one of three Nobel Peace Prize laureates in 2022, alongside Russians and Belarusians. The unique challenges to integration for the predominantly female flow of Ukrainian refugees are explored in a piece from The Nation. The Kyiv Independent tells of the mirror image: the men who had to stay behind and who now grapple with separation from their families.
In the overview, we learn the origins of the Ukrainian rallying cry ‘slava Ukraini,’ as well as the ideological foundation of Putin’s regime and its intersection with Soviet memory. Find also an examination of the varied facets of Wagner PMC’s origins and aesthetics. In videos, Ukrainian historians discuss their nation’s birth and true age. For the Arts, Ukrainian artists in exile in Berlin reimagine culture and history while in Israel a pro-Ukrainian invasion Russian theatre performance is met with protest.
Find these stories - and so many more - in today’s resource update.
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