Episodes

  • A wave of Russian strikes have hammered Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving at least five dead.

    We speak to Kharkiv resident Nataliya, who joins us from a special bunker in the city, where officials say 700 000 were left with no electricity.

    Also, we hear from one eyewitness who lives next door to one of the targets - Ukraine's largest dam, the DniproHES, which was hit eight times according to Ukrainian officials

    And we get the latest from the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Kyiv where officials are calling this the largest missile and drone attack on infrastructure of the war so far, and Glen Grant, a military analyst explains the potential strategy behind these strikes.

    Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Cordelia Hemming and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Sam Dickinson. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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

  • There’s been a spike in drone attacks by both Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainians have recently targeted Russian oil refineries, while Russians have used drones to target the port of Odesa.

    So could drones change the course of the war?

    Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse and drone expert Samuel Bendett unpick the strategies and technologies behind drone warfare.

    And we hear from drone operator Ruda, a mother-of-two, who trains Ukrainians how to pilot drones.

    Today’s episode is presented by Lyse Doucet and Vitaly Shevchenko. It was made by Keiligh Baker. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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.

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  • President Putin has claimed a landslide victory in an election that featured no genuine competition. The last day of voting was marked by silent protests at polling stations.

    But how does his expected victory matter? And what might securing a fifth term mean for the war in Ukraine? Lyse and Vitaly are joined by the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg.

    Today’s episode is presented by Lyse Doucet and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producer was Arsenii Sokolov. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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

  • Russia’s elections have kicked off and bizarre scenes have already begun to unfold at polling stations across the country - including live pop performances, free pancakes, a bride and groom and a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Tucker Carlson.

    President Putin is considered very likely to win, despite having already served four terms - the ex-KGB spy, 71, is already Russia’s longest-serving leader since Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

    Valerie Hopkins, international correspondent for The New York Times and Francis Scarr, who monitors Russia for the BBC, answer all of your questions on this, the most unusual of elections.

    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 Matt Hewitt. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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.

  • How seriously should we take Putin’s nuclear weapons threats?

    During his last address to the nation, the Russian president reiterated his threat of nuclear action against the West - so how worried should we be?

    Dr Patricia Lewis, a nuclear physicist and arms control expert joins Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat who quit following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, to give their take.

    And why has the Pope caused uproar in Ukraine?

    Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Keiligh Baker, Arsenii Sokolov and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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

  • With one week to go until Russia’s presidential elections, former Trump adviser and foreign affairs specialist Fiona Hill tells Ukrainecast why Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is also about the future security of Europe.

    She also gives her take on the implications of another potential Trump White House.

    And, how she ate dinner with Vladimir Putin, served by the late Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

    Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Keiligh Baker, Ivana Davidovic and Cordelia Hemming. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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.

  • 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 [email protected] 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

  • There were unprecedented scenes at Alexei Navalny’s funeral in Moscow on Friday, as thousands turned out to pay their respects to the dead opposition leader.

    But will there be consequences? And can people meaningfully protest in modern-day Russia?

    We hear from one woman who’s previously been arrested for protesting against the war and why she won’t stop.

    And Dan Storyev from the monitoring group OVD-info English discusses the challenges facing what’s left of democracy in Russia.

    Today’s episode is presented by Lyse Doucet and Vitaly Shevchenko. Francis Scarr provided translation. The producers were Ivana Davidovic, Cordelia Hemming and Keiligh Baker. The technical producers were Sam Dickinson and Rohan Madison. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall. Email [email protected] 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

  • How significant are Russia’s recent gains on the battlefront?

    Karolina Hird, from the Institute for the Study of War, explains the current situation on the “dynamic” front-line, what a good year would look like for Ukraine and why the fall of Avdiivka isn’t as strategically important for Russia as it may seem.

    And we hear from one Ukrainian soldier on why he decided to sign up to fight just six months ago.

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

    The producers were Keiligh Baker, Clare Williamson, Ivana Davidovic and Arsenii Sokolov. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

    Email [email protected] 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.

  • Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year.

    This is today's episode from The Global Story, and we thought you might want to listen to it.

    A surgeon in a wheelchair, an indomitable grandmother, and a man taking care of eight cats in a bombed-out flat: just some of people the BBC’s Andrew Harding has met on repeat trips to Ukraine’s front lines. He and the BBC’s Olga Robinson, who has family in Russia and Ukraine, talk to Katya Adler about the power of individual stories, two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

  • Today marks exactly two years since Russia launched it’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.In this episode, Victoria and Vitaly are joined by Serhiy, a Ukrainian soldier who experienced catastrophic injuries when his vehicle was blown up by an anti-tank landmine in November 2022.Along with his wife Valeriia, he reflects on the reality of life after the front-line - and his big plans to make Ukraine a more disability-friendly country for injured veterans like himself once the war is over.

    Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. It was made by Keiligh Baker. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov and Cordelia Hemming. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The series producer is Lucy Boast. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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

  • Saturday marks exactly two years of this conflict. On today’s special episode, recorded in collaboration with the Global News Podcast, BBC experts from across the world answer YOUR questions on the war.

    Today’s episode is presented by Oliver Conway and Vitaly Shevchenko, with the BBC’s chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, in Kyiv, Russia editor Steve Rosenberg in Moscow and BBC Verify’s Olga Robinson. It was made in collaboration with the Global News Podcast team. The producers were Keiligh Baker, 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 [email protected] 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

  • In today’s Ukrainecast, the latest in our week of daily episodes to mark two years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Vitaly speaks to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the UN.

    They discuss what America can realistically do to help bring the war to an end, if - and when - the $60bn of promised aid will actually get to Ukraine and what a Donald Trump presidency could mean for Ukraine.

    Today’s episode is presented by Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Ivana Davidovic and Keiligh Baker. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The series producer is Lucy Boast. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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.

  • For this special episode, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, tells us what it was like sitting at the UN table as news of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine broke.

    He also talks to Victoria and Vitaly about how much power the UN has, whether it can stop the war and if accusations that it’s just a ‘talking shop’ hold any weight.

    They also look to the future and how peace might be achieved.

    Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producer was Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Lucy Boast. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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

  • Russia's election commission has disqualified anti-war challenger Boris Nadezhdin from standing as a candidate in next month's presidential vote.

    He joins Victoria and Vitaly to discuss why he was barred, why he won’t stop campaigning for peace and his vow to follow in the footsteps of fierce Putin critic Alexei Navalny following his death.

    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 Jonathan Aspinwall. Email [email protected] 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

  • Last November we were joined in the studio by Ukrainian journalist and writer, Mstyslav Chernov, who made the film '20 Days in Mariupol’. It’s just won the Oscar for Best Documentary feature, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to remind you of the episode. He described what it was like to shoot the documentary from inside Mariupol, and chronicles the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian port city in 2022.

    Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] 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

  • Putin’s main rival, opposition politician Alexei Navalny, is dead according to the Russian prison service. An outspoken critic of the Russian leader, Navalny, 47, was serving a 19-year sentence in a Siberian jail when his death was announced on Friday morning.

    BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford, who was herself expelled from Russia, explains what we know so far - and if the Kremlin could face any consequences. And Georgian-Russian writer Boris Akunin, a long-standing critic of Putin and personal friend of Navalny, gives his reaction to the news.

    Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. It was made by Keiligh Baker. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Ivana Davidovic, Tim Walklate and Cordelia Hemming. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The series producer is Lucy Boast. The senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall. Email [email protected] 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

  • Sashko and his mum were separated after being captured by Russian soldiers in Mariupol. Now 13, Sashko hasn’t seen or heard from his mother for almost two years. Along with his grandmother, he tells Victoria and Irena their story and how they’ve not given up on their search for her.

    And are Nato members pulling their weight when it comes to defence spending? Donald Trump claims he’d encourage hostile states to attack Nato countries who he says aren’t paying enough. Victoria and Irena discuss this with Professor Katarzyna Zysk, from the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, and put some listener questions to her. Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Irena Taranyuk. It was made by Keiligh Baker. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Lucy Boast. The senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall. Email [email protected] 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.

  • In his first interview with a Western reporter since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Russian president Vladimir Putin sat down with former Fox News host-turned-online commentator Tucker Carlson.

    Over the course of a two-hour long, sometimes rambling, interview, Putin gave a 30-minute history lesson and said that ending the war is “simple” - the West just needs to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine.

    BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg and Professor Angela Stent, an expert specialising in US and European relations with Russia, at Georgetown University in Washington, help Victoria and Vitaly unpick what Putin said - and how it might further his agenda with the American public.

    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 Mike Regaard. The series producer is Lucy Boast. The senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall. Email [email protected] 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

  • Ten years ago this month Crimea was occupied and then annexed by Russia. We find out what it’s like to live there now. We also speak to journalist, film-maker and Russia specialist, Nick Sturdee. He’s interviewed families who have relatives currently being held prisoner in Crimea. Victoria and Vitaly also chat to Maria Tomak, head of the Crimea Platform, which is based in Ukraine and tries to raise awareness of the situation in Crimea.

    Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Lucy Boast. The senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall. Email [email protected] 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