Episode description

Former soldier Shaun Pinner was captured and imprisoned by Russian-backed forces in April 2022 while fighting in the Ukrainian military.

In that time, he says he was given electric shocks, tasered and stabbed in the leg.

He was also sentenced to death - but almost exactly one year ago, he and four other Britons were released after spending five months in a prison in eastern Ukraine.

And US Special Correspondent Katty Kay reveals why Congress ditched plans to give Kyiv another $6bn dollars, and the impact it will have on the Ukrainian front-line.

Today’s episode is presented by Lyse Doucet and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Ivana Davidovic, Arsenii Sokolov and Keiligh Baker. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480

You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord