Як українські технології допомагали перемагати у Другій світовій

Key Points

• Ukraine's contribution to the Allied victory in World War II went far beyond manpower—it was also a major source of engineering, industrial, and technological innovation.
• The episode aims to counter Russian propaganda (e.g., Putin's 2010 claim that Russia would have won without Ukraine) without replacing it with a mirror-image Ukrainian myth.
• Around 7 million Ukrainians served in the Red Army; over 2.5 million received Soviet or Western decorations, more than 2,000 became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 32 became twice-Heroes.
• Ivan Kozhedub of Sumy region became the top Allied fighter ace with 64 confirmed aerial victories and one of only three triple Heroes of the Soviet Union.
• Ukraine was one of the most industrially developed parts of the Russian Empire: by 1913, the Donbas produced about 87% of imperial coal, and Kharkiv was a key center of railway and machine-building.
• Bolshevik industrialization relied heavily on foreign technology—German machine tools and American engineering—to rebuild and expand Ukraine's industrial base after revolution and civil war.
• Kharkiv became the heart of Soviet tank design: the KhPZ works, the OKB-520 design bureau, and engineers such as Ivan Aleksienko, Afanasy Firsov, Mykhailo Koshkin, and Kostiantyn Chelpan created the T-12, T-24, BT series, and ultimately the T-34.
• The V-2 (B-2) diesel engine, designed largely in Kharkiv by Chelpan and others, powered the T-34 and other Soviet armored vehicles.
• Soviet tank designs were adapted from foreign prototypes (e.g., Walter Christie's American chassis), but Soviet engineers modified them for mass production rather than simply copying them.
• Stalin's purges killed or erased many key figures behind these achievements—Firsov was executed in 1937 and his name removed from Soviet tank history until the 1980s; Chelpan was also repressed.
• Ukrainian industry supplied a huge share of Soviet war output: on the eve of the 1941 German invasion, Soviet Ukraine produced roughly half or more of all-Union coal, pig iron, steel, and rolled metal; Dnipropetrovsk oblast alone provided about 60% of iron ore and 20% of pig iron.
• The episode also includes a sponsor segment for PrivatBank's "Konvert" savings feature, which offers automatic saving scenarios and 5–7% annual interest on balances.

Summary

This episode of the podcast "Without Declaring War," hosted by Avromchuk and Kabachynskyi, explores Ukraine's often-overlooked technological and industrial contribution to victory in World War II. The hosts note that while Ukraine's human sacrifice is relatively well known inside the country, the broader world—and even many Ukrainians—rarely appreciate how much Ukrainian engineering, industry, and innovation shaped the Soviet war effort. The episode is framed as a response to Russian propaganda, including Vladimir Putin's 2010 claim that Russia would have won without Ukraine, but the hosts insist they are not replacing that with a mirror-image Ukrainian myth. Instead, they aim for a more objective account.

The discussion begins with the military dimension. Around 7 million Ukrainians served in the Red Army, and more than 2.5 million received Soviet or Western orders and medals. Over 2,000 became Heroes of the Soviet Union, 32 of them twice, and Ivan Kozhedub of Sumy region became one of only three triple Heroes and the highest-scoring Allied fighter ace with 64 confirmed victories.

The hosts then turn to the deeper story: Ukraine's industrial and engineering culture, which predated the Bolsheviks. By 1913, the Donbas produced roughly 87% of the Russian Empire's coal, and Kharkiv had become a major center of railway and machine-building, with the Kharkiv Practical Technological Institute and the Kharkiv locomotive works training engineers and producing locomotives. After revolution, civil war, and economic collapse, the Bolsheviks rebuilt this base during Stalin's industrialization using massive imports of German machine tools and American engineering expertise, including the help of American-Armenian engineer Leon Svazhian in constructing the Kharkiv Tractor Plant.

Kharkiv became the core of Soviet tank design. A small tank design group formed in 1927, and by the early 1930s the OKB-520 bureau under Ivan Aleksienko worked on the T-12 and T-24. Engineers such as Afanasy Firsov and Mykhailo Koshkin passed through this ecosystem, while Kostiantyn Chelpan, a Greek from near Mariupol, helped create the V-2 diesel engine that powered the T-34. Soviet designers adapted foreign prototypes—notably Walter Christie's American chassis, which became the BT series—but reworked them for mass production. Combat experience in the Spanish Civil War exposed weaknesses such as thin armor, feeding directly into the T-34's development.

The hosts emphasize that this engineering culture was not confined to Kharkiv. Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Mariupol provided the metallurgy and production capacity. On the eve of Hitler's 1941 invasion, Soviet Ukraine produced roughly half or more of all-Union coal, pig iron, steel, and rolled metal, with Dnipropetrovsk oblast alone supplying about 60% of iron ore and 20% of pig iron.

A tragic thread runs through the story: Stalin's Great Terror destroyed many of the very people who built this system. Firsov was executed in 1937 and erased from Soviet tank history until the 1980s; Chelpan was also repressed. The episode closes by suggesting that this history offers lessons for understanding Ukraine's present-day technological and military resilience. The episode also includes a sponsor segment for PrivatBank's "Konvert" savings tool.