Episode description

President Zelensky is facing a challenging time. At home, his rule is becoming increasingly autocratic says the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitaly Klitckhko, and his Commander in Chief, General Zaluzhny, has also been openly critical.

As he heads to the US to secure a much needed funding package worth $61billion, Victoria and Vitaly talk to Lara Seligman, Pentagon Correspondent for Politico, and Samantha de Bendern from the think tank Chatham House, who is in Kyiv, to shed some light on the challenges facing President Zelensky.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. It was made by Keiligh Baker. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The series producer is Lucy Boast. 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