Episode description

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has been subject to thousands of sanctions from the West - but despite this, Russia’s economy is thriving.

So how is the world’s most sanctioned country getting around them? And what does this tell us about how effective sanctions are? Nataliia Shapoval, Vice President for Policy Research at Kyiv School of Economics and the BBC’s economics editor, Faisal Islam, unpack whether sanctions against Russia are having the desired impact.

Also, we hear from a London-based Russian former billionaire who had his bank accounts frozen following the invasion.

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 Ricardo McCarthy. 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