Joshua Yaffa on What’s Next for Ukraine

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

News, David, Books, Arts, Storytelling, Wnyc, New, Remnick, News Commentary, Yorker, Politics

4.2 • 5.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 October 2022

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The contributor Joshua Yaffa, who was based in Moscow for years and has been reporting from Ukraine since the start of the war, speaks to David Remnick from Kyiv. There, Yaffa says, the latest news from Russia—including threats of nuclear attack and reports of political upheaval—has been treated with near-indifference. “Ukraine has been in the fight for its survival since the end of February, fully aware that Russia is ready to throw any and all resources at the attempted subjugation of the Ukrainian state,” he says. “And after things like the massacre in Bucha and other areas outside of Kyiv, earlier this spring, there’s not much that can surprise or shock or scare the Ukrainian public about what Russia is ready to do.”

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNWC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:14.4	Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour, I'm David Remnik.
0:17.4	Our contributor Joshua Yoffa is on the ground reporting in Ukraine where the news has been
0:22.4	absolutely stunning.
0:24.8	A counterattack in Ukraine that has Russian forces in retreat.
0:28.8	Vladimir Putin reacting by calling up recruits and threatening nuclear war.
0:34.1	And distinct signs of political rebellion and despair in Russia itself as thousands
0:39.1	of people have fled the country and many more are taking to the street in protest.
0:45.1	Joshua Yoffa was based for years in Moscow and since the war began, he's reported for
0:49.9	us consistently from Ukraine.
0:52.1	I reached him there last week.
0:54.8	Hey Josh, how are you?
0:56.6	Nice to talk to you.
0:57.6	I'm reaching you in Kiev.
0:58.6	That's right.
0:59.6	Yeah, I arrived a few days ago.
1:00.8	Now the news that's coming out of Moscow, the news that's coming out of Ukraine is astonishing
1:06.2	and it's hard to know where to start.
1:08.8	But Putin's mobilization effort seems to be a disaster in so many ways.
1:14.6	It sparked protests at home, people leaving the country.
1:19.4	How is it being received in Ukraine?
1:22.1	Is there some sense of weirdly some sense of celebration about how badly it's gone?
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -907 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WNYC Studios and The New Yorker, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.