Ukraine launches a surprise attack near Kharkiv as fighting rages across the frontlines

Day 1,141.Today, as Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi declares that Russia’s spring offensive has already begun, we look at the shifting drone strategy adopted by Moscow. Then we reflect on why there may be more to the story of Chinese soldiers fighting in Ukraine than meets the eye.Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.Joe Barnes (Brussels Correspondent). @Barnes_Joe on X.Hamish De-Bretton Gordon (Former Tank Commander). @HamishDBG on X.Content Referenced:The Daily T's interview on China and Ukraine with Iain Duncan Smith MP:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/trump-why-hes-right-on-china/id1489612924?i=1000702725694The Telegraph’s Ukraine War Live Blog:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/09/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-zelensky-china/ ‘Ukraine is undefeatable: the UK and Europe can help Ukraine prevail with or without Trump’ (Hamish in The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/07/ukraine-tank-museum-undefeatable-war-putin-russia/Russia's spring offensive has 'effectively already begun,' Syrskyi says (Kyiv Independent):https://kyivindependent.com/russias-spring-offensive-has-already-begun-syrskyi-says/ Thousands of UK gas masks being sent to Ukraine (BBC):https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crldnw5lly6o Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Apr 42min

Day 1,140.Today, as Ukrainian forces report capturing two Chinese citizens in Donetsk, we discuss how Ukrainian drones have been found to carry malware to infect Russian systems, plus how Russia may have been behind a knife attack in Mannheim in May 2024. Contributors:Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Narrative Podcast Producer). @adeliepjz on X.Roland Oliphant (Senior Foreign Correspondent). @RolandOliphant on X.James Rothwell (Berlin Correspondent). @JamesERothwell on X.Content Referenced:Zelensky: Chinese caught fighting for Russia in Ukraine: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/08/ukraine-russia-war-chinese-soldiers-captured-zelensky/Russians ‘searched internet for knife attack victim’ days before he was stabbed, James Rothwell in the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/07/russians-internet-search-before-attack-mannheim-germany/Germany considers withdrawing 1,200-ton gold stockpile from US in riposte to Trump, James Rothwell in the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/04/germany-considers-withdrawing-gold-stockpile-from-us-trump/Russians Capture Ukrainian Drones Which Infect Their Systems With Malware, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/vikrammittal/2025/04/02/russians-capture-ukrainian-drones-which-infect-their-systems-with-malware/NOW AVAILABLE IN NEW LANGUAGES:The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them, or click the links below.Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatestLearn more about the tech: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/24/ukraine-the-latest-podcast-russian-ukrainian-ai-translation/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Apr 44min

Day 1,139.Today, we talk about the crash in oil prices and the consequences on Russia’s economy. We discuss Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to the US on international economic and investment cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev. And, Francis Dearnley speaks with John W. Boerstler, who served as the Chief Veterans Experience Officer at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Contributors:Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Narrative Podcast Producer). @adeliepjz on X.Roland Oliphant (Senior Foreign Correspondent). @RolandOliphant on X.With thanks to John W. Boerstler (Executive Vice President of Public Sector at IPSOS).Content Referenced:As oil plunges, Kremlin sees a global economic storm, from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-plunges-kremlin-sees-global-economic-storm-2025-04-07/Russia plans to capitalise on Trump’s trade wars – here’s the man leading Putin’s gambit, from the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/06/russia-trump-trade-wars-dmitriev/John W. Boerstler - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairshttps://department.va.gov/staff-biographies/john-w-boerstler/NOW AVAILABLE IN NEW LANGUAGES:The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them, or click the links below.Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatestLearn more about the tech: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/24/ukraine-the-latest-podcast-russian-ukrainian-ai-translation/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Apr 48min

Day 1,136.Today, as the heads of the French and British armed forces arrive in Kyiv for talks on what the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ might look like, we talk to the Chief Executive of the HALO Trust on how drone-mounted lasers are helping in the demining effort. Later, Francis Dearnley interviews the author of a new book that explores how Russia's War has not only destroyed millions of human lives, but has been catastrophic for the environment.Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.James Cowan (CEO of HALO Trust). @TheHALOTrust on X.With thanks to Darya Tsymbalyuk (Author and Assistant Professor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Chicago). @DaryaTsymbalyuk on X.Content Referenced:Darya Tsymbalyuk's book, Ecocide in Ukraine: The Environmental Cost of Russia's War:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ecocide-Ukraine-Environmental-Cost-Russias/dp/1509562508?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLENOW AVAILABLE IN NEW LANGUAGES:The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them, or click the links below.Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatestLearn more about the tech: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/24/ukraine-the-latest-podcast-russian-ukrainian-ai-translation/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Apr 57min

