War in Ukraine: Volodymyr Yermolenko talks about Ukrainian identity and the Russo-Ukrainian war [podcast]

"I think there is a certain fear in the Russian society — if they lose Ukraine, then they lose the same link of Russia to Europe. They think their roots in medieval times are basically in Ukrainian lands: Kyiv, Chernihiv, Pereyaslav, and many other cities which are now in Ukraine. They are trying to prove to themselves that Ukraine does not exist and is a part of the Russian people. Thus, this Russian imperial project goes not only through occupation or violence but also through a great attempt to assimilate or erase differences," Volodymyr Yermolenko, Director of Analytics at Internews Ukraine and UkraineWorld Editor-in-Chief, about the difference between Ukrainian and Russian identities and the Russia's war against Ukraine.