Ukrainecast

Listen to his Westminster speech in full. Victoria and Vitaly come together to talk through Zelensky's first visit to the UK since Russia invaded his country. Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaliy Shevchenko. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Fiona Leach. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions an...

Unpicking history and propaganda to understand ordinary Russians and their attitude to the war with Russia expert Dr Jade McGlynn. James Waterhouse in Kyiv brings us up to date on what’s happening in the East of Ukraine around Bakhmut and President Zelensky’s corruption clampdown and Frank Gardner appraises the progress of Russia’s so-called Spring offensive. Today’s episode is presented by Victor...

Hundreds of Ukrainians are waiting for prosthetic limbs after being injured in the war, according to a medic working in the US, Dr Yakov Gradinar. He works with a charity that is giving prostheses to Ukrainians who need them. He tells the incredible story of a soldier who walked almost immediately after being fitted with a new leg. The BBC’s Russia Editor, Steve Rosenberg, gives his take on the sp...

As the seasons change, attention turns to what could happen next on the battlefield. Samantha De Bendern, an associate fellow at Chatham House, is on hand to explain what a spring offensive might actually mean for both sides. The BBC's Andrew Harding has spent the last two and a half weeks reporting on the war. He’s joined by his producer Ed Habershon to give their reflections on being on the fron...

The war in Ukraine has encouraged Western intelligence agencies to share their secrets with the world. The BBC’s security correspondent Gordon Corera explains what a difference a year makes and tells Victoria and Vitaly about a German man who’s been arrested, suspected of spying for Russia. Francis Scarr from BBC Monitoring brings us Russian media reaction to the news that the West is sending tank...

Russia’s new weapon in the Ukraine war: LGBT and the ‘decadent’ West. How a crackdown on political opposition is now accompanied by a crackdown on the Russian LGBT community. We hear from BBC Moscow’s Will Vernon. And Nataliya Zotova, of the BBC Russian service, talks Vic and Vitaliy through opposition politics in Russia, two years after Alexei Navalny was jailed. Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor at...

A mother’s quest to bring her dead son home. Anastasiya Gribanova from the BBC’s Ukrainian Service has been talking to two mothers about the lengths they had to go to find the bodies of their dead sons. Allies fail to reach an agreement over sending German-made tanks to Ukraine. We get the latest from the meeting of Western defence officials in Ramstein and hear from historian and cold war expert...

At least sixteen people have been killed, including Ukraine’s interior affairs minister, after a helicopter crashed beside a nursery in a suburb of Kyiv. In this emergency episode of Ukrainecast, Vitaly Shevchenko speaks to the BBC’s Ukraine Correspondent, James Waterhouse, from the site of the deadly crash. They discuss what we know, and what we don’t know, about what caused the death of Ukraine’...

The dreams of 20-year-old student Vitalii have been put on hold. He wanted to travel abroad and become a diplomat, but now he can’t leave the country or continue his studies. Victoria and Vitaliy catch up with friend of Ukrainecast Vitalii Pashchenko. Andrew Harding spends time with a Ukrainian tank unit working with outdated equipment, he tells us why Ukraine desperately needs more help from West...

Connecting families, separated by war, with a night time message. Millions of children have been separated from their dads by the war in Ukraine but with the help of an interactive story app, the bedtime ritual can continue. We speak to Leila Popovich of Better Time Stories, and mum Alla tells us how the app helps her daughter Olivia connect with her dad in Mykoliav. Founder of Tip of the Spear la...

Soledar, only 10 kilometers from Bakhmut, looks set to be the first major Russian gain since the summer. The BBC’s James Waterhouse has been in Bakhmut, the city that both countries regard as totemic in the conflict. Called the ‘meat grinder’ by the head of the Wagner Group, James found a city almost uninhabitable. But with new weapons on the way from the West, could Ukraine’s forces be about to m...

Russia announces a unilateral 36-hour ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas, but Ukraine calls it cynical propaganda. The BBC reporter in Moscow, Will Vernon, tells us about the influence of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who proposed the Christmas truce and the reaction it has had in Moscow. Valeriia Hesse from the Open Nuclear Network joins us to answer a Ukrainecast liste...

