BFBS Sitrep

A catalogue of atrocities is emerging where Russian forces have withdrawn from parts of Ukraine. Film-maker Emile Ghessen tells us about the harrowing scenes he’s witnessed in Bucha. The evidence of war crimes appears compelling – mass graves, bodies of people whose hands have been tied lying in streets. But how do you prove who is responsible? A former war crimes prosecutor explains to us ho...

Julian Manyon experienced the start of the Falklands war from enemy territory. He’d been despatched to Argentina to report on the military dictatorship that had invaded a British overseas territory. First the regime kidnapped him at gunpoint – but hours later he was being treated as an honoured guest by the country’s leader, then wined and dined by top brass. He recounts his story, and his unique...

On this week’s Sitrep there’s been much talk of the weaknesses in the Russian Army, one of the reasons being suggested is their lack of a Non Commissioned Officer rank. We’ll hear from one well know former NCO in the British Army ‘Big’ Phil Campion and Russian military historian Chris Bellamy Also, what is it with Russians and alleged poisoning plots? With claims that individuals have recently bee...

On this week’s Sitrep we delve into the minds of foreign fighters. What makes someone who’ served in the military or is just a civilian want to go and fight in a conflict overseas, such as Ukraine. We’ll hear from Emile Ghessen has met many of them, he was a Royal Marine but is now a documentary film maker and is in Kyiv. We’ll also be discussing war crimes….there have been a lot of allegations ma...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be stalled, but it’s already reset Europe’s security thinking for decades to come. Germany appears to have abandoned its reluctance to be a big military power and has started a defence spending spree. German born Baroness Gisela Stuart tells us why it’s a seismic shift, and we assess what military capability it will buy. As well as spending more, NATO countries are...

The Labour leader’s visited Estonia to meet British troops and show British political unity against Russia, and in support of NATO and Ukraine. He talks to Kate Gerbeau from Estonia on whether the UK’s approach to Vladimir Putin should be more forceful, what would happen if a chemical attack was launched in Ukraine, and whether Britain needs an urgent increase in defence spending. 

Kyiv may be the decisive city of the war for Ukraine’s future – so what is happening there right now? BFBS Sitrep talks to a former Royal Marine turned film-maker about what he’s witnessing as Moscow’s troops advance on the capital. More than 3,500 anti-tank missiles from the UK have now reached Ukrainian troops – we look at what the NLAW and Javelin can do for the country’s fightback. And they sa...

We thought Russia’s invasion would overwhelm Ukraine within 72 hours. A week on Moscow’s forces have claimed control of just one city. So what’s gone wrong for the Kremlin? Could old maps, and archaic radios be part of Russia’s problem? We assess how much military capability each side has lost from the battlefield, and what cards Ukraine has to play as cities come under siege. President Putin...

Russia has launched a full frontal military assault on Ukraine, sending troops and tanks in from 3 directions. BFBS Sitrep assesses Moscow’s military strategy and what it can tell us about how this may play out. We also compare President Putin’s playbook in the lead-up to this invasion with what happened in Georgia in 2008, and guess what, it looks remarkably similar. What can the UK do now to hel...

Russia says it’s pulling troops back from Ukraine’s borders, the west says the buildup’s getting bigger. BFBS Sitrep talks to a former British Ambassador, and a former Moscow Correspondent to make sense of the competing claims and assess the state of the Ukraine stand off. A Defence Minister tells us why the UK is doubling its military assistance to NATO members in Eastern Europe, and whether that...

In a rollercoaster 24 hours the UK went from warning an invasion of Ukraine could start ‘at any moment’ to expressing cautious optimism about a Russian pullback. In this extra edition of BFBS Sitrep Kate Gerbeau talks in depth to the UK’s Armed Forces Minister James Heappey. He tells us it’s his ‘expectation’ that British training troops, pulled out of Ukraine a few days ago, will return providing...

China has called for the UK to hand the Falklands to Argentina, and says NATO’s got too big. This week BFBS Sitrep asks if Beijing has used the Winter Olympics to set out a divide-and-rule strategy, or if it’s just repackaging its old partnerships? The head of the Army explains why he ordered non-essential work to stop for a day, to talk about teamwork, and an expert in cultural change gives his v...

The UK and its western allies are threatening historically harsh sanctions to try to deter Russia from invading Ukraine. BFBS Sitrep examines what sanctions might be taken, what history tells us about whether they work, and how we might feel the effects of those sanctions too. We also look at the part played by sanctions in Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis where people are selling their children,...