Day 1,135.Today, as the White House suspends sanctions in order to get one of Putin’s chief aides into the US, we hear how a Kremlin mouthpiece fell for an April Fool’s joke about the Royal Navy, and we go live to NATO HQ in Brussels. Later, we hear from a new Ukraine exhibition at Britain’s tank museum.Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Joe Barnes (Brussels Correspondent). @Barnes_Joe on X.Hamish De Bretton-Gordon (Former British Army Tank Commander). @HamishDBG on XNOW AVAILABLE IN NEW LANGUAGES:The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them, or click the links below.Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatestLearn more about the tech: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/24/ukraine-the-latest-podcast-russian-ukrainian-ai-translation/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Apr 33min

Day 1,134.Today, as Moscow resumes its bombardments on Ukraine, we discuss reports that it is dawning on Donald Trump’s administration that a swift ceasefire deal is not going to happen without action against the Russian economy. Then we return to that very subject, and ask: how much leverage does the White House have on sanctions, and is it declining?Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on XDominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Stephanie Baker (Senior writer at Bloomberg and sanctions expert). @StephaniBaker on X.Content Referenced:Trump officials eye a longer road to Ukraine peace as frustration mounts (Reuters):https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-officials-eye-longer-road-ukraine-peace-frustration-mounts-2025-04-01/US officials object to European push to buy weapons locally (Reuters):https://www.reuters.com/world/us-officials-object-european-push-buy-weapons-locally-2025-04-02/ China debates whether Trump is a revolutionary, or just rude (The Economist):https://www.economist.com/international/2025/04/01/china-debates-whether-trump-is-a-revolutionary-or-just-rudeOur sister podcast Battle Lines, covering wider global affairs: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/battle-lines/Stephanie Baker’s book, Punishing Putin: Inside the Economic War to Bring Down Russia:https://stephaniebakerwriter.com/punishing-putinNOW AVAILABLE IN NEW LANGUAGES:The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them, or click the links below.Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatestLearn more about the tech: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/24/ukraine-the-latest-podcast-russian-ukrainian-ai-translation/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Apr 26min

Day 1,133.Today, further to news from the battlefront and beyond, we look at Putin's decision to mobilise a record number of men, and what it means for the prospects of a meaningful ceasefire. Then, in a special interview, Francis Dearnley talks to one of the men involved in some of the most important decisions made by the Biden administration relating to the war. What did they get right, and what did they get wrong?Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.Ambassador Michael Carpenter (Former Senior Director for Europe of the The United States National Security Council). @mikercarpenter on X.Content Referenced:Putin drafts 160,000 men into Russian army despite peace talks (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/03/31/russia-ukraine-zelensky-putin-war-ceasefire-deal-latest/ Ukraine says mineral talks still alive despite Trump anger (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/01/russia-ukraine-zelensky-putin-war-ceasefire-latest-news/China depicts Taiwan’s president as cartoon parasite as military exercises begin (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/01/china-taiwan-president-cartoon-parasite-military-exercises/ NOW AVAILABLE IN NEW LANGUAGES:The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them, or click the links below.Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatestLearn more about the tech: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/24/ukraine-the-latest-podcast-russian-ukrainian-ai-translation/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1 Apr 58min

Day 1,132.Today, as reports surface of Russian attempts to get behind Ukrainian lines in the Donbas by going underground, we assess the impact of Donald Trump’s supposed loss of patience with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asking how much of the rage is concocted, and we hear more about the experience of women who endured torture at the hands of the Russians. Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on XFrancis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.David Blair (Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator). @davidblairdt on X.Verity Bowman (Journalist). @VerityBowman on X.Content Referenced:Dom’s Panel at Oxford Literary Festival:https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-events/2025/april-02/the-russian-threat-why-it-has-grown-and-how-to-fight-backThese Ukrainian women survived Putin’s prisons – now they’re taking revenge (Verity Bowman in The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/ukraine-female-prisoners-of-war-russia-putin-prisons/ The Secret History of the War in Ukraine (New York Times):https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/29/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-wiesbaden.htmlHow British commandos helped bring the CIA into the heart of the Ukraine war (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/03/31/british-commandos-cia-ukraine-war-zelensky-putin-russia/ European military powers work on 5-10 year plan to replace US in Nato (Financial Times):https://tinyurl.com/bd82v98r The time has come to punish Orbán, Germany’s next government says:https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-next-coalition-vows-punish-hungary-viktor-orban-friedrich-merz/ Secret Pentagon memo on China, homeland has Heritage fingerprints (Washington Post):https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/03/29/secret-pentagon-memo-hegseth-heritage-foundation-china/ The time has come to punish Orbán, Germany’s next government says (POLITICO):https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-next-coalition-vows-punish-hungary-viktor-orban-friedrich-merz/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Mar 48min