First of all, apologies for my noisy tummy! I didn’t realise how loud it was until I listened back to the recording. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to re-record, so consider it part of my Substack’s shabby chic. I hope it doesn’t detract from the reading too much.
As I say in the recording, I’ll be away from now until March 21 on account of being in Spain, so you’ll be pleased to hear that my voice, words, and noisy stomach will not be invading your inbox for a few weeks.
You can read Humeniuk’s poem, along with some more by other Ukrainians, here. Click below to read the interview with him that I quoted.
As I promised in the recording, here is a small selection of articles, ordered by date, that I’ve found interesting and useful throughout the Ukraine crisis.
‘Why Ukraine Matters’ by Francis Fukuyama (American Purpose, Jan 24, 2022).
‘Putin’s Wager in Russia’s Standoff with the West’ by Michael Kofman (War on the Rocks, Jan 24, 2022).
‘Forget NATO: Ukraine's Problem Is Russian Imperialism’ by Matt Johnson (Haaretz, Jan 30, 2022).
‘Putin’s spiritual destiny’ by Giles Fraser (UnHerd, Feb 24, 2022). A good analysis of the much-overlooked religious aspect of Putin’s ambitions and ideology. (I notice a comment below the piece lamenting that if only Putin hadn’t poisoned people in England, they’d love to support him! I assume this person is suffering from a case of right-wing Putinphilia: “He’s an anti-woke defender of masculinity and tradition and Christianity, don’t cha know?”)
‘Putin’s Pointless War’ by Matt Johnson (Areo Magazine, Feb 25, 2022).
‘A letter to the Western Left from Kyiv’ by Taras Bilous (openDemocracy, Feb 25, 2022).
‘Has Putin lost the plot?’ by Owen Matthews (The Spectator, Feb 26, 2022).
‘Vlad the Invader: Putin is looking to rebuild Russia’s empire’ by Niall Ferguson (The Spectator, Feb 26, 2022).
‘Why Ukraine Matters’ by Francis Fukuyama (Quillette, Feb 26, 2022).
A Reading of Borys Humeniuk's 'When You Clean Your Weapon' in Solidarity with Ukraine