Ukrainecast

Maria Alyokhina, founding member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, joins Vitaly in the Ukrainecast studio to talk about her experience in detention and her escape from the country disguised as a delivery driver.

What does she make of the current Russian opposition movement, and will Russia always feel like home?

She also talks about her book, Political Girl.

Also this week, Victoria and Vitaly discuss reports of a rift, denied by R...

While Russia makes advances on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, Western sanctions on Russian oil have begun to impact how some countries source their energy.

And as Ukraine continues to ask its allies for more money and weapons, some are left wondering what’s happening with the frozen Russian assets in held in Belgium.

Plus, why doesn’t Ukraine obtain nuclear weapons? And what would happen if the country ran out of...

Sophia Yanchevska is a nineteen-year-old combat medic working on the frontline in Ukraine. She has been speaking to Lucy about seeing the war close up, the friends she has lost, and her hopes for the future. Plus, what it was like to feature in a new film ‘She’ directed by Evgen Matvienko which recently premiered in London.

Also this week - Victoria, Vitaly, and Lucy discuss the situation in Pokrovsk, the city Russia has been attemp...

After an EU decision to use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine was postponed until December, discussion among European leaders returned to plans for a ceasefire this week. And the latest example of so-called nuclear 'sabre-rattling' by Vladimir Putin, forced Donald Trump to respond with a vague commitment of his own to resume US nuclear testing for the first time in decades.

On this edition of Ukrainecast, Jamie and Vitaly are joi...

This week, Moscow's top general has claimed that Russia has tested a low-flying experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile. It is said to be powered by a nuclear reactor and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with a potentially unlimited range.

Russia calls it Burevestnik, Nato have codenamed it ‘Skyfall’, and others have said it’s a ‘tiny flying Chernobyl’. Western experts have previously cast doubt over missile's strategic...

In the last week, Volodymyr Zelensky failed to secure long-range Tomahawk missiles from Donald Trump during a reportendly heated meeting. Then, a planned summit in Budapest between the US and Russian presidents was called off by Trump who said it would have been a ‘waste of time’.

But, the White House has now increased the pressure on the Kremlin announcing sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, a first for the Trump admin...

Despite suggestions of an agreement on the supply of long-range Tomahawk missiles, President Zelensky went back to Kyiv empty handed after his meeting with Donald Trump on Friday.

So what happened?

Victoria and Vitaly speak with Christopher Miller, the Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times, which has been reporting details of swearing from Donald Trump in the room, and the ‘tossing’ of battlefield maps.

Vitaly also speaks wit...

As Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to make his latest pitch to Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, the US is yet to announce a decision on the delivery of long range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Could Washington have given the green light behind the scenes already? Are Ukrainian claims of frontline counteroffensives being exaggerated? And which side is coming out on top when it comes to drone technology?

To answer your questions...

After a peace agreement in the Middle East, is President Trump now turning his attention back to the situation in Ukraine? Victoria and James are joined by BBC filmmaker Jane Corbin to ask what, if anything, has changed when it comes to peace efforts in Europe.

And - we hear about some of the more unfamiliar jobs created by the war in Ukraine. Journalist Richard Pendry has been embedded with military recruiters pursuing draft dodger...

How might Russia respond to the potential delivery of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine? What can Europe do to win round Hungary's Viktor Orbán? And what would a drone wall to protect Europe actually look like?

To answer your questions, Jamie and Vitaly are joined by Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse and BBC Verify's Olga Robinson. The team also discuss proxy wars, foreign troops and false flag operations.

Today’s episode is presente...

Vitaly’s home village of Verkhnya Krynytsya in the Zaporizhzhia region was occupied by Russia shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Now, in a Ukrainecast exclusive, he tells Victoria why it’s likely his childhood home is being used as a base by the Russian military.

Plus, BBC Verify has revealed a surge in Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries in recent months. Olga Robinson joins us in th...

Is Ukraine seeing an exodus of young men? Why does Russia have veto power over UN resolutions? And would Moscow defend Minsk if Nato allies invoked Article 5 in response to an attack by Belarus?

To answer your questions, Lucy Hockings is joined by senior digital journalist Laura Gozzi, and Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse. The team also discuss US aid, China’s role in the conflict, and whether Vladimir Putin is grooming a succ...

As a solution to the conflict remains elusive and casualties mount, what is it like to treat those injured while defending their country?

This week we are speaking with two surgeons, Dr Danylo Turkevich and Dr Shehan Hettiaratchy, who have witnessed the consequences of the fighting in Ukraine close up.

Plus Victoria is joined by our correspondent Sarah Rainsford to discuss a pro-EU election victory in Moldova, amid allegations of Ru...

There was widespread surprise at the UN General Assembly this week, when Donald Trump appeared to drastically alter his tone on the war in Ukraine. His new insistence that Ukraine could win back all of its territory on the battlefield marks a significant departure from what has become the consensus view among military observers, and President Zelensky welcomed his comments as a "big shift". So, even as Russia dismisses the claims a...

As world leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly, repeated Russian violations of Nato airspace have prompted warnings from some Nato countries that Russia should expect jets to be shot down if they continue.

Secretary general Mark Rutte has insisted allied nations are ready to defend "every inch" of Nato's borders. Victoria and Vitaly discuss how serious they are, and, they’re joined by the Czech Foreign Minister, ...

As Donald Trump is afforded a royal welcome by the United Kingdom, many are seeing his unprecedented second state visit as a test of whether soft power diplomacy still works. The trip comes as Washington insists it will only apply additional sanctions against Moscow if Europe stops buying Russian oil. So can Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer get the US president to change his position?

This week, Jamie and Vitaly are joined by the BBC...

Russia and Belarus have been staging joint military drills in an apparent message of strength to the West, but the relationship between US President Donald Trump and authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko seems to be warming.

Dozens of political prisoners have been freed from Belarusian prisons as part of a deal between the two countries, and some sanctions on Belarus have been eased. President Trump even sent Mr Lukashenko some ...

A major incident occurred on Ukraine’s doorstep this week when at least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, four of which were shot down. Despite Russia’s insistence that it had no intention of striking targets inside Poland, this is nonetheless being considered a significant test both of the durability of Nato’s eastern flank, and the resolve of its member states to defend it.

To discuss the response to this incursion, Lucy ...

After a Ukrainian government building was damaged in a Russian strike for the first time, Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House that he was ready to implement new sanctions against Moscow. So, what might ‘phase two’ of a US sanctions package look like, and could it impact the Kremlin’s ability to finance its ongoing invasion?

To discuss Washington’s options, we’re joined by Stephanie Baker, a senior writer in Bloomberg...