Power Lines: From Ukraine to the World Power Lines

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.
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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. 

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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?

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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.
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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.

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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.
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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”?

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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.

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