Day 1,408. At the start of the fifth calendar year of the full scale invasion, attacks across Ukraine saw the beginning of 2026 marked with yet more death, injury and destruction across Ukraine. It has also seen General Budanov named as Andrii Yermak’s replacement, a remarkable double-cross operation by Budanov’s military intelligence department and a rebuttal by the CIA into claims by Moscow earlier this week that Ukraine tried to attack Putin directly. We report how Australian tanks have been ...
Jan 02, 2026•51 min
Today, in a special pre-recorded episode, we take you back to Kharkiv, where Francis and Adélie met a young theatre company called Ocheret. Proud heirs to a city with a long tradition of artists defending Ukrainian identity, and one that is primarily Russian-speaking, these performers are part of Kharkiv’s cultural frontline. With the city lying just kilometres from active fighting, the members of the company, all in their early twenties, remain unflinching in their decision to carry on Kharkiv’...
Dec 31, 2025•37 min
Day 1,405. Today, as the Kremlin tries to divert attention from President Zelensky’s seemingly successful meeting with Donald Trump in Florida with un-evidenced claims of an attempt on Putin’s life, we report on Russian advances in Zapporizhia oblast that may lead to legal difficulties for a Ukrainian commander. And, later, Francis watches, and reports on, Ukrainian TV and I take a brief look back at the main events of 2025. Contributors Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNichol...
Dec 30, 2025•43 min
Day 1,404. Today, President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have secured a 15-year American security guarantee from President Donald Trump after their meeting in Mar-a-Lago. But questions remain over the other key sticking points of a potential peace deal. Plus, a postcard from Kyiv’s first marathon since the full-blown war began. Journalist Benjamin Lynch ran the half-marathon with a recorder alongside 13,000 other people to give us a flavour of the event. Pic credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Cont...
Dec 29, 2025•50 min
Day 1,399. Today, President Zelensky has revealed details of the proposed peace plan worked out between US and Ukraine delegations last weekend in Miami, that is due to be put to Russia later today. Plus, since it's Christmas Eve, something a little different: a special look at the Ukrainian art scene, past and present. We begin with the generation of Ukrainian artists at the dawn of the 20th century who helped drive the Modernist movement, breaking with centuries of figurative tradition and pus...
Dec 24, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Day 1,398. Today, as reports come in of a renewed Russian cross-border incursion in the north east of the country, Ukraine is clearing up after another massive overnight aerial attack which has left thousands without power. We report the diplomatic fallout from the inconclusive talks in Miami and Later, we have an interview with Ukrainian artist and designer, Mariya Dykalo, the Creative Director of Aspinal of London. Pic credit: The Russian Ministry of Defense/Anadolu via Getty Images Contributo...
Dec 23, 2025•46 min
Day 1,397. Today, as three days of talks in Miami between the US, Ukraine and Russia fail to produce anything of substance, we report how Emmanuel Macron may pick up the diplomatic baton with a potential phone call this week with Vladimir Putin. We report the breaking news of a car bombing in Moscow that has killed another senior Russian General and of another Ukrainian strike against Russian energy facilities in the Caspian Sea. And later, you’ll hear a report from our last trip to Ukraine when...
Dec 22, 2025•1 hr
Day 1,394. Today, as the dust settles on the critical overnight deal in Brussels to loan €90 billion to Ukraine, we report on another strike against a vessel in Russia’s shadow fleet – this time in the Mediterranean Sea. And later, we offer clear answers to the hardy perennial questions you’re likely to hear at Christmas parties from those who haven’t been following the war, before opening our podcast Secret Santa presents. Contributors Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholl...
Dec 19, 2025•49 min
Day 1,393. Today, as EU leaders meet to decide what – if anything – to do with frozen Russian assets, we examine just how consequential this moment could be for the bloc and for European security more broadly. We also analyse how Vladimir Putin has deliberately shifted his language to appeal to Donald Trump, and track another attack on a Russian oil tanker as Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet appears to have blockaded itself inside Novorossiysk rather than risk further Ukrainian drone strikes. Contributo...
Dec 18, 2025•45 min
Day 1,392. Today, as Russia attempts to insist that one of its $400 million submarines was not destroyed by a Ukrainian sea drone — in a manner that appears to prove the opposite — we bring you inside reporting from the American and Ukrainian negotiating teams at this pivotal moment. We also look ahead to a crunch European vote on whether to unlock and use frozen Russian state assets. Contributors Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X. Dominic Nicholls (Associate E...
