Episode description

Last week the Russian Orthodox Church approved a document that branded the full-scale invasion of Ukraine a “holy war.”

So what role does religion play in the Ukraine war?

The BBC’s Harry Farley and Lucy Ash, the author of the upcoming book "The Baton and the Cross: Russia's church from Pagans to Putin", try to make sense of it all.

We also hear from Father Andriy Zelinskyy, chief military chaplain for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church about how he offers spiritual guidance and comfort on the frontline.

Today’s episode is presented by Jamie Coomarasamy and Vitaly Shevchenko.

The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Elliot Ryder 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