As a Russian soldier is put on trial in Ukraine for war crimes, Victoria and Vitaliy discuss whether he can receive a fair hearing in a Kyiv courtroom. They speak to Natalia, whose husband is fighting at the steel plant in Mariupol. She says she hasn’t heard from him in nearly a week and fears for his life. Finally we speak to the Ukrainian winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest Jamala. Her winning song was inspired by her great-grandmother’s experiences in World War Two and now she feels th...
May 13, 2022•22 min
Russian soldiers have been seen shooting dead unarmed civilians. Victoria and Vitaly are joined by Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall. They hear from a soldier, Volodomyr Demchenko who explains why he is fighting, his worries for his country, and his causes for optimism. We also hear why Finland is intending to join Nato, with Oksana Antonenko, a correspondent from the BBC Russian Service. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Phil Marzouk with Alix Pickles and Osman Iqbal. The technical producer was E...
May 12, 2022•32 min
Why are so many of them avoiding “disturbing information” about Ukraine? Victoria and Vitaly are joined by Lyse Doucet, who is in Dnipro, where rows of graves are being dug in anticipation of more people being killed in the war. Grigory Yudin, from the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences, tells us more about public opinion in Russia and about what it’s like to publicly speak out against the war while living there. And Ukraine are through to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. We ...
May 11, 2022•37 min
Victoria, Vitaly and Frank Gardner speak to Olga Malchevska, and hear her interviews with victims of suspected war crimes. 15-year-old Yuriy describes how his father was killed in front of him and a bullet missed his own head by inches. Also, Serhiy Dibrov, deputy editor of the Odesa newspaper, Dumskaya, is on the podcast after bombing in the city. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle with Chris Flynn and Osman Iqbal. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The editor is Jon...
May 10, 2022•29 min
Putin tells his troops they are fighting for their motherland. Former Russian MP Sergei Markov and advisor to Vladimir Putin gives the Kremlin’s point of view on the day his country celebrates victory at the end of the Second World War, against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine. They analyse his claims, as well as President Putin’s speech, with the help of Liza Fokht from the BBC Russia service. Katarzyna Zysk, professor of international relations and contemporary history at the Norwegi...
May 09, 2022•29 min
Why is May 9 so important to Putin? Victoria, Fergal and Vitaliy are joined by Dr. Ammon Cheskin who explains what Victory Day in Russia is really like and whether Putin will use it to declare mass mobilisation. Also, Andrew Harding joins us from the frontline in Donbas where he is meeting people quietly expressing their Russian identity. And Ukrainecast listener Emma wrestles with different views on the war in her own home, as she houses a Ukrainian man fleeing the war. This episode of Ukrainec...
May 06, 2022•38 min
Victoria and Vitaliy speak to executive director of Disability Rights International Eric Rosenthal about their investigation into how Ukraine’s disabled children have been abandoned by their carers in institutions that don’t know how to look after them. A 21-year-old man from Donetsk tells us how he left his home, his friends, his life in order to avoid forced conscription into the Russian forces by Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region. Ukrainecast listener, commercial airline pilot a...
May 05, 2022•37 min
The EU plans a total ban on Russian oil imports by the end of the year, among other new proposed sanctions designed to make Russia pay a high price for aggression. Victoria and Vitaly speak to the economist Timothy Ash about how reliant Europe’s energy supply is on Russia and how much longer President Putin can afford his war bill. We also hear from the BBC Ukrainian Service’s Anastasia Gribanova, who’s in Lviv, where Russian missiles have hit targets in an attempt to disrupt the railway network...
May 04, 2022•27 min
As the first evacuees arrive in Zaporizhzhia after weeks sheltering from bombs in the Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant, Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall and Vitaliy Shevchenko speak to James Elder from Unicef as he tells us about greeting these people and their stories. We also speak to the BBC’s Abduljalil Abdurasulov, who's spent time in the trenches with Ukrainian armed forces in the southern city of Mykolaiv while civilians there endure daily Russian attacks. And we run through the latest developmen...
May 03, 2022•26 min
We hear about the captured Ukrainians with the BBC's Yogita Limaye and Ukraine analyst, Mattia Nelles. And, the day after the UN secretary general met with the Ukrainian president, the BBC’s special correspondent Fergal Keane, and Vitaly chat to former Nato Ukraine officer, Sam de Bendern, about the prospect of peace in the region. Today's Ukrainecast was made by Phil Marzouk with Alix Pickles and Natalie Ktena. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The assistant editor was Sam Bonham....
