
Why Ukraine's resistance starts with ordinary people
From Explaining Ukraine by UkraineWorld
March 19, 2026 · 1h 10m
About this episode
This episode discusses the crucial role of ordinary people in Ukraine's resistance against Russian occupation through personal stories and experiences.
How did two friends save hundreds of civilians? How did one restaurant feed tens of thousands in a besieged city? What does a former entrepreneur feel while recovering the bodies of fallen soldiers every day? What is life truly like under Russian occupation? And most importantly—why is the Ukrainian resistance impossible to grasp without understanding the role of ordinary people, like you and me? *** Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet covering Ukraine. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko—Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. This episode features a conversation held at PEN Ukraine in late February with the authors of the book Dark Days, Determined People: Stories from Ukraine under Siege, written by journalists Bohdan Ben and Orysia Hrudka. Part of the "Ukrainian Voices" series, the book was published in English by Ibidem-Verlag and is available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Days-Determined-People-Ukrainian/dp/3838219589 The book brings together 20 reportage stories documented between 2022 and 2024 across Ukraine. Originally published mostly by Euromaidan Press, these stories capture…
People in this episode
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko
Guests: Bohdan Ben, Orysia Hrudka
Topics covered
- Ukrainian resistance
- ordinary people
- civilian stories
- Russian occupation
- human experiences
- war impact
Keywords
- Ukrainian resistance
- civilian stories
- war experiences
- PEN Ukraine
- Dark Days
- ordinary people
- Russian occupation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: PEN Ukraine, UkraineWorld, Ibidem-Verlag, Euromaidan Press
Books & works: Dark Days, Determined People: Stories from Ukraine under Siege
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- How Russia can be defeated - with Lesia Ogryzko · April 29, 2026 · 43 min
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