Moscow has blamed Russian soldiers’ for a deadly attack that killed at least 89 of them in eastern Ukraine. It said their mobile phone use enabled Ukrainian forces to work out their location. Olga Ivshina from the BBC’s Russian service brings us up to date on the deadliest attack from a single Ukrainian strike since the war began. Documentary maker Olly Lambert spent two months embedded with Ukrai...

The Ukrainecast team looks back at 2022 and assesses what 2023 might bring. The BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, security correspondent Frank Gardner, Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse and Olga Ivshina from the BBC Russian Service reflect on the invasion, nuclear threats, war crimes investigations and the situation in Russia. We also look ahead to 2023 to discuss how long...

Ukrainecast has been following the story of Viktoria Kovalenko, whose husband and 12-year-old daughter Veronika were killed in front of her when they tried to escape from the besieged town of Chernihiv in the early days of the war. After weeks of hiding in bunkers, Viktoria and her surviving baby daughter Varvara eventually managed to find their way to Poland. Viktoria’s dream was to get to the UK...

As Ukraine prepares for its first Christmas since the Russian invasion, a friend in Kyiv tells us it’s one of struggle and defiance. It’s also Vitaly’s first Christmas with his family safely in the UK. How will they spend it? Natalia Zarytska gives us an update on her husband Bogdan’s long road to recovery since his release from Russian detention. And we speak to Oleksandr Pikalov, a friend of Vol...

President Zelensky is making his first overseas visit since the war began. He’s in Washington for talks with President Biden and is also due to address Congress. The BBC’s North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher gauges the level of support for Ukraine in the US and from Moscow, Steve Rosenberg explains how the Kremlin is reacting to the visit. Also BBC disability reporter Ruth Clegg has been m...

When Ukrainian troops liberated Izyum in the east of the country, they discovered hundreds of shallow graves in a wood outside the town. Months later, forensic experts are still struggling to identify the remains. The BBC’s Eastern Europe correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, has been talking to the pathologists and the families waiting for news of their lost loved ones. We also get the latest on today’...

When the Ukrainian army liberated Kherson, not all its residents celebrated. BBC investigative reporter, Tim Whewell, and Ukrainecast producer, Arsenii Sokolov, spoke to the pro-Russians who stayed. We get a glimpse inside the mind of the Kremlin through the lens of Russian state media, as watched by BBC Monitoring’s Francis Scarr. And entertainment reporter, Daniel Rosney, talks us through how Uk...

Rumoured to run to 120 miles, Russia is digging a vast trench stretching the full length of Ukraine’s eastern flank. An enormous feat of engineering, but does it mean they’re digging in or desperate? The BBC’s security correspondent, Frank Gardner, tells us that this line of defence, like the Maginot Line before it, is no guarantee against a Ukrainian advance. We also hear about the alleged use of...

A Russian soldier tells us the danger is "from our side" not from Ukraine. BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg and his team have been talking to families whose loved ones refused to keep fighting. We hear why Georgian soldiers have travelled to Ukraine - their commander explains the historic ties between the two countries and a shared fear of President Putin’s ambitions. And Ukraine says many thousa...

In spite of the power cuts and air raid warnings, the festive spirit is alive and well in Kyiv. Ice skating, Santa’s grotto, and mulled wine are all on offer at the city’s Winter Land, a Christmassy theme park. We hear from the team bringing a smile to the faces of families in spite of the war. When the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford last visited Kharkiv, the city was under attack. Nine months on, Sarah re...

Kyiv may be a city of blackouts and bomb shelters, but its comedians have found a fresh lease of life. Comedy clubs have taken off since the invasion with citizens seking solace in dark humour and the company of their compatriots. Also, the BBC’s Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, gives his reflections on how the country is being changed by the war into something no longer recognisable to the one he...

As troops grapple with freezing temperatures and missiles cause mass power cuts across Ukraine, the BBC’s Security Correspondent Frank Gardner assesses both sides’ military strategies. Victoria and Vitaly speak to Yaryna Chornohuz, a mother who is now a soldier on the front line. She has a young daughter, but says she feels compelled to fight. And Father Vitaliy Novak describes how he and a team o...

The BBC’s chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, gives us her take on whether President Biden’s offer to talk may offer a moment for diplomacy, despite an apparent rebuff from Vladimir Putin. A former US marine who heads up the Mozart Group, an unarmed private military company, gives us a graphic depiction of saving civilians behind Russian lines in the Donbass and occupied areas. Jonny D...