Episode description

Lyudmila Huseynova was living and working in the Ukrainian border town of Novoazovs’k when she was arrested in 2019. As a Ukrainian patriot who refused to accept Russian citizenship, her actions angered Russian-backed separatists in the area, and she was taken to the notorious Izolyatsia prison.

She tells Victoria and Vitaly about life in one of the world's most infamous prisons, and how she found out about the full-scale invasion of Ukraine while in captivity.

And Samantha de Bendern from Chatham House explains what’s been happening at the World Economic Forum in Davos, as President Zelensky addresses world leaders there.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. It was made by Keiligh Baker. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Cordelia Hemming and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. 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