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Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

165. UKRAINE WAR REPORT: Seth Harp. Investigative Reporting in Ukraine. Inside the Radical, Far-Right Azov Battalion. The Ukrainian Foreign Legion Doesn’t Exist. Is Bucha Just the Beginning? Why Did 97 Soldiers Die at Fort Bragg in Two Years?

Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

Righteous Media | Bleav

Daily News, Veteran, News, Politics, News Commentary, National Security

4.6907 Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2022

⏱️ 62 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ukraine remains under attack. Civilians are still dying. Bucha, a suburb of Kiev, is the first of what could be many that reveal the scope and scale of war crimes. And it could get worse. Russian chessmaster Garry Kasparov said it–and I’ve been repeating since the war began. EASY IS OVER. The tide may have turned. But the flood is just starting. The flood of pain and loss. And flood of sadness and need. The flood of weapons. The flood of blood. Wartime is here. Not just for Ukraine. But for everyone who cares about freedom. And now, more than any other time in our lifetime, now is a time for us all to stay vigilant. We all need to help Ukraine. And understand the flood of pain they’re in right now. And do more to help.  Welcome to another Ukraine War Report. Seth Harp (@sethharpesq) was a sophomore at UT-Austin when the Iraq war started and his Army Reserve unit got called up. He went over there as a simple truck-driving private and did a 15-month tour from 2003 to 2005. And the first piece he wrote for Rolling Stone was about an ambush that befell one of his detachments.  After college he went to NYU Law and spent five years practicing law, first as a corporate lawyer, later as an assistant AG at the Texas AG's office. While he says there were a lot of things he liked about the profession, a strong desire to write led him to quit and go to Columbia Journalism School. He graduated in 2016 and started writing for Rolling Stone. They sent him to Syria a couple of times, as well as Iraq, and to Mexico on three or more occasions. He developed a specialty covering the intersection of the military, armed conflict, and organized crime, reporting not only for Rolling Stone but also Harper's, The Intercept, The New Yorker's News Desk, The NY Times Magazine's At War, Columbia Journalism Review, The Texas Observer, and The Daily Beast.  Now, he’s in Ukraine on assignment for Harper's and digging deep, running down leads, and gathering material for a number of stories. And he’ll preview them in this episode.  He’s on the inside and he takes us there with him. Into Ukraine. Into Kyiv. And into one of the most controversial units in the fight. The notorious, far-right Azov Regiment. Seth talked to it’s founder, visited its Kiev headquarters and shares what he found. He also shares new reporting and how few foreign volunteers are actually joining the fight. And, explains why, back at home in the US, so many elite soldiers are dying mysteriously at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It’s a deep and insightful look into the conflict—and the Ukrainian and American militaries—that you can’t get anywhere else. Every episode of Independent Americans hosted by Paul Rieckhoff is the truth beyond the news–and light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It’s content for the 42% of Americans that proudly call themselves independent. And delivers the Righteous Media 5 Is: independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. Always with a unique focus on national security, foreign affairs and military and veterans issues. This is another pod to help you stay vigilant. Because vigilance is the price of democracy. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans will continue to be your trusted place for independent news, politics and inspiration.  -Get extra content, connect with guests, attend events, get merch discounts and support this show that speaks truth to power by joining us on Patreon.  -WATCH video of Paul and Seth’s conversation here. -Get the Ghost of Ukraine t-shirt Paul mentioned (and wore in this episode) and support the folks there now deep in the fight. -Check the hashtag #LookForTheHelpers on Twitter. And share yours.  -Find us on social media or www.IndependentAmericans.us. -Hear other Righteous podcasts like The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra, Uncle Montel - The OG of Weed and B Dorm.  Independent Americans is powered by Righteous Media. America’s next great independent media company.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Powered by righteous media.

0:15.6

Welcome to Independent Americans.

0:19.7

Welcome to another special Ukraine War Report and episode

0:22.7

165. I'm your host, Paul Reikoff. What's happening in Ukraine right now is worse than most

0:31.3

could have imagined. And now is it time to stay vigilant. We are now facing two global powers, China and Russia, each with significant military capabilities,

0:46.1

both who intend to fundamentally change the rules-based current global order.

0:52.3

We are entering a world that is becoming more unstable,

0:56.5

and the potential for significant international conflict

0:59.7

between great powers is increasing, not decreasing.

1:04.5

That's Chairman the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley,

1:08.1

laying it out, saying that the risk of conflict between great powers is

1:12.6

increasing, not decreasing. And anyone watching the news should be able to see that now. And for

1:20.3

anyone who's listened to this show, what's happening in Ukraine is not worse than you could have

1:25.0

imagined. You saw this coming. Ukraine remains under attack.

1:31.2

Civilians are still dying. And Bucha, a suburb of Kiev, will go down in history as a site of

1:38.5

atrocities, war crimes, and will likely be the first of what could be many places in Ukraine that reveal

1:45.8

the scope and scale of Putin's war crimes. And the reality is, it can still get worse.

1:54.0

Bionna Golodriga, the brilliant global analyst at CNN, who joined us on episode 157 for

2:00.4

the first of our Ukraine war reports, tweeted something

2:03.5

very powerful this week.

2:05.9

She said, very worried about timing here.

2:09.4

The increased pro-war, pro-denazification rhetoric from Russian state media, urging the Kremlin

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