The BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen has been travelling around south-eastern Ukraine, to areas liberated from Russian control. He spoke to Liudmyla, a 75- year-old great-grandmother who was brutally attacked by a soldier in her own home. As winter approaches, we also hear how hard it is to survive in some places with no running water and energy blackouts. And Alexander Kamyshin, the head of Ukraine’s national rail company, Ukrzaliznytsia, describes how he and his team have been removing ...
Nov 02, 2022•30 min
The Ukrainian government has asked refugees not to come home before the spring – they’re worried about pressure on the energy system. But what does this mean for host countries? We discuss the implications with Sarah Nathan from the UK charity Refugees at Home and Stephanie Hegarty, the BBC’s global population correspondent. Also, the BBC’s Tim Whewell has an update on Viktoria Kovalenko’s situation. After losing her husband and daughter to the war, she was held captive in a basement in appallin...
Oct 31, 2022•35 min
The story of a Ukrainian father who survived the siege of Mariupol, only to be arrested at a Russian filtration camp and separated from his three young children, who were exiled to Russia. Ukrainecast producer Arsenii Sokolov and Nina Nazarova from the BBC’s Russian service join Vitaly to tell us more about this shocking case. The BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner takes listener questions about the latest on the situation in Ukraine: Russia’s claims on dirty bombs, how this conflict com...
Oct 28, 2022•43 min
Norway detains a suspected Russian spy - the latest in a long string of expulsions and arrests. Victoria and Vitaly discuss Russian espionage with BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera. He explains how the war in Ukraine has made the job of a Russian spy in Europe harder. Also, we hear the poignant testimony of a Ukrainian soldier who is suffering from post-traumatic stress because of the fighting he witnessed. And as Russia doubles down on its claims that Ukraine is planning to use dirty bom...
Oct 26, 2022•36 min
How one man secretly filmed life in Kherson under Russian forces. Dmytro Bahnenko tells us why he and his family stayed there for months secretly filming everyday life under occupation. His footage and story have also been made into a BBC documentary called Occupied. The BBC’s Ukraine correspondent, James Waterhouse, has been talking to people in recently liberated areas. He also discusses why Russia is accusing Ukraine of planning to use a radioactive “dirty bomb,” something that the West has c...
Oct 24, 2022•32 min
Why is Iran helping Russia? Chief international anchor at CNN, Christiane Amanpour, and BBC chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, talk through Iran’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. And, as Zelensky reports that 30% of the country’s power stations have been destroyed by Russian missile strikes, we speak to Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, boss of Ukraine’s national energy company, about the struggles the country faces. Today’s Ukrainecast was hosted by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevc...
Oct 21, 2022•31 min
Tens of thousands of civilians and Russian appointed officials are being moved out of the occupied city of Kherson, raising fears of what might happen next. Belkis Wilke from Human Rights Watch spoke to dozens of civilians from the recently liberated town of Izyum. She tells Lucy and Vitaly how they described beatings, electric shocks, and waterboarding in the hands of Russian occupiers. And, amidst reports that Iran is ramping up its military support to Russia by allegedly supplying it with dro...
Oct 19, 2022•36 min
Russia has attacked the Ukrainian capital with drones that loiter above a target before attacking, then detonate on impact. The BBC’s defence correspondent Jonathan Beale explains to Victoria and Vitaly why Russian forces are now using these weapons. Ukrainian author Andrei Kurkov reflects on the life and death of the Ukrainian conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko. The musician was killed by Russians occupying Kherson for refusing to take part in a concert they had organised. Also, for several days now, t...
Oct 17, 2022•29 min
As the Russian-installed leader of the region calls on its citizens to evacuate and “save themselves”, Vitaliy and Victoria hear about life under occupation in Kherson. They talk to Tamila Imanova, a lawyer working for Memorial, the Russian human rights organisation just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She explains why she agrees with the Ukrainians who insist the Russian people must bear collective responsibility for the war, but warns against the risk of Russophobia. Former NATO adviser and pol...
Oct 14, 2022•35 min
The Ukrainian authorities says they believe thousands of the country’s orphans have been taken to Russia for adoption. The BBC Russian service’s Nina Nazarova investigates their claims and speaks to a Russian woman who shares her mixed feelings about adopting a child from Ukraine. Vitaly and Victoria speak to Gleb Irisov, a former Russia soldier who served under Russia’s new army commander, Sergey Surovikin. He explains why Surovikin was given the nickname Armageddon. This episode was presented ...
