A Ukrainian medic, Olexander, based on Snake Island was captured on the first day of the war. Almost five months later, his mother and fiancée break their silence to make a plea for information on his wellbeing. The sole survivor of a Russian shooting, who lived by playing dead, has been speaking to Fergal Keane about what happened. And the BBC’s Olga Ivshina explains how Russia has been sending so-called volunteers to fight in Ukraine - and why for so many of them, this will be a one-way ticket...
Jul 06, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russia has claimed control of the key eastern city Lysychansk and the region around it. The Kremlin said this was one of its main aims. So, what happens next? Lyse, Vitaly and Irena check in with Maksym, a Ukrainian soldier fighting on the front line. Also, Pavlo Shulga, who works with Ukraine Trust Chain, tells us about his latest trip to the area around Lysychansk where he was attacked as he delivered food and helped evacuate people. As world leaders meet in Switzerland for the Ukraine Recover...
Jul 04, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russian forces have detained the mayor of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhayev, after he refused to work with them. The BBC’s Tim Whewell spoke to him a few days before his abduction. Meanwhile, the BBC Russian service’s Liza Fokt explains to Victoria and Vitaly, how in another occupied city, Severodonestsk, some people do welcome the Russian forces. And Roman, who helped evacuate dozens of people from Mariupol, tells us why he’s now going back, despite the risk of being arrested once he gets there. The ser...
Jul 01, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast A quarter of a million people now participate in regular cyber attacks against Russia. We hear from one of the volunteers, Oleksandr Naumenko. And also from US-Russian cybersecurity expert Dmitri Alperovitch. BBC Ukrainian service reporter Olga Malchevska recalls a recent visit to her home town of Kyiv and the trauma of seeing in person her bombed childhood apartment. As Western leaders gather in Madrid for a NATO summit, Sam de Bendern, former NATO Ukraine officer, tells us why they will eventu...
Jun 29, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russian missile strike hits a shopping centre in central-eastern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky says that more than 1,000 people were inside. Vadym Yudenko lives in the city and tells us what he saw. Diplomatic Editor, James Landale updates us on the G7 meeting in Germany where leaders have pledged their continuing support for Ukraine. And we hear from the BBC’s Joel Gunter who has just returned from Saltivka, in Kharkiv, where he met residents still living in their bombed-out apartments....
Jun 27, 2022•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast A former Soviet soldier describes how he’s now helping resistance groups in the Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine by advising them how to mount an insurgency. UNICEF’s Pete Manfield describes how the war in Ukraine is taking its toll in Somalia, and BBC Africa correspondent Catherine Byaruhanga explains why some Africans are taking a pro-Russian stance. Also, a listener in Russia explains how he’s using bank notes to protest against the war. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyl...
Jun 24, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Imane Saaudun, the sister of captured Moroccan fighter Brahim Saaudun tells us why she feels her own country has betrayed her brother. A Russian exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania called Kaliningrad has become the latest focus in the Ukraine war. Victoria and Vitaly find out why from the BBC’s European editor, Katya Adler. Sarah Ashton-Cirillo is an American war reporter based in Kharkiv. She talks to us about her fight for credibility as a trans woman and life on the front line. An...
Jun 22, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vitaly and the BBC’s Katya Khinkulova speak to Pavel Shulga, who’s about to travel to Severodonetsk to evacuate women and children from battle zones. Frank Gardner tells us what’s happening on the ground and tells us about the diplomatic developments. And we catch up with Olga Drover, who lives in Troon in Scotland, who we heard from last in March, when she had lost contact with her parents in Mariupol when it came under attack. They’re now reunited. Today’s episode was made by Clare Williamson ...
Jun 20, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the face of President Putin’s Russia, insists that his country didn’t invade Ukraine in a rare interview with the BBC. Victoria and Vitaly unpick the interview with Patricia Lewis, Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House. She also tells us about the significance of Ukraine getting a step closer to European Union membership. Is this purely symbolic? And we hear from Joy, the fiancée of a US former marine, reported missing in Ukrain...
Jun 17, 2022•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Victoria and Vitaly speak to 19-year-old Maksym Lutskyi, a Ukrainian soldier who is preparing to return to the front line after being wounded and losing his commander who died saving his life. Andrey Stavnitser, one of the richest businessmen in Ukraine, and co-owner of the major shipping terminals near Odessa, describes the impact the blockade is having on the country’s economy. He also explains why he asked the army to shell his own home after it became occupied by Russians. And we hear from K...
