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Updated Resources - December 18, 2024
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Kyiv Independent: Newsfeed
Novaya Gazeta Europe: Newsfeed
The Insider: Newsfeed
The Telegraph via Apple Podcasts - Ukraine: The Latest
WHAT'S ON OUR MIND
In the coming months Track Two will develop a new approach to sharing information with our network. This will be the final publication of our bi-weekly news update on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Please explore the final installment of our Israel-Hamas update in our Blog. .
In our final update of this project, we return to the people and societies at the heart of this conflict in Russia and Ukraine. We want to express our deep gratitude to you, our network, for engaging with this project for nearly three years, and in doing so, participating in the shared expansion of our collective understanding and empathy.
In Ukraine, we begin with a look at the war effort against a geopolitical backdrop of impending seismic shifts. The Kyiv Independent queries why Ukraine resists conscripting younger men amid US pressure to lower the draft age from 25 to 18 years old. A second piece from this publication examines the internal struggle against corruption within the Ukrainian healthcare system, where officials are suspected of taking bribes to help men avoid mobilization. A seeming power struggle between two officials closest to Zelensky arise following a shakeup within an agency with a massive drone war chest in The Kyiv Independent. In-depth analysis from Kyiv Post covers the state's intention to reform Ukrainian medicine and scientific medical institutions, revealing central tensions at play within the field.
Al Jazeera examines the plight of Ukrainian veterans who await official designation to receive state support. The Insider reveals the thousands-strong underground movement in the occupied territories, ranging from individual activists to organized networks, who risk everything to resist Russian occupation. We meet the Ukrainians demining their homeland (now the most heavily mined country in the world) in a piece from The Conversation.
In a series of pieces, The Kyiv Independent explores the civilian experience of war. One reminds us of the visceral horror of life in a combat zone and the immense human cost of war. Another offers firsthand accounts of how the war has tested and transformed Ukrainians’ faith. A third piece from The Kyiv Independent explores the humanity of war through the hopes and dreams of Ukrainian children who have lost parents to the conflict during a season traditionally spent with family.
A podcast from Just Security discusses a new report from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab on Russia’s program of coerced adoption of Ukrainian children. In Germany, the Kyiv Post reveals that 65% of the over 1.1MM Ukrainian refugees have chosen to make it their permanent home. Back on Ukrainian soil, another piece from Kyiv Post offers insight into the influx of Western ‘war tourists’ and the locals who must contend with the unsettling trend. Kyiv Post also spotlights this year's Light of Justice laureates, chosen for their embodiment of moral leadership, showcasing Ukraine's resilience after three years of war.
In Russia, we look to the state of resistance, opposition, and repression. Two explainers from Meduza delve into recently introduced legislation expanding the definition of treason, terrorism, and extremism. The Insider examines the growing resurgence of a Soviet-era tactic that placed dissidents’ loved ones in the crosshairs of state reprisal. The Kremlin’s plan to shutter thousands of rural and metropolitan municipalities, while expanding the authority of Kremlin-appointed regional governors, is revealed in The Moscow Times.
On the other side of this struggle between the state and anti-war resistance, the Moscow Times offers a gripping courtroom statement from former Moscow politician Alexei Gorinov, the first known Russian to be imprisoned for denouncing the invasion of Ukraine. Another piece from The Moscow Times urges Russia’s opposition not to abandon their native flag but instead to reclaim it. Novaya Gazeta Europe publishes a call for unity among the Russian democratic opposition penned by activists Lev Ponomaryov, Yelena Kotyonochkina, Oleg Yelanchik.
A series of interviews in The Moscow Times offer insights into the role of women in Russian society and anti-war resistance and gender dynamics in media and beyond. A Russia.Post interview with journalist-in-exile Oleg Kashin offers his perspective on the current Russian media landscape both within and beyond Russia’s borders, as well as Russia’s future after Putin.
We contemplate public perception in another Russia.Post piece that explores Levada Center research on Russian citizens’ views of potential nuclear weapons usage and the growing militarization of their country. The Moscow Times continues in this vein with polling from Russia’s Institute of Conflictology and Analysis. Activist and linguist Yulia Galyamina examines the nuance that has emerged within Russian pro- and anti-war factions as the war drags on. She identifies ‘loyalist pacifism,’ combining dissatisfaction with the war with loyalty to the Kremlin, as the predominant position among Russians.
Finally, we look to the Russians who have been displaced by war. Novaya Gazeta Europe reports on the sense of abandonment felt by evacuees from Russia’s Belgorod border region. Meduza explores points of intersection and division between Russian emigrés and local communities and authorities in Serbia. Through interviews a sociologist outlines the challenges, key concerns, and general adaptation to life abroad of middle class Russian emigrés.
In the overview, an examination of Putin’s role models. In Videos, a discussion with Ukraine’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, on his country’s strategic position in the war and another with former President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko on the role of US and NATO support. Find also an enlightening discussion between Fiona Hill and Lucian Kim, author of a new book on Russia’s road to war in Ukraine, featuring insight from Kim’s firsthand coverage of the war.
In the arts, the Odesa Film Festival reflects Ukrainian contemplations of ‘home’ in Kyiv, Ukraine’s design community as a harbinger of physical, symbolic, and spiritual post-war reconstruction, an interview with a prominent Russian dissident artist in exile, and the Kremlin’s growing campaign against contemporary art.
Visit our Russia-Ukraine resource page for these stories and many more. Head to our blog for the latest on the Israel-Hamas War, including how the fall of Assad may shift the region’s balance of power. Find also, the most current perspectives from our network on the ground there.
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