Episode description

We hear from Borys Todurov, a cardiac surgeon from Kyiv, whose team used head torches to operate on a 14-year-old boy after a Russian strike knocked out the hospital’s power supply.

Olena, a mother of eight from Izium, tells us how an attack near her home killed her mother and left her teenage son unable to walk. He was taken to Moscow for treatment and thought Olena was dead.

And Dr Patricia Lewis, Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House, answers listeners’ questions about the war in winter, whether Russia is committing genocide by targeting energy infrastructure and Russia’s role at the United Nations.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaliy Shevchenko.

The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Clare Williamson and Luke Radcliff. The technical coordinator was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Alison Gee and the editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

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