War in Ukraine with Mayor Oleg Volsky

Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr is in Ukraine covering the Russian invasion.

This week he spoke with Oleg Volsky, the mayor of Zhovkva, a town about 40 minutes north of Lviv. Volsky was in the town square talking to constituents when he sat with Terrell for a short interview.

As mayor of the town Volsky has several concerns, including helping the vulnerable members of his community, and preparing to defend it with those who are able. They've also got refugees from other parts of Ukraine to care for. Zhovkva is in western Ukraine so the fighting hasn't come to their town yet, but Volsky believes it's possible.

"I have two guns and I am preparing for this war," Volsky says. "Today we are very proud for our country."

For more information follow Terrell on Twitter @Russian_Starr or check out our website at blackdiplomats.net.

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About the Podcast

Black Diplomats

The world is full of black people, but when the mainstream media talks about the world, we hardly ever hear from them. Black Diplomats—a podcast dedicated to international politics and culture from the perspective of people of color—is going to...

Founded in 2020 and led by Terrell Jermaine Starr, Black Diplomats is the go-to podcast for those who want relatable content on global affairs that doesn’t center the perspectives of white male experts.

Few foreign policy shows are led by Black people or center the opinions, experiences and expertise of people of color. Black Diplomats is one exception. Guests are mostly people of color and people who are indigenous to the regions the episodes focus on.

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About your host

Terrell Starr

Terrell Jermaine Starr is the senior reporter at The Root, where he writes about the 2020 election and foreign policy, mostly U.S. relations with Ukraine and Russia. He is also the The Root’s 2020 correspondent and is tasked with interviewing presidential candidates and traveling to communities around the country to see who voters are eyeing to cast ballots for during the 2020 primary and the general election.

Some of the people Starr have conducted sit-down interviews with include U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, among other politicians.

Before working at The Root, Starr was at Foxtrot Alpha, a blog that focuses on military, technology and policy. Prior to that, he worked for FUSION as a national political correspondent covering the 2016 presidential campaign. He lived Ukraine as a Fulbright fellow, and Georgia as a Peace Corps volunteer. Starr has over four years of experience living in the former Soviet Union and more than eight years working as a reporter. Starr uses his media skills to break down Russia-U.S. relations in ways that make him not sound like a Washington hack. He is a frequent guest and co-host of the popular podcast In The Thick and his work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Mother Jones and Buzzfeed.

Starr is a regularly sought after speaker on U.S.-Russian relations, Ukrainian politics and the intersection of race and politics in America.