Ukrainecast

One woman’s story of helping to deliver 136 babies in 42 days from a warzone.

Midwife Vira Tselyk tells Lucy and Vitaly about the 42 days she spent working from a bunker, helping to deliver over a hundred and thirty babies.

We also talk to Emma Mateo, who got caught in the deadly attack in Chernihiv - where a six-year-old girl is among seven people who died after a Russian missile strike on the historic city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine.

And, the BBC’s Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse discusses the thousands of men avoiding the draft.

Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko.

You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord.

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01:44 - The midwife in the bomb shelter

Why drones are so important in the war for both Ukraine and Russia.

How do drones work? Who makes them? And, crucially, who’s winning the drone production race?

The BBC’s Security Correspondent Frank Gardner and Dr Marina Miron from King’s College London talk us through it all.

And, Politico journalist Eva Hartog gives her fist interview after being kicked out of Russia following a decade of living and reporting from Moscow.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko.

You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord.

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00:04 - Viktoria Kovalenko

Eight months in the country after losing her husband and daughter.

Ukrainecast catches up with Viktoria Kovalenko, whose story we’ve followed since the early days of the war. In the most tragic of circumstances, her husband and 12-year-old daughter Veronika were killed in front of her when they tried to escape the town of Chernihiv last year.

She then spent weeks hiding in bunkers while looking after her baby daughter Varvara, who also survived the attack, and eventually found her way to Poland. Late last year she and Varvara were able to move here to the UK.

After eight months of living in the UK, how is she adjusting to life now?

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko.

Translation was provided by Irena Taranyuk.

You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord

If you have been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this episode, you can find help and support here https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline.

How one Russian reporter is risking her life for journalism.

We catch up with prominent investigative reporter Yelena Milashina who was severely attacked moments after flying in to the Russian republic of Chechnya.

We’re also joined by the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford who’s in Poland, where there is growing concern over the Wagner Group’s presence in neighbouring Belarus.

And the BBC’s Arsenii Sokolov has been investigating the Russian convicts released to fight with the mercenary group, who’ve been accused of new crimes, including murder.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko.

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02:27 - Yelena Milashina

Why one man says he’s turned his back on Moscow to fight with Ukraine.

We speak to "Apostle", a member of