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It was a joy to talk translation with Ali Kinsella, Mark Andryczyk & Oleh Kotsyuba at the launch of Taras Prokhasko's Earth Gods @huribooks.bsky.social last week! We talked botany, brain scans, geopolitics & mountain dialects👇. Happy International Translator Day! www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN7Y...

I spoke to the @telegraphnews.bsky.social Ukraine: The Latest podcast about Babyn Yar and Holocaust memory in Ukraine. Thank you @adeliepjz.bsky.social and the much-missed David Knowles for the invitation and for your excellent reporting from Kyiv in this episode. podcasts.apple.com/gr/podcast/g...

I echo what my fellow russianist and colleague @sarahjyoung.bsky.social says, and fully support what @uilleamblacker.bsky.social calls for in his essay.

Brilliant, thought-provoking essay by my colleague @uilleamblacker.bsky.social - as a russianist who fully accepts that I have contributed this problem, I’d welcome the sort of institutional change Uilleam argues for here, and am trying to work towards that. www.eurozine.com/russia-is-no...

@uilleamblacker.bsky.social: "Institutions that are built around the idea of ‘Russia and Eastern Europe’, or even Slavic Studies, are something akin to the fossil fuel industries. If we want to find a sustainable and ethical way forward, they are no longer tenable" www.eurozine.com/russia-is-no...

I wrote for Eurozine on the lingering imperial geographies that define our understandings of Ukraine and eastern Europe.

A podcast not to be missed by anyone who wants to understand #Ukraine. I've just devoured all 5 episodes. Thank you @okhromeychuk.bsky.social & @uilleamblacker.bsky.social for this crucial contribution. I particularly liked the fascinating episode on Crimea! www.olesyakhromeychuk.com/projects/the...

Looking for something uplifting today? The latest Ukraine Shelf episode explores food: how it nourishes, connects, and helps overcome trauma. @uilleamblacker.bsky.social and I chat with chef and activist @oliahercules.bsky.social, and journalist and volunteer Felicity Spector. 🎧 Link below.

Watch the recording of our discussion on Odesa, identity, resistance & empire with @julianevans.bsky.social, Olha Sydorushkina, Oksana Dovgopolova, Ivan Kozlenko. Organised by @uclssees.bsky.social & @ukrinstitute.bsky.social, supported by @britishacademy.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb17...

New Ukraine Shelf episode out now! @okhromeychuk.bsky.social and I spoke to @oliahercules.bsky.social and @felicityspector.bsky.social about Ukrainian food culture, how food sustains in wartime, the implications of the war for global food supplies and more. youtu.be/lwODG8kdTrM?...

Very excited to be recording a special edition of The Ukraine Shelf at @edbookfest.bsky.social with my co-host @okhromeychuk.bsky.social and the brilliant Oksana Maksymchuk and Phillipe Sands! Ticketes here: www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...

Very excited to be recording a special edition of The Ukraine Shelf at @edbookfest.bsky.social with my co-host @okhromeychuk.bsky.social and the brilliant Oksana Maksymchuk and Phillipe Sands! Ticketes here: www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...

Presented on a fantastic panel “Contact zones & Cross-Cultural Dialogue in Ukrainian Literature” chaired by @uilleamblacker.bsky.social & had the pleasure to run a panel series “Between Past & Future: The Ukrainian War as a Battle for Identity” @iceeess.bsky.social, hosted by @uclssees.bsky.social

My interview for The Ukrainians is now available in English. We talked postcolonialism, western cultural biases, translation, Ukrainian-Scottish parallels, and more. theukrainians.org/en/uilleam-b...

Very much looking forward to being in conversation with Dame Melinda Simmons today at #iccees2025, hosted at @uclssees.bsky.social. We'll be talking Ukraine, Poland, the Russian threat, and more www.iccees2025.org/keynote-spea...

