BFBS Sitrep

We thought Russia’s invasion would overwhelm Ukraine within 72 hours. A week on Moscow’s forces have claimed control of just one city.

So what’s gone wrong for the Kremlin? Could old maps, and archaic radios be part of Russia’s problem?

We assess how much military capability each side has lost from the battlefield, and what cards Ukraine has to play as cities come under siege.

President Putin’s nuclear option includes battlefield weapons, would he really use them and how devastating would that be?

Plus why Defence Intelligence has come out of the shadows and into the limelight, as part of the UK’s response.

Russia has launched a full frontal military assault on Ukraine, sending troops and tanks in from 3 directions. BFBS Sitrep assesses Moscow’s military strategy and what it can tell us about how this may play out.

We also compare President Putin’s playbook in the lead-up to this invasion with what happened in Georgia in 2008, and guess what, it looks remarkably similar.

What can the UK do now to help Ukraine, is military action really off the table, and what is the risk of NATO getting drawn in anyway?

Russia says it’s pulling troops back from Ukraine’s borders, the west says the buildup’s getting bigger.

BFBS Sitrep talks to a former British Ambassador, and a former Moscow Correspondent to make sense of the competing claims and assess the state of the Ukraine stand off.

A Defence Minister tells us why the UK is doubling its military assistance to NATO members in Eastern Europe, and whether that fits with calls for ‘de-escalation’

And we compare the size of Ukraine’s armed forces with Russia’s military machine to see if it could fend off an invasion.

In a rollercoaster 24 hours the UK went from warning an invasion of Ukraine could start ‘at any moment’ to expressing cautious optimism about a Russian pullback.

In this extra edition of BFBS Sitrep Kate Gerbeau talks in depth to the UK’s Armed Forces Minister James Heappey.

He tells us it’s his ‘expectation’ that British training troops, pulled out of Ukraine a few days ago, will return providing security conditions on the ground are met.

He also discusses Russia’s claims that the west has been ‘humiliated’ by the failure of ‘war propaganda’, and says we must be able to hear ‘in good faith’ what Russia is saying.

China has called for the UK to hand the Falklands to Argentina, and says NATO’s got too big. This week BFBS Sitrep asks if Beijing has used the Winter Olympics to set out a divide-and-rule strategy, or if it’s just repackaging its old partnerships?

The head of the Army explains why he ordered non-essential work to stop for a day, to talk about teamwork, and an expert in cultural change gives his verdict on the effort to modernise attitudes.

Estonian soldiers tell us about working with their British counterparts at Europe’s ‘most dangerous moment’ in decades.

Is ‘Havana Syndrome’ a case of mass hysteria among US diplomats, or the result of energy-weapon attacks? We examine the latest research.

The UK and its western allies are threatening historically harsh sanctions to try to deter Russia from invading Ukraine. BFBS Sitrep examines what sanctions might be taken, what history tells us about whether they work, and how we might feel the effects of those sanctions too.

We also look at the part played by sanctions in Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis where people are selling their children, and even vital organs, as they struggle to survive.

And on the eve of the Beijing Winter Olympics will the games boost the communist nation’s international influence further, or does a western diplomatic boycott turn sport into a political football?

Ukraine’s government is urging its citizens to stay calm, but preparing its forces for war. BFBS Sitrep asks where we should be looking for signs of a possible Russian invasion, and hears from Ukraine about the mood among the people... including two Britons who have joined the Ukrainian army.

Also as the UK says it could send more troops to Eastern Europe, the deputy head of Estonia’s armed forces gives us his view on the Ukraine Crisis.

The capital of the United Arab Emirates has come under attack from drones and ballistic missiles – we’ll explain why. And does 10 Downing Street need some military-leadership behind the famous black door to get it back on track?

The US claims Russia plans a ‘false flag’ operation in Ukraine to justify an invasion. The UK’s defence secretary speaks out against ‘false narratives’ from President Putin.

BFBS Sitrep explains the information war being fought over Ukraine, and asks a former NATO spokesman if sending British weapons to the country hands ammunition for disinformation to Moscow.

Why are just 5 of the 1500 most senior Armed Forces officers Black-Caribbean or Asian?

And BFBS Reporter Simon Newton takes us on a journey to the Antarctic with Defence’s climate-change champion.

Decorated former bomb-disposal operator Kim Hughes talks at length to Kate Gerbeau about how Hollywood portrays the job and what it’s actually like.

Since leaving the Army in 2020 he’s worked as a consultant on films, and has written two thrillers “Operation Black Key” and “Operation Certain Death”.

He tells BFBS Sitrep about his three tours of duty in Afghanistan – how you defuse a bomb, what you do if a firefight breaks out, and when you decide to walk away.

And he tells us why films like The Hurt Locker are ‘horrendous’ on detail, but would look like ‘watching paint dry’ if they were realistic.

Moscow is demanding NATO admits absolutely no new members – but could that demand be backfiring?

We hear from Sweden and Finland, where after years of staunch ‘non-alignment’, they’re now seriously considering joining the alliance.

James Hirst fact checks President Putin’s claim, and NATO’s denial, that the alliance promised decades ago not to move ‘one inch to the East’.

What’s the difference between bomb-disposal in Helmand, and in Hollywood? A decorated former soldier tells us how he’s swapped his body armour for books, film and TV.

And a former deputy head of the Army tells us how service charities are coping with the pressures of Covid, and extra demand because of Afghanistan.