Dec 17, 2025•54 min
Day 1,391. Today, we assess what some are calling a “breakthrough” in talks between Europe, Ukraine, and the United States, after reports that Washington is offering Kyiv security guarantees equivalent to NATO’s Article 5. But is the proposal all it appears to be – and would Vladimir Putin ever accept it? We then report a first in military history: the sinking of a submarine in port by a drone, before examining internal pressures within Russian society, and reflecting on what Moscow has done to ...
Dec 16, 2025•48 min
Day 1,390. Today, after another weekend of intense diplomatic activity, we take you to Berlin, where President Zelensky is meeting the American delegation – joined by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz – as Europe seeks to reassert itself in the peace process. We also examine the surge in military activity over the weekend, which saw multiple cities plunged into blackout, before turning to Germany’s rapidly evolving position, where comparisons are increasingly being drawn between today and the eve...
Dec 15, 2025•44 min
Today, in a special bonus episode, we bring you a panel Francis Dearnley recently moderated at the Frontline Club in London – a renowned meeting place for anyone passionate about foreign affairs, hosting regular events with guests from think tanks, journalism, the humanitarian sector, and many more. The discussion features leading experts on various dimensions of the war: Christopher Miller (Chief Ukraine Correspondent, Financial Times), Dr Jack Watling (Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare, ...
Dec 13, 2025•1 hr 12 min
Day 1,387. Today, as Russia attempts to convince the world – or at least Donald Trump – that they are inexorably taking territory, President Zelensky has visited the north-east city of Kupiansk, which has been recently liberated in a rapid recapture of ground. The head of NATO warns that the West faces the prospect of war with Russia on a scale not seen since the days of “our grandparents and great-grandparents” and we examine the latest diplomatic manoeuvres ahead of tomorrow’s meeting in Paris...
Dec 12, 2025•52 min
Day 1,386. Today, as Ukraine fires hundreds of drones into Russia – forcing the closure of all major Moscow airports – we report on how the maritime war is intensifying, with Kyiv striking shadow fleet tankers in the Black Sea and oil rigs in the Caspian Sea. Meanwhile, diplomatic tensions are rising, with President Donald Trump saying he exchanged “pretty strong words” with his European counterparts, just as reports emerge of a White House plan to bring Russia’s economy in from the cold. Then w...
Dec 11, 2025•38 min
Day 1,385. Today, as Commander Syrskyi claims Ukraine has regained several kilometres of the frontline around Pokrovsk, we examine the format of the European counter-proposal to the US-Russia peace plan, as President Trump sets a new deadline of Christmas for President Zelensky to agree. We also take deep dives into Belgium’s stance on frozen Russian state assets and the state of hybrid warfare across Europe, before hearing from the UK Minister of the Armed Forces on the evolving European positi...
Dec 10, 2025•48 min
Day 1,384. Today, as President Zelensky appears to reject Donald Trump’s proposal for Ukraine to cede territory to Moscow, we examine the new European plan set to be presented to the US later. We also report on how Ukrainian troops are still holding out in the frontline city of Pokrovsk, before turning to developments inside Russia: Putin’s new law requiring 100,000 military reservists to undergo two months of training, growing protests over tax rises, and the outcomes of his visit to India, whe...
Dec 09, 2025•44 min
Day 1,383. Today, after a weekend marked by continued talks in Florida between the Ukrainian and American delegations and President Donald Trump’s comments blaming Zelensky for stalling negotiations, the Ukrainian president meets British PM Keir Starmer, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz in London today. The talks, which finished as we were recording this episode, opened with Germany’s ‘scepticism’ of US peace proposals and France’s assurance that ‘Europe had a lot of cards in i...
Dec 08, 2025•53 min
Day 1,380. Today, we report on revelations from a European leaders’ conference call, exposing the level of anxiety over the US peace proposals, cover the military drones spotted approaching President Zelensky’s plane as it neared Dublin, and examine the new US National Security Strategy, which has alarmed many. Later, we return to our regular updates on the occupied territories, and speak to a doctor about frontline medical provision for Ukrainian soldiers. Contributors Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Jo...
Dec 05, 2025•51 min
Day 1,379. Today, after Tuesday’s inconsequential meeting in Moscow, Ukrainian negotiators are updating European counterparts on Kyiv’s response before flying to meet Steve Witkoff in Miami. We consider why U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau has lambasted European NATO allies for prioritising their own defence industries over American suppliers – comments made just as another billion dollars was added to the PURL fund – and we ask whether, if Pokrovsk has indeed fallen, Russia wil...