I had the pleasure of speaking at European Literature Night recently, in a discussion about the role of culture in resisting indifference. Here’s a clip of me reflecting on why culture is always political, but I’d highly recommend watching the full recording on YouTube: youtu.be/oK9QlhCKq24?.... 1/2

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My interview with @bohdananeborak.bsky.social for The Ukrainians is now free to access. We discussed overcoming colonial complexes, writing in marginalised languages, imagining place through literature, translation, war poetry and more. theukrainians.org/uilleam-blac...

Russia's logic accepted by many: 1. Tupolev bomber launches missile into Kyiv's main children hospital on 8 July 2024. 2. Ukraine destroys Tupolev bombers on 1 June 2025. 3. In retaliation, Russia bombs Odesa's main maternity hospital on 10 June. Legit tit for tat! All good.

Cultural diplomacy and public education aren’t luxuries — they’re matters of security. Help us turn curiosity into lasting engagement. Join @ukrinstitute.bsky.social's summer fundraiser: from soil to soul. Wed 25 June, 6:30 pm | Bishopsgate Institute. More info: www.tickettailor.com/events/ukrai...

💔 In Odesa, 2 people have already died, 9 people were injured! 🚑 A maternity hospital was hit. The administrative building of the emergency medical station was completely destroyed. Several ambulances were damaged.

Sophia Cathedral, an XI century symbol of Ukraine was damaged by the Russian military attack last night. I remember the tragedy of Notre Dame fire as a tragedy of all the Europe. Sophia is of the same value to our shared history. Speak about Sophia today, mourn with us.

As @uilleamblacker.bsky.social writes at the end of his review, the lesson is universal.

I have a special fondness for crime fiction that excels in the genre yet also rewards close reading with hidden depths. Andrey Kurkov's Kyiv novels, superbly handled by @bdralyuk.bsky.social, fall into that category. It was a joy to review them in @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...

Not ashamed to admit that @uilleamblacker.bsky.social’s @theatlantic.com essay on Andrey Kurkov’s Kyiv Mysteries, the third volume of which I am currently steeped in, moved me to tears. A rare privilege—for authors, translators, anyone—to be so well understood. www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...

Dzhemilev is a remarkable figure, who has been at the centre of opposition to Russian imperialism for decades. Good interview by @shaunwalker7.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

This is compelling for many reasons, not least for its powerful insights into the relationship between #language choice and emotion.

Episode 4 of The Ukraine Shelf is out now — listen to @uilleamblacker.bsky.social @okhromeychuk.bsky.social Yuliya Musakovska and Maria Tumarkin discuss writing about war and trauma. 🔗 Listen to it here and find out more about book recommendations: www.ucl.ac.uk/european-ins...

On postcolonialism from a Ukrainian perspective, cultural diplomacy, global literary hierarchy, and more: my interview for The Ukrainians. Huge thanks to @bohdananeborak.bsky.social for a great conversation! (In Ukrainian) theukrainians.org/uilleam-blac...

Details to be announced later today, but the new UK-EU deal, resetting the post-Brexit trade relationship, has been agreed - as usual, quite close to the wire. Security/defence is the big one, but fishing, travel & youth mobility will likely make the headlines. www.politico.eu/article/eu-a...

New Ukraine Shelf is out! Yuliya Musakovska and Maria Tumarkin joined us in front of a live audience in Lviv to discuss writing war and trauma, and the conversation was superb, don’t miss it! Find on youtube etc here: www.ucl.ac.uk/european-ins...

‘As we remember those who gave their lives for freedom both 80 years ago and continue to do so now, let us work towards a peace where “never again” is realised not only in words but also in practice.’ Olesya Khromeychuk, UIL Director. @okhromeychuk.bsky.social

Last week @okhromeychuk.bsky.social & I recorded our first Ukraine Shelf episode in Ukraine! Julia Musakovska & Maria Tumarkin joined us in Lviv to discuss war poetry, silence, the meaning of place, survival & more. Soon on youtube, soundcloud etc! Thanks @dovzhyk.bsky.social for the invitation!