Jun 15, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Viktoria Kovalenko tells us about the day her husband Petro and 12-year-old daughter Veronika were killed when the road they were travelling on to find safety was bombed. She explains to Victoria and Vitaly how taking care of her one-year-old baby is the only thing that keeps her sane. And how she's now been waiting for nearly 50 days for a visa to the UK. They also speak to Derek Edwards from https://homesforukraine.org, an organisation he set up to help Ukrainians, including Viktoria, seek ref...
Jun 13, 2022•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Kremlin defends the death sentences for three captured soldiers. Fergal and Vitaliy are joined by BBC Russian Service’s Olga Ivshina to understand more about what is happening in Ukraine. They speak to former US Army medic, Brennan Phillips, and the Mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, who was kidnapped and imprisoned by Russian soldiers. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Alix Pickles and Natalie Ktena. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The assistant editor was Sam Bonham....
Jun 10, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Three men are convicted by a Russian proxy court in eastern Ukraine. We speak to Tim Whewell, a BBC reporter who has been investigating the fate of more than a million Ukrainian refugees who have ended up in Russia. Have they been rescued? Or illegally deported? And we check-in with Natalia, whose husband fought during the siege of the Azovstal steelworks. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle with Osman Iqbal and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The assi...
Jun 09, 2022•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Victoria and Vitaly are joined by Zhanna Bezpiatchuk from the BBC Ukrainian service, who travelled to Irpin to investigate allegations of war crimes. There she heard accounts of violence against civilians, of shootings and summary executions - including the killing of a young woman in a red coat. Her body remained in the street for four weeks - lying where she had been trampled not once, but over and over again, under the wheels of Russian armoured vehicles. A food shopping list was found in her...
Jun 08, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why some Ukrainians choose to flee whilst others stay. Thousands of Ukrainians, from the heavily bombed East, don’t want to leave - it turns out that some don’t believe that Russia is bombing them. We hear from a listener who has not had contact with her father in Severodonetsk, described by President Zelensky as a 'Dead City', since May 22nd. And the Kyiv residents raising money to repair their bombed apartment block. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Clare Williamson with Osman Iqbal and...
Jun 07, 2022•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russia targets Ukraine’s capital with missiles for the first time in weeks. Vitaly and Frank talk to Nataliia, who recently returned to Kyiv with her young son – they were woken up by the blasts. Also, the UK says it will send its first long-range missiles to Ukraine. And Col Bob Seddon, who was once in charge of bomb disposal for the British army, tells us how he’s helping Ukrainians deal with mines. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Clare Williamson with Osman Iqbal and Philip Marzouk. T...
Jun 06, 2022•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast One hundred days on from February 24th, a date that will be remembered for decades, we take you through the story of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In this special episode, we listen back to some of the key moments from hours of testimony and analysis on the war. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Phil Marzouk. The technical producer was Emma Crowe and the exec producer, Estelle Doyle. The editor was Jonathan Aspinwall. For 100 days Ukrainecast has been made by Daniel Wittenberg, ...
Jun 03, 2022•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Ukraine gets long-sought US long-range missile systems. BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner explains why Kyiv hopes this will be a gamechanger. Maria Chashka, a Deputy Commander of a battalion in Kharkiv, confirms she believes this will help her country win the war. The acting war time mayor of Severodonetsk, Oleksandr Stryuk, tells Victoria and Vitaly about the recent strike on a chemical plant in his city, which has already seen over 90% of its population leave for a safer place. And, as ...
Jun 01, 2022•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does Europe’s partial oil ban mean for Russia’s economy? After the EU agreed a compromise plan to stop its members importing Russian oil by sea, economist Timothy Ash tells Victoria who might be most hurt by the sanctions. And BBC reporter Chloe Hajimatheou uncovers increasingly sophisticated disinformation tactics being deployed and spread globally. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle with Osman Iqbal and Daniel Wittenberg. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The edito...
May 31, 2022•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russia’s UK ambassador calls footage a “fabrication”. In a tense BBC News interview, Andrei Kelin claims allegations of war crimes in the town of Bucha are false despite physical evidence, satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s chief prosecutor tells us she’s investigating thousands of cases. This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Daniel Wittenberg with Chris Flynn and Clare Williamson. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The editor is Jonathan Aspinwall. Email Ukrai...
