Ukrainecast

24 prisoners who have been held in six countries have been released in the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War. The exchange involved 16 detainees from the West - including Americans Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan - and eight who are returning to Russia. Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford has been in regular contact with some of those who have now been s...

Is support for peace deal growing among Ukrainians? Between President Zelensky saying Russia should attend a peace summit in November, and a recent poll suggesting that more Ukrainians would now accept some territorial concessions, we assess whether the mood is changing. Dr Patricia Lewis who leads the International Security programme at Chatham House gives her take. Victoria and Vitaly are also j...

While Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was being handed a 16 year jail term last week, another Russian court was sentencing Radio Free Europe editor Alsu Kurmasheva to 6.5 years in prison. From marines to ballerinas and journalists, it’s believed that around thirty US citizens are currently incarcerated in Russian. So are they being arrested and how do the families of those detained m...

Ukraine’s athletes are preparing to represent their country at the Olympics - we speak to 400m hurdler Victoriya Tkachuk about the difficulties of training in a warzone as her brother fights on the frontline. Greco-Roman wrestler Zhan Beleniuk won Ukraine’s only gold medal in Tokyo, and will be trying to retain it in Paris. He’s also a Ukrainian MP and told us about his opposition to the limited i...

On Friday's episode we spoke to BBC political editor Chris Mason about his exclusive interview with President Zelensky. We thought that you might like to hear the whole of that - so in this episode you can hear the Ukrainian leader's conversation in full... The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Richard Fenton-Smith. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comme...

At the end of a week in which fears were raised across Ukraine about the future of American and European aid towards the war effort, we ask Poland’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, whether the West could be growing tired of supporting Kyiv. And what’s it like to interview President Zelensky? The BBC's political editor, Chris Mason, joins Ukrainecast to reflect on his chat with the Ukrainian l...

Last week at the Nato summit, leaders called China a ‘decisive enabler’ of the war in Ukraine - a statement that Beijing denies. So what is China’s role in this conflict? We’re joined by historian Rana Mitter and Spectator journalist Cindy Yu to try and make sense of it all. Today’s episode is presented by James Coomarasamy and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov and Cordelia Hem...

As the dust settles on the Nato summit in Washington, we decode the diplomatic agreements and ask how much help it offers Ukraine. Matthew Savill from the London-based defence think-tank RUSI breaks down what the commitments might mean for Ukraine on the battlefield, as well as the geopolitical implications of Joe Biden’s continuing stumbles. Kyiv has now suffered its worst week this year with 33...

World leaders are gathering in Washington for the Nato summit and Ukraine is high on the agenda. The military alliance, which is marking its 75th anniversary, will also be closely watching US President Joe Biden whose recent halting debate performance has left many wondering if he’s up for the task. Kurt Volker, former US Ambassador to Nato, tells us whether he thinks the alliance could survive a...

Russia has carried out a series of deadly airstrikes across Ukraine, a day before a NATO summit opens in Washington. In the capital Kyiv, a children's hospital was hit. In this extra episode of Ukrainecast, Victoria and Vitaly discuss how and why the attack happened, as well as its fallout. Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Arsenii Sokolo...

There are number of elections taking place across Europe many have seen a move to the right. At the same time the Hungarian president, Victor Orban, who holds the current presidency of the European Union is in Moscow just a few days after he was in Kyiv. To talk about what this all means for Ukraine we put your questions to the BBC’s France correspondent Andrew Harding and Armida van Rij who heads...

Serhiy Gulko made a difficult choice to finish his medical degree at Moscow State University after Russia attacked his homeland, Ukraine. Two years later, he was arrested for speaking out against the war on social media. Serhiy tells us about his experience in detention and whether ordinary Russians support the war. And Oleg Kozlovsky, an Amnesty International Russian researcher, tells us about th...

When Lidiia’s home town in the Donbas region became a battlefield, the 98-year-old walked through the fighting to safety 10km away. Ukrainian police eventually picked her up when they saw her and asked, “Hey granny, where are you off to?” We also hear from Denys Kazanskyi a Ukrainian journalist and author who comes from the area about attitudes to Russia since the occupation began in 2014. Today’s...

