This month marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine—a conflict that has reshaped global politics, security, and the international order. To reflect on this grim anniversary, Global in the Granite State welcomes a powerful and deeply personal conversation with Sviatoslav Yuras, Ukraine’s youngest member of parliament and a recent participant in the Open World Leadership Program hosted in New Hampshire.
Drawing on his experiences as both a lawmaker and a frontline soldier, Yuras offers rare insight into how Ukrainians view the war, the prospects for peace, and the hard lessons learned from broken agreements with Russia. He speaks candidly about why Ukrainians remain deeply skeptical of ceasefires without real security guarantees, how morale endures amid staggering personal sacrifice, and what “Live Free or Die” truly means when national survival is at stake.
The conversation also explores the broader global implications of the war—from the authoritarian coalition backing Russia to the role of democratic accountability inside Ukraine itself, including how the country confronts corruption even in wartime. Above all, this episode asks a critical question for Americans and Granite Staters alike: why does Ukraine matter to us—and what role can citizens play in shaping what comes next?
This is a sobering, hopeful, and ultimately urgent discussion about sovereignty, democracy, and the cost of indifference in a world where might is once again testing right.

Sviatoslav Andriyovych Yurash is the youngest ever Ukrainian MP and a public figure. An active participant in the Revolution of Dignity. MP of Ukraine of the IX convocation from the "Servant of the People" party. Initiator and Chairman of the largest caucus in the history of the Parliament "Values. Dignity. Family", Initiator and Secretary of the second largest Parliamentary Caucus "Intermarium". Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Relations and Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Ukrainians Abroad.
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