Oct 12, 2022•33 min
Putin says missiles targeting Ukraine are revenge for the attack on the bridge linking Russia to Crimea at the weekend and threatens more strikes. The capital Kyiv and cities from Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia in the east to Lviv in the west have all been hit. Sabina, who lives in Kyiv, tells us one explosion went off just metres away from her car. Also, photographer Serhii Korovayny describes the scene he found when he reached the site of a missile strike in the capital. Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko...
Oct 10, 2022•39 min
Historian Orlando Figes explains why the mythologising of Russia’s past is crucial to understanding Putin’s world view and aspirations for his country. We have an update on Alice – the little girl who was separated from her mother when the Azovstal steelworks were evacuated. One her fifth birthday she got a phone call from her mum, who is being held prisoner by Russians. Russian lawyer Mikhail Benyash says young men and their families are turning to him to try to avoid being forced to fight in U...
Oct 07, 2022•46 min
As Russia hits the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, Vitaly reflects on the impact the war is having on his home town – and the challenges he faces as a journalist to remain impartial, while his friends suffer and die. This episode was presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The series producer is Estelle Doyle. The technical producer Dave O’Neill. The editor, Jonathan Aspinwall. Email [email protected] with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message o...
Oct 06, 2022•14 min
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner answers Ukrainecast listeners’ questions about the likelihood of Moscow using nuclear weapons, as the Russian army continues to suffer losses on the battlefield. And we hear from Vyacheslav Zadorenko who, together with Ukrainian forces, liberated his native village - and his mum - after seven months of Russian occupation. And BBC Russian’s Olga Ivshina joins Victoria and Frank to discuss the future of Crimea and lasting divisions in Ukraine’s occupied are...
Oct 05, 2022•35 min
While the Russian parliament proudly voted through its disputed annexations, the Ukrainian counter-offensive has been continuing, including the symbolic recapturing of the key eastern town of Lyman. The BBC’s defence correspondent Jonathan Beale, who’s just returned to the frontline in the Donbas, gives us his verdict on another dramatic turn of events in the country. Russian political scientist and anti-war campaigner Grigory Yudin talks to us from Moscow and explains what impact the military d...
Oct 03, 2022•32 min
In a defiant speech, Vladimir Putin declared four areas of Ukraine as Russian. Ukraine has responded by asking Nato to speed up giving it membership of the US-led defence alliance. Will Vernon, from the BBC Moscow bureau, sends us a dispatch from the Red Square, where a concert is being held to ‘celebrate’ the annexations. And Vitaly Sevchenko and Victoria Derbyshire are joined by Moscow based political scientist, Andrey Kortunov to unpick the events of the day and discuss what might happen next...
Sep 30, 2022•32 min
The EU believes leaks in the two Nord Stream two gas pipelines from Russia were caused deliberately. Patricia Lewis, who specialises in International Security, gives Lucy and Irena her take on the situation and explains how Europe might respond. Moscow says four occupied areas of Ukraine have voted overwhelmingly in favour of becoming part of Russia. Ukraine and its allies have denounced the referendums as a total sham, but could people living there now be told to fight in the Russian army again...
Sep 28, 2022•31 min
There have been protests in Russia over President Putin’s partial mobilisation plans, and an officer at a recruitment centre has been shot. The BBC’s Will Vernon in Moscow tells Lucy and Irena what people in Russia are saying to him, and Rayhan Demytrie in Tbilisi talks to some of the people crossing the border into Georgia. At the weekend, former US marine Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh returned home - he had been fighting in Ukraine when he was captured by Russian forces. He was released as part of last ...
Sep 26, 2022•34 min
Men flee conscription into the army as referendums start in Russian occupied Ukraine. Victoria and Vitaliy take stock of an eventful week in the Ukraine war with Samantha De Bendern, a former NATO adviser and political risk consultant and former BBC Moscow correspondent, Daniel Sandford. And Vitaliy talks to Yulia Rubanova a violinist with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra about her early life in Mariupol, her fears for her parents who were stranded there during Russian bombardment and how incredi...
Sep 23, 2022•32 min
President Putin warns the West he’s not bluffing and that he is prepared to use "all the means at our disposal" if Russian territory is threatened. The nuclear threat came as he announced a “partial” mobilisation of reserve troops to Ukraine. Vitaly, Victoria and the BBC’s Security Correspondent Frank Gardner unpick how real the possibility of a nuclear war actually is. Ukrainecast’s Ivana Davidovic talks to a recent graduate from St Petersburg, who says he wants to leave Russia to avoid being d...