Ukraine’s government is urging its citizens to stay calm, but preparing its forces for war. BFBS Sitrep asks where we should be looking for signs of a possible Russian invasion, and hears from Ukraine about the mood among the people... including two Britons who have joined the Ukrainian army. Also as the UK says it could send more troops to Eastern Europe, the deputy head of Estonia’s armed f...

The US claims Russia plans a ‘false flag’ operation in Ukraine to justify an invasion. The UK’s defence secretary speaks out against ‘false narratives’ from President Putin. BFBS Sitrep explains the information war being fought over Ukraine, and asks a former NATO spokesman if sending British weapons to the country hands ammunition for disinformation to Moscow. Why are just 5 of the 1500 most seni...

Moscow is demanding NATO admits absolutely no new members – but could that demand be backfiring? We hear from Sweden and Finland, where after years of staunch ‘non-alignment’, they’re now seriously considering joining the alliance. James Hirst fact checks President Putin’s claim, and NATO’s denial, that the alliance promised decades ago not to move ‘one inch to the East’. What’s the difference bet...

Decorated former bomb-disposal operator Kim Hughes talks at length to Kate Gerbeau about how Hollywood portrays the job and what it’s actually like. Since leaving the Army in 2020 he’s worked as a consultant on films, and has written two thrillers “Operation Black Key” and “Operation Certain Death”. He tells BFBS Sitrep about his three tours of duty in Afghanistan – how you defuse a bomb, what you...

What’s going to happen in 2022, where and why? Will Ukraine be invaded or can big talks next week dial down the tension? Why has Russia sent troops to Kazakhstan and will it become the first new international crisis of the year? Does China really want to use its growing military, or is it just for show? Professor Michael Clarke, and Dr Melanie Garson will help navigate us through the potential tro...

2021 – the year that Joe Biden replaced Donald Trump, took international troops out of Afghanistan, and the Taliban swept back to power. The final Sitrep of the year examines the key events of the last twelve months, and what they mean for the UK and the world. Britain’s first carrier strike group deployment in a decade, HMS Defender’s run-in with Russia in the Black Sea, and the defence review th...

Four months since the Taliban marched back to power in Afghanistan Sitrep hears from three interpreters who had worked with UK forces, but who couldn’t get on evacuation flights. After a whistleblower alleged chaos in the Foreign Office has cost lives, a Conservative MP has branded it a ‘failure of statecraft’, but has it done lasting damage for future military operations? Domestic abuse accounts...

It is ‘the biggest modernisation of the Army for a generation’ according to ministers – but can it deliver? This week on Sitrep we look through the details of the ‘Future Soldier’ plan for the Army to spend more time deployed around the globe. We assess whether billions of pounds of new technology can make up for smaller numbers of people and tanks. Defence is to make an ‘immeasurable shift’ in th...

Former RAF Typhoon pilot Mike Sutton talks at length to Kate Gerbeau about his time on combat sorties over Iraq on Operation Shader, what it was like to be high in the sky witnessing friends under attack on the ground, how bombing missions worked, and his close brushes with lethal danger. Mike also tells Kate how he became a fighter pilot, despite initially being rejected by the RAF, and how he st...

Former RAF Typhoon pilot Mike Sutton tells us about his time flying sorties over Iraq on Operation Shader in 2015. From the cramped conditions of the cockpit, to close shaves with enemy fire and friendly aircraft. Also on Sitrep we hear from one of the British Airways passengers held as human shields by Iraq in 1990, before the first Gulf War, and investigate who a mystery group of men on tha...

After an F35, flying from HMS Queen Elizabeth, crashed into the Mediterranean the pilot ejected and was safely recovered to the Aircraft carrier. In this week’s Sitrep we look at the two most urgent tasks now, to find out why the crash happened, and to recover the plane which is packed with top-secret technology that the UK does not want enemies to get a glimpse of. Blowing up a satellite, massing...

The Army’s top officers are summoned to discuss ‘disciplinary mistakes’, especially harassment and abuse of women. The outgoing Chief of Defence Staff acknowledges ‘laddish culture’ is encouraged because soldiers have to go ‘close and personal’ with the enemy. In this week’s Sitrep we ask if that culture is necessary for a fighting force, and whether an independent audit of Army culture will...