On Wednesday, Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia last year goes on trial. Russian officials have accused the Wall Street Journal reporter of collecting "secret information" from a Russian tank factory for the CIA. An allegation he denies. The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg is in the city of Yekaterinburg where the trial is taking place. And we also hear from Evan’s friend...

On the week that Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defence pact, General Sir Richard Shirreff, NATO's former Deputy Commander for Europe, answers your questions about what this could mean for Ukraine and its allies, where we are with F16 jets and Patriot air defences, and how to deal with Russian propaganda. Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. It was pro...

What will Putin’s meeting with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un mean for Ukraine? Reports suggest that North Korea is supplying weapons to Russia to use in its war in Ukraine. With the two leaders meeting for the second time in under a year, this growing alliance is making some Western leaders uneasy. Today’s episode is presented by Vitaly Shevchenko and James Waterhouse with BBC Moscow producer B...

Ukraine rejects Putin’s ceasefire proposal ahead of Swiss peace talks. It’s been a busy week for President Zelensky. At the G7 meeting in Italy, world leaders agreed on a $50bn loan to help fund Ukraine’s war effort and a ten year bi-lateral security agreement was signed between the US and Ukraine. All this before President Zelensky heads to Switzerland for a Ukrainian Peace Summit. Meanwhile, Pre...

Missile attacks, anxiety, power cuts and mobilisation: the challenges of childbirth and parenthood for a young couple in Kyiv. Iryna and Volodymyr chose to have a baby following the full-scale invasion. The stress has meant that Iryna can no longer breast feed, they have lost friends and Volodymyr is about to join the army - but they are facing these challenges with bravery and resilience. Today’s...

What are the prospects for any progress at next week’s peace summit in Switzerland, especially if Russia is not there? Our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg and international editor, Jeremy Bowen give us their thoughts and also answer questions on Russia’s economy, whether Russians are worried about Western missiles and how Ukrainian journalists are covering the war. Today’s episode is presented by V...

One young soldier’s coming of age tale from the battlefield. One of our most asked after regular guests, the young soldier Maksym Lutsyk, returns to the podcast. He’s now 21 years old and we find out about his time on the frontline, how he listens in to secret recordings of Russian soldiers and whether he still dreams of having a beer on a beach in Tenerife… Today’s episode is presented by Victori...

Dr Fiona Hill joins Victoria and Vitaly to answer questions sent in by Ukrainecast listeners. She’s a former US national intelligence officer and a historian who’s written a book about Putin. They tackle topics about how momentum in the war has shifted, who might succeed Putin and what difference it will make letting Ukraine fire Western made weapons into some Russian territories. Today’s episode...

Schools in one of Ukraine’s most dangerous cities have taken evasive action to escape frequent Russian missile strikes. In Kharkiv they’ve opened up temporary classrooms in metro stations to keep children safe from attacks. In this episode we hear from a teacher and a fifteen-year-old student about what school life is like underground. Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly...

A husband and wife’s tale of imprisonment, torture and their campaign to free POWs. Arsenii Fedosiuk, a lieutenant in Ukraine’s Azov Brigade, was one of the soldiers who fought defending the Azovstal steel works and was imprisoned, tortured and subsequently released by the Russians. He’s in London with his wife, Yulia, as part of a campaign to put pressure on the Russian authorities to return thei...

Could Ukraine host fresh elections? How could the war end? Do we believe Mike Pompeo’s interpretation of how Donald Trump would end the war in 24 hours? Victoria and Jamie are joined by General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of the UK's Joint Forces Command, to answer these questions from you… and more. Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Jamie Coomarasamy. The producers...

Donald Trump’s former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, tells Ukrainecast what his old boss really thinks about Ukraine, and what another Trump presidency could mean for the war. He also talks about whether he’d take another top job in the White House. Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. It was made by Chris Flynn with Cordelia Hemming Arsenii Sokolov, and Cha...