About this episode
The episode reflects on the experiences of the hosts in Kharkiv amidst the ongoing war, highlighting personal stories and the complexities of life in a conflict zone.
On their final night in Kharkiv, Saul, Boldi, Kim, and Julius gather for a debrief to reflect on a city caught between extreme opposites. Fresh off an overnight train from Odesa, they arrived just in time for International Women’s Day—witnessing a blue-sky celebration of smiles and flowers juxtaposed against the smoking ruins of a freshly struck residential building. They dive deep into the unique friction of daily life in Kharkiv, where air sirens have become a permanent backdrop to existence. They share extraordinary firsthand accounts from the ground, including: A Surreal Encounter: The story of a traumatised survivor pushing a fistful of valuable Russian rubles toward them, declaring that the currency must have dropped straight out of the bomb. The Kupiansk Dynamic: A look at the fluid, nearby front lines where Ukrainian forces are currently encircling the last holdouts of Russian troops. Institutional Hurdles: A candid discussion on the Ukrainian army’s struggle to scale innovation from elite units like the Khartiia brigade down to the "no-name" brigades. The Russian Way of War: An analysis of Russia's ability to learn as an organisation over a long war, balanced against…
People in this episode
Hosts: Saul, Boldi, Kim, Julius
Guest: Katya
Topics covered
- war in Ukraine
- Kharkiv
- women in combat
- Ukrainian military
- Russian military strategy
- survivor stories
- International Women’s Day
Keywords
- Kharkiv
- war
- Ukraine
- women in war
- survivor stories
- military strategy
- International Women’s Day
- Ukrainian army
- Russian troops
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Ukrainian army, Khartiia brigade, Russian troops
Places: Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv
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