May 30, 2022•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Stories from the front line. The BBC's Fergal Keane and Olga Ivshina hear from Russian soldiers who have risked their lives on the front line of the war. Why have some of them refused to return? The BBC's Jeremy Bowen speaks to us from a Donbas town which is within artillery range of Russian troops. And Rustik, Fergal’s fixer in Bucha, discusses his first experience of conflict and how his country is changing. Today’s Ukrainecast was made by Osman Iqbal and Natalie Ktena. The technical producer ...
May 27, 2022•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vitaly and Victoria hear from 19 year old Maksym Lutskyi, a soldier fighting in the Donbas where the Ukrainian army is under increasing pressure. He’s aware Russian forces might encircle him any time soon, but says he will fight on regardless. Also, a listener based in Moscow explains how he’s been trying to bring Russians with opposite views of the conflict together and engage in a meaningful dialogue. And another listener sends us a picture of a literal Ukraine-cast… Today’s Ukrainecast was ma...
May 26, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vitaly's home town is struck Two areas of the southern city of Zaporizhzhia have been struck by Russian missiles, leaving one person dead and three others wounded. Whilst Russian forces are centering their offensive on Eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are now in control of much of the big Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine’s South. We hear from Kostyantyn, a factory worker from Zaporizhya who describes waking up to the sound of explosions during the night. Also, we speak to the mayor of Meritopol Iva...
May 25, 2022•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Security correspondent Frank Gardner joins Victoria and Vitaliy to give us the latest updates from the eastern front and how European nations are responding to the continuing war. We hear the story of Alice: the four-year-old girl who escaped Azovstal but lost her mother in the process. Those looking after her say her mother has been taken to Russia. Also, we catch up with the Russian TV news editor, Marina Ovsyannikova, who protested the war live on air back in March becoming a symbol Russian a...
May 24, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russian soldier jailed for life. The tank commander has been convicted for killing a civilian at the first war crimes trial since the invasion. The BBC World Service’s Svyatoslav Khomenko has been in court in Kyiv every day of the trial and brings us up to date on the sentencing. Vitaly discusses the heavy shelling in the Luhansk region with the Governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Gaidai. And Victoria and Vitaly talk about nuclear safety with Petro Kotin, who is in charge of all five of Ukraine’s nuclea...
May 23, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fergal Keane joins Vitaliy to talk to a member of Bucha’s city council who tells us more accounts of atrocities in his city and how it can rebuild. Friend of the podcast Olga Malchevska reports from Kharkiv: the eastern border city in which Ukrainian forces pushed out Russian troops. Vitaliy and Fergal answer your questions before Vitaliy tells us about his upcoming documentary on a women’s football team in Mariupol. Today’s Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle with Phil Marzouk and Osman Iqbal...
May 20, 2022•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast UN says the war could lead to long-term famines. Victoria and Vitaliy hear about what's going on by speaking to Sergey, a farmer from southern Ukraine, and the UN’s Pierre Vauthier. And, after weeks of worry, we check-in with Nataliya, who tells us that her husband, who was fighting at the Mariupol steelworks, is alive and is now being held in Russian-controlled territory. Today’s Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle with Phil Marzouk and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The...
May 19, 2022•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The BBC World Service's Svyatoslav Khomenko tells us what's he observed at the court of the first war crimes trial of the Ukraine conflict. Also, Victoria and Vitaly speak with Olga Ivshina from the BBC Russian Service, who has been investigating forced mobilisation in the Eastern Ukraine region of Donbas. People living there told her men had been grabbed in the streets, whilst out shopping or on public transport. Many haven’t been seen since. And leading international lawyer Philippe Sands weig...
May 18, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast After two months of fighting, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated by Russian forces from Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks. Victoria, Vitaly and Lyse Doucet speak to Yuriy Sak, an advisor to the Ukrainian defence minister, about what this means for Russia’s war strategy. They also speak to the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter, Marianna Spring, about the pregnant woman who was photographed fleeing from Mariupol’s maternity hospital during a Russian airstrike and her fight to p...
May 17, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Victoria and Vitaly speak to Sarah Rainsford who tells us about a facility in Bucha that was once a children’s summer camp but has now become a crime scene after the torture and execution of five men there. We hear from NGO worker Oksana who, until recently, was living under Russian occupation in Kherson. She tells us about her colleagues who’ve been abducted. And NATO Ukraine officer and associate fellow at Chatham House Sam de Bendern talks through the pushback in Kharkiv and the implications ...
May 16, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