Sep 21, 2022•33 min
On the day when most of the world’s leaders and officials are gathering in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, President Putin is notable by his absence. He is one of only six heads of state who was not invited. Also, at a summit in Uzbekistan, Putin faced concerns by the Chinese President Xi Jinping and further admonishment by India’s Narendra Modi. Vitaly and the BBC’s former Russia correspondent Bridget Kendall unpick what this all means for the Russian President. And they discuss w...
Sep 19, 2022•35 min
Nigel Povoas is a British lawyer who travelled to the newly recaptured territory in Eastern Ukraine as part of an international team helping with war crimes. He tells Victoria and Vitaly why based on his experience of the war so far, he believes more evidence of atrocities will emerge. They also talk to Volodymyr Zelensky, who is from the city of Izyum, where a mass burial site has been discovered. He describes life under Russian occupation and the risks associated with sharing the same name as ...
Sep 16, 2022•34 min
Many Ukrainians are celebrating the liberation of towns in the south and east of the country from Russian occupation. But these are bittersweet days - the liberation came too late for some. Anastasia from Balakliya shares the devastating story of what happened to her mother and her friends. Also, Vitaly, Victoria and the BBC’s Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse talk to Jakub Jakóbowski, an expert on China, about the upcoming meeting between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s Presi...
Sep 14, 2022•30 min
Gabriel Gatehouse joins Victoria and Vitaly to discuss the reactions in Russia to the recent setbacks in Ukraine. While some are calling for the Kremlin to take more drastic action, others appear to question the war itself. On the ground in Kharkiv, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo explains us how the city went through a complete power outage after Russian forces shelled the second biggest Ukrainian thermal power plant. We catch up with Maksym Lutskyi, a 19 year old Ukrainian fighter, who describes the cele...
Sep 12, 2022•35 min
Russian forces withdraw from key eastern towns. Ukrainian officials say troops have entered Kupiansk, a vital eastern supply hub for Russian forces. In an extra episode of Ukrainecast, Vitaly and Victoria discuss the significance of the Ukrainian gains and analyse the Russian reaction. The Ukrainian advances - if held - would be the most significant since Russia withdrew from areas around Kyiv in April. Ukrainecast was made by Sam Bonham. The Senior News Editor is Jonathan Aspinwall....
Sep 10, 2022•12 min
President Zelensky sends a message of condolence to Britain's Royal Family. Ukraine has been celebrating "good news" about the recapture of several settlements from Russia in the eastern Kharkiv region and gains of more than 1,000 square km of territory in the last week, that’s according to the President. Victoria and the BBC's Katya Khinkulova speak to Justin Bronk, Senior Research Fellow and editor at the defence and security think tank RUSI about Ukraine’s counter-offensive. And as EU leaders...
Sep 09, 2022•26 min
Journalist Konstantin Ryzhenko lived through months of fear and terror in Russian-occupied Kherson. He escaped two weeks ago and tells Vitaliy about what life is like in the city, and the role he played in providing intelligence to the Ukrainian military and resistance fighters. Also, Victoria talks to Russian oligarch and Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky – he explains why he believes force is the only thing that the Russian president understands. The series producer is Estelle Doyle. The produ...
Sep 07, 2022•31 min
Vitaliy and Lucy Hockings talk to Gogol Bordello’s frontman Eugene Hütz about the band’s recent secret gig for Ukrainian soldiers. Frank Gardner brings us up to date on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant inspection and the offensive in Kherson. And Irpin resident Oleksandr describes what it is like to have your home bombed then occupied by Russian forces, and how he’s going about rebuilding. The series producer is Estelle Doyle. The producers are Clare Williamson and Arsenii Sokolov. The technical p...
Sep 05, 2022•33 min
Donald Trump, some top secret documents and the FBI. Welcome to episode one of the new-look Americast (we thought, as listeners of Ukrainecast, you might enjoy Americast). Classified documents stored at former President's Florida home were likely concealed as part of an effort to obstruct an FBI investigation, says the US Department of Justice officials. Justin, Sarah and the Zurch chat to former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa, about how attempts to retrieve the documents went down and what cou...
Sep 03, 2022•45 min
The boss of Lukoil, a Russian oil company, died on Thursday, the latest in a string of deaths of key Russian business people. Vitaly and Victoria unpick the rumours with Russian expert and author Mark Galeotti. We get the latest on the inspection of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant with James Waterhouse. And Maria Korenyuk has been investigating the re-writing of history books for schools in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine. The series producer is Estelle Doyle. The producers are Clare Williamson...
Sep 02, 2022•36 min