Apr 29, 2022•28 min
We speak to Bill Browder... Lyse Doucet, the BBC's chief international correspondent, and Vitaliy Shevchenko, find out how he became an enemy of the Russian state. We learn about how a monument to Russian-Ukrainian friendship was torn down by officials in Kyiv, about UN general-secretary Antonio Guterres’ trip to Ukraine and about how Ukrainian forces are attempting to retake Kherson. Finally, we catch up with Maksim Kilderov, the artist from Nova Kakhovka who we spoke to in late March, and John...
Apr 28, 2022•31 min
As fighting continues in the bombarded city of Mariupol we hear from Olha, Katarina and Maria: three women who tell us their stories after escaping. We hear from a young refugee with autism, and his sister who runs an organisation helping autistic Ukrainian children. Trauma, stress and an unknown future have thrown carers and children into unknown territory. We also hear an update from Transnistria, the Russian-backed disputed territory in Moldova that was the site of multiple explosions. The Un...
Apr 27, 2022•32 min
The United Nations boss travels to Moscow to discuss peace with Putin. Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko are joined by Lyse Doucet, BBC Chief International Correspondent, who presents Ukrainecast for the first time. They discuss the prospect of a diplomatic solution to the conflict as the United Nations' Secretary General Antonio Guterres visits Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and President Putin. We hear from a woman in close contact with fighters in the Azovstal s...
Apr 26, 2022•36 min
Vitaly and Victoria speak to Oleksandr Sosnovskyi, from the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, as the city prepares in case of a Russian offensive. We also catch up with Vitalii Pashchenko, a 19-year-old student, who says some lecturers have remained to teach as bombs go off around them. There’s also a roundup of the latest developments after the highest-level trip to Ukraine by US officials since the invasion began. Today's Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle with Osman Iqbal and Chris Flynn...
Apr 25, 2022•26 min
The UN Human Rights Office has today described the war in Ukraine as a ‘horror story of violations against civilians’, in which respect for international law has been ‘tossed aside’. Matilda Bogner, who runs the UN's Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, tells us about the war crimes they've documented. We're also joined by the Marianna Spring, the BBC's disinformation reporter, who tells us the real story of the Ukrainian soldier who became famous when a clip of him defying orders from a ...
Apr 22, 2022•31 min
The Russian President orders troops to seal off the port city. Victoria speaks to defence expert, Justin Crump, about the situation in the city of Mariupol. She also talks to a woman who had an emergency C-section in the basement of a hospital as the fighting was intensifying outside. Anastasia Platonova from the BBC Russian Service – currently based in the Latvian capital, Riga – has been speaking to the mothers of Russian sailors who’ve gone missing. And the BBC's Lewis Goodall returns to Pola...
Apr 21, 2022•32 min
A Ukrainian marine commander in Mariupol has made what he described as his troops' "last address to the world" as they try to resist Russian forces in the city. Victoria Derbyshire, James Landale, and Olga Malchevska speak to Olena Nikulina, whose cousin Maks is among the soldiers still there. Also on the podcast, The Economist correspondent Oliver Carroll, who’s been speaking to a commander in the city. And the BBC’s religion editor Aleem Maqbool discusses the Russian Orthodox Church's role in ...
Apr 20, 2022•30 min
We speak to a Russian politician... Yevgeny Popov, Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, speaks to Frank Gardner and Victoria Derbyshire, and says that Russia felt “bullied” into invading Ukraine. He’s challenged on his belief that Nato is the aggressor, and his claims are analysed with the help of Sam de Bendern, a former Nato Ukraine political officer. Today's Ukrainecast was made by Alix Pickles and Chris Flynn. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The ...
Apr 19, 2022•36 min
Travelling 2000 miles from Poland to the UK... When Ukrainecast listener, Richard O’Doherty, emailed us offering to drive Vitaly's mum and aunt from Poland to the UK, we did not know what to expect. But on the Easter weekend, Alla and Irena arrived into Reading, greeted by Vitaly and members of his family. And, having followed their story since the invasion began, Victoria joined them at Vitaly's house the morning after, to talk through this momentous journey and what it means for everyone invol...
Apr 18, 2022•28 min
The Ukrainian president accuses Europe of paying for Russian oil with blood money. The Ukrainians claim to have hit Russia's flagship warship. And Finland eyes up a place in Nato. On today's Ukrainecast Vitaly and Fergal also hear how Ukrainian Railways are playing a critical role in the war effort, after having to reinvent themselves to evacuate refugees and move supplies around the country. And we have an eyewitness account from a young woman who fled from the Donbas region last week. Today's ...