It was an honour to discuss Victoria Amelina's piercing, moving book about Ukrainian resistance to the invasion for @hayfestival.bsky.social with Tetiana Teren, who was part of the amazing team who brought this book to publication. It was a great conversation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q5L...

🎧 The Ukraine Shelf Podcast Ep. 3 is out now! Explore Eastern Ukraine with @okhromeychuk.bsky.social, @uilleamblacker.bsky.social, Olena Stiazhkina & Victoria Donovan from Donetsk & Luhansk to empire, identity & resistance. 🎙️ Listen now: youtu.be/NjoJ40hapDc

This was such a great conversation on the myths and misconceptions of eastern Ukraine. New Ukraine Shelf episode out now!

Catch up with our new podcast on the best books on Ukraine! New episode on Ukraine’s east coming soon!

Catch up with our new podcast on the best books on Ukraine! New episode on Ukraine’s east coming soon!

Moscow killed Mike Yohansen in 1937 and banned his books. I never expected Washington to try to kill my translation of his best novel in 2025. Read @katetsurkan.bsky.social's latest for @kyivindependent.com on Trump's attack on Ukrainian literature in translation. kyivindependent.com/publishing-h...

“In their oblique approach, the poems demonstrate how war seeps into all aspects of life, far beyond the front lines.” Uilleam Blacker reviews Ukrainian poet Yuliya Musakovska’s sixth collection. @uilleamblacker.bsky.social worldliteraturetoday.org/2025/march/g...

Highly recommend this episode of the Ukrainian Shelf on 2 key books for understanding the war. 1. Intent to Destroy: Russia‘s 200ys Quest to dominate Ukraine 2. Looking at Women looking at war @okhromeychuk.bsky.social @uilleamblacker.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk podcasts.apple.com/ch/podcast/t...

Episode 2 of The Ukraine Shelf is out now — listen to @uilleamblacker.bsky.social @okhromeychuk.bsky.social and @efinkel.bsky.social @dovzhyk.bsky.social discuss threats to Ukrainian culture and identity 🔗 Listen to it here and find out more about book recommendations: www.ucl.ac.uk/european-ins...

I reviewed Artem Chekh's Rock, Paper, Grenade for the @financialtimes.com: a disarming, honest, grotesque, beautiful book about coming of age in tough circumstances, a sort of 400 Blows for Ukraine in the 1990s. Great transl. by Olena Jennings & Oksana Rosenblum. www.ft.com/content/15c0...

It was an absolute pleasure chatting with @davidmcwecon.bsky.social about imperialism, the perils of dividing the world into 'spheres of influence', and the steps Europe ought to take next. Many thanks for the invitation and for keeping Ukraine at the heart of the conversation. (From 22:00) Link 👇.

Recommended

If you haven't listened in to The Ukraine Shelf yet, please do - @okhromeychuk.bsky.social & @uilleamblacker.bsky.social talk to authors, intellectuals, scholars & journalists about what we should be reading to understand Ukraine & its place in the world. @uclei.bsky.social delighted to support.

My latest book, What Does It Mean to Be Kazakhstani, is OUT now with Hurst publishers. The art cover by my favourite Qazaq artist Kuanysh Bazargaliev is already a selling point for the physical copy <3 But there's a lot of interesting things inside: www.hurstpublishers.com/book/what-do...

We've had more than 500 listens of our first Ukraine Shelf podcast! Check out episode one, on Crimea, and watch out for more episodes coming soon! (Now also on spotify.) @okhromeychuk.bsky.social @uclssees.bsky.social @uclei.bsky.social @ukrinstitute.bsky.social ucl.ac.uk/european-ins...

Full house @uclssees.bsky.social for Victoria Donovan’s talk about her new book ‘Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East’. Expertly hosted by @uilleamblacker.bsky.social and Volodymyr Kulikov, with moving responses from the audience to the beautiful images that were shown.