Dec 04, 2025•49 min
Day 1,378. Today, as the world reacts to the marathon – but ultimately fruitless – talks in Moscow on Tuesday night, we examine how the impasse will shape today’s meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers and, also in Brussels, the European Council’s discussions on frozen Russian assets and the ‘new era’ the EU says it is entering, free from Russian fossil fuels. Plus, our Russia expert assesses Moscow’s ‘caviar diplomacy’ and its growing problems in Africa, and we report how Australia and New Zealand a...
Dec 03, 2025•53 min
Day 1,377. Today, on a national day of mourning in Ukraine after a single ballistic missile strike killed four people and injured forty more, we report on the arrival of the US delegation in Moscow as the latest round of peace talks gets under way. Then we hear from our Washington Correspondent on the mood in the United States toward Ukraine – and the current strength of President Trump – and take a deep dive into how Russian soldiers are being sent into combat without helmets or body armour. Co...
Dec 02, 2025•49 min
Day 1,376. Today, after a fresh round of talks between the Ukrainian and American delegations in Miami, we examine a new investigation exposing the Trump administration’s profit motives behind the emerging proposals. We then assess the resignation of Andriy Yermak, formerly Zelensky’s right-hand man, and the unexpected intervention of former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi – viewed as preparing for a presidential run after the war. Afterwards, we analyse Kyiv’s decision to strike the Russia...
Dec 01, 2025•44 min
Day 1,373. Today, in a world exclusive, we report how Donald Trump is preparing to hand over Ukraine’s occupied territories, as his team prepares to fly to Moscow to present the plan to Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, the Russian President claims his country’s army “cannot be held back”, as Russia experiences one of the heaviest drone raids of the war. Then, we turn to Kyiv, where the offices of the head of President Zelensky’s office – Andriy Yermak – were dramatically raided by anti-corruption offi...
Nov 28, 2025•52 min
Day 1,372. Today, as Thanksgiving is marked in the United States – and supposedly the day by which Ukraine was meant to agree to a peace deal, a deadline Donald Trump has now walked back – Russia denies leaking the phone call in which Steve Witkoff coached Vladimir Putin’s top aides on how to flatter the former president. We assess whether Marco Rubio’s apparent demand – that a peace deal be signed before the US grants Ukraine any security guarantees – is remotely deliverable. We also report on ...
Nov 27, 2025•43 min
Day 1,371. Today, as a leaked call reveals that Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to Russia, coached a Kremlin negotiator on how to make Donald Trump more favourable to Moscow’s position, we examine the fallout – or the lack of it. We also assess new signals that Trump’s much-trailed Thursday deadline may not be as cast-iron as claimed. Then we turn to the reaction from Moscow and across Europe’s parliaments: alarm, or business as usual? Contributors Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audi...
Nov 26, 2025•49 min
Day 1,370. Today, as the United States holds secret talks with separate Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Abu Dhabi, we unpack the emerging 19-point peace plan – and react live on air to breaking reports that President Zelensky has agreed to the framework of a potential deal. We then gauge the mood in Europe’s capitals: is this a moment of quiet strategy and resolution, or rising panic as the diplomatic landscape shifts beneath their feet? Contributors Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for A...
Nov 25, 2025•41 min
Day 1,369. Today, after a historic weekend, as US and Ukrainian delegations met in Geneva to discuss the US-Russian peace proposals, we assess Europe’s response as it scrambles to form a collective position, before asking just how severe the ramifications would be if, as President Trump has threatened, he cuts of military and intelligence support to Kyiv. Then we hear the latest updates on the frontline, and give up an update on the other major story of the moment: the corruption scandal threate...
Nov 24, 2025•56 min
Today, in a special bonus episode, we bring you a major panel from the Ukraine Freedom Summit in London, moderated by Dom and featuring a distinguished lineup: Lt General (Ret.) H.R. McMaster (U.S. National Security Adviser to President Trump, 2017–18), Boris Johnson (Former UK Prime Minister), Sergey Vysotsky (Deputy Chairman, Association of Strategic Communications, National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries), and Michael Kofman (Senior Fellow, Russia & Eurasia Program, Carnegie ...
Nov 22, 2025•47 min
Day 1,366. Today, we reveal new details of the proposed American-Russian peace plan – one that would not only drastically shrink the Ukrainian army and force Kyiv to surrender vast areas of critical territory, but ban it from ever joining NATO, and even see Moscow invited back into the G7 with its frozen assets returned. After breaking down the implications and surveying the mood in the Donbas, we bring the latest reports of resistance from the occupied territories – places which would legally b...
Nov 21, 2025•56 min