Apr 14, 2022•30 min
Ukraine says it has arrested one of President Putin’s allies and is interested in a prisoner swap. Viktor Medvedchuk had been under house arrest in Kyiv but escaped when the Russian invasion began. James Landale joins Victoria to discuss whether a swap is likely. There's also an update from Hussain who fled from Kherson. He’s been helping other people escape from the same city - we speak to one of them. And a Belgian doctor explains how he helped transport 80 orphans across Ukraine to a safer pl...
Apr 13, 2022•32 min
Reflections on the horrors inflicted on the people of his city... After weeks of reports of Russian atrocities in the region surrounding Kyiv, the mayor of Bucha speaks to us and asks: “Why did they do this to us?” You may remember Sasha Makoviy, the mother who wrote pertinent information and contact details on the back of her two-year-old daughter in case the worst happened. We hear the latest. And we also speak to director of the Maidan museum in Kyiv who is striving to ensure the country’s ar...
Apr 12, 2022•37 min
The man involved in Syria and Chechnya is now reported to be in charge of operations in Ukraine. Victoria, Vitaly and Frank are joined by Reuters' former Moscow correspondent, Oliver Bullough, to discuss General Aleksander Dvornikov’s past and what this means for the war. They also speak to Oleksandra Matviichuk, a human rights worker in Kyiv who’s just found out that her dad is alive after more than a month of no contact. And, two very different diplomatic visits are on the agenda - Boris Johns...
Apr 11, 2022•34 min
We reflect on the horrific missile strike on a crowded train station in Kramatorsk. The station in eastern Ukraine is a major evacuation point and the attack has killed at least 50 people. Also, why does Putin need a victory by the 9th of May? Since 1945 ‘Victory Day’ has been a national celebration in Russia, marking Nazi surrender in the Second World War. Sam de Bendern, a political risks consultant and former NATO Ukraine officer, explains how Putin is feeling the pressure to celebrate a sign...
Apr 08, 2022•35 min
As footage emerges that appears to show war crimes being committed by Ukrainian soldiers we speak to one of the BBC’s team of journalists working to establish if the material is authentic. We hear from a man who’s made the decision to go home to Kyiv after having fled when war broke. A Lithuanian man explains how he’s trying to tell Russian people what’s really happening in Ukraine, by cold-calling and talking to them. Victoria Derbyshire, Vitaly Shevchenko, and Frank Gardner present this episod...
Apr 07, 2022•34 min
A woman from Mariupol describes the humiliation her mother and father faced as they travelled through checkpoints out of the city. Also, Irena Taranyuk from the BBC’s Ukrainian service tells Vitaly and Lewis how she’s been accused of not being pro-Ukrainian enough. And on the day that Putin’s daughters are sanctioned, we dig into the secrecy around his family with journalist Farida Rustamova who dared to ask the Russian president about it. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle wi...
Apr 06, 2022•26 min
As scenes of civilian corpses strewn on the streets are repeated across Ukraine, Victoria, Vitaly and Lewis take stock of a watershed in how we are seeing the war. Kay Devlin from BBC Monitoring’s anti-disinformation unit talks us through the clues and sources they look for when verifying whether what we’re viewing is valid. We hear the first-hand account of Halyna Tovkach, who was shot, and her husband and neighbours killed, while they tried to flee the town of Bucha by car. And the BBC Russian...
Apr 05, 2022•39 min
Unarmed civilians massacred near Kyiv. As images of bodies in the streets of towns near the capital lead to an outpouring of condemnation around the world, Human Rights Watch tells us about their investigation into the alleged atrocities. We hear from Tatyana, who was travelling in a convoy of vehicles escaping the city when two fleeing residents stepped out of their car and were shot dead, while their six-year-old remained in the car. Meanwhile, Vitaly’s dad, Alexander Shevchenko, has made it t...
Apr 04, 2022•32 min
Grim signs of potential war crimes on the road to Kyiv. The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen joins us from near Ukraine’s capital, where he has seen the burnt remains of civilians, shot dead as they tried to flee Russian soldiers. We also discuss reports of a Ukrainian attack on an oil depot in Russia and the latest plan to evacuate residents of occupied Mariupol. Fergal Keane discusses the trauma many in Ukraine will be left with, long after the fighting stops, and introduces us to Valeriy, who was first eva...
Apr 01, 2022•35 min
Putin says the West must pay for their energy with Russian currency... Newscast’s Adam Fleming and the BBC’s Security Correspondent, Frank Gardner, sit in for Victoria and Gabriel, alongside Vitaly. They talk energy supplies, security intel and the latest from Mariupol. They also catch up with Anastasiya Gribanova from the BBC's Ukrainian Service, who's in Lviv. She explains why she'd like to take her pro-Russian relatives to see the destruction caused by the war with their own eyes. Today’s Ukr...
Mar 31, 2022•28 min
