logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2022
35m 30s

Defending those who refuse to fight

BBC News
About this episode

The BBC Russian’s Olga Ivshina explains how her and her team have been able to estimate the number of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine and buried in Russia by sending volunteers to visit cemeteries.

Also, we hear from Mikhail Benyash, a Russian human rights lawyer who has been advising Russian soldiers who don’t want to fight in Ukraine.

The BBC’s Security correspondent, Frank Gardner explains why he believes Russia is currently militarily winning the war.

And the team discusses the toll the war has also taken on the Russian people. The series producer is Estelle Doyle. The producers Alix Pickles, Arsenii Sokolov and Osman Iqbal. The technical producer is Emma Crowe. And the editor is Jonathan Aspinwall. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 0330 1239480.

Up next
Today
Q&A: Trump turns on Putin, Ukrainian infighting, and Turkey's diplomatic tightrope
Is Donald Trump changing his rhetoric on Ukraine? Has he directed allies in Congress to accelerate a new sanctions package targeting Russia? And could infighting among high-ranking Ukrainian officials prove to be a damaging distraction in their country’s war effort?Lucy and Vital ... Show More
25m 5s
Jul 8
Surviving Russia’s record drone attacks
On Friday, Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched a record 539 drones and 11 missiles in overnight airstrikes. Kyiv was at the epicentre of the attack, with every district in the capital targeted. We’ve been speaking with two residents of the city, about their experiences - ... Show More
20m 43s
Jul 3
Q&A: Suspended US weapons, Macron-Putin call and Russian opposition
After the US paused the delivery of some weapons to Ukraine pledged under the Biden administration, how soon will the impact be felt on the front line? As Russia claims full control of Luhansk, what is life like for Ukrainians living in occupied territories? And is Ukraine united ... Show More
24m 39s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2022
The fate of Russia’s soldiers
Most Russians are getting a distorted picture of what Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Even the use of the words “war” or “invasion” is prohibited and state controlled TV does not acknowledge that Russian troops are attacking civilians. Yet news is ... Show More
27m 19s
Sep 2022
Russia faces defeat in Ukraine
Ukraine’s rapid recapture of territory in recent days has put Russian forces on the back foot and raised the prospect of an early end to the war. Gideon talks to Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at King's College in London about the dramatic turnaround and wha ... Show More
20m 27s
Feb 2022
Ukrainecast: The Battle for Kyiv
Ukraine government gives out guns as Russian forces approach... Victoria, Gabriel and Vitaliy talk through how the conflict has unfolded. Olga Malchevska, from the BBC Ukrainian Service in London, tells of how her family home was targeted, and Newsnight’s diplomatic editor Mark U ... Show More
34m 34s
Feb 2022
Russia Unleashes War On Ukraine
For the first time since WWII, two sovereign nations are in a conventional war in Europe, in what President Biden calls an “unprovoked and unjustified attack”. Ukrainian President Zelensky condemns the Russian invasion, saying “The sound of a new iron curtain is closing between t ... Show More
42m 3s
Mar 2022
Ukraine's Foreign Legion
When President Zelensky put a call out for fighters to join the defence of Ukraine against the Russian assault, an estimated 20,000 answered - including Shane Matthew, a former member of the British Army. As we mark a month since the start of the war in Ukraine, what is life like ... Show More
27m 58s
Feb 2022
Ukrainecast: What is Putin thinking?
As fighting continues in Ukraine, Victoria Derbyshire and Gabriel Gatehouse look at how the crisis is being reflected in Russia. They’re joined by Angus Roxburgh, who spent three years as a consultant to the Kremlin, to discuss whether the people closest to Putin will stay loyal ... Show More
44m 29s
Feb 2022
Russia invades Ukraine
Russia has confirmed what western powers had long predicted and invaded Ukraine. On the eve of war, Gideon spoke to Sabine Fischer of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a Russian specialist recently back from Moscow, and to Polina Ivanova, FT corresponde ... Show More
21m 22s
Apr 2024
Should the UK send troops to Ukraine?
Ex-armed forces minister James Heappey has told Sky's defence and security editor Deborah Haynes the UK should consider sending its forces to Ukraine to train troops.   On the Sky News Daily, host Tom Cheshire talks to her and Sky's military analyst Professor Michael Clarke about ... Show More
20m 4s