Ukraine vs. Russia for Dummies

February 26, 2022 12:04 PM

I'm hugely embarrassed to say that because reasons, I have paid very little attention to world news recently, and I do not know anything about the underlying causes of the situation in Ukraine. Where is a sane and unbiased explainer for people who are starting from scratch?
posted by BlahLaLa to Law & Government (12 answers total)

Best answer: Explainers are one of Vox's specialties.

(CNN and NPR have also taken a whack at it.)
posted by box at 12:10 PM on February 26, 2022 [4 favorites]

This thread from Ros Atkins at the BBC may be useful.
posted by robself at 12:20 PM on February 26, 2022

I am certainly no expert but this YouTube video seems a pretty even handed explanation of Russia's geopolitical interest in Ukraine.
posted by Pantalaimon at 12:24 PM on February 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Jessica Yellin does bite-sized explainers on her Instagram, longer format in her newsletter and podcast.
posted by assenav at 12:26 PM on February 26, 2022

Came here to post the exact same video Pantalaimon did above; I have been a fan of that particular channel (RealLifeLore) for its explainer videos for a long time now.
posted by cgg at 12:28 PM on February 26, 2022

Brett Deveraux at ACOUP did a very good post recently on the military side of things. He is very much of the opinion that the invasion is illegal and does not pull his punches in that regard, but it’s a good overview of the strategic considerations. Arguably it’s already out of date though, given the logistical issues the Russians appear to be having.
posted by Happy Dave at 2:08 PM on February 26, 2022 [5 favorites]

Best answer: https://www.metafilter.com/194375/Yuval-Noah-Harari-argues-that-Invading-Ukraine-is-Very-Bad#8209009
posted by lalochezia at 2:52 PM on February 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you want to go WAY back, the podcast Black Diplomats by Black journalist Terrell Starr (who is from the U.S. but is living in Ukraine) had a recent episode titled "Russian Colonialism" that talks about the longer relationship between Russia and Ukraine. It's more of a wide-ranging conversation with two academics than a concise explainer, but it was very helpful for me.
posted by rogerroger at 4:45 PM on February 26, 2022 [3 favorites]

Bret Devereaux, a military historian, has a great post on this: Understanding the War in Ukraine.
posted by ourobouros at 8:09 AM on February 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

For more academic coverage/historical context, I have found two recent episodes of the Deep Dish on Global Affairs podcast helpful.
posted by Comet Bug at 3:49 PM on February 28, 2022

Longreads picked up one from Jewish Currents.
posted by box at 5:08 PM on February 28, 2022

This is the 9:26 minute video I am using with high schoolers.
Gravitas Plus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK-yJD_fAtk
posted by Salamandrous at 6:16 PM on February 28, 2022 [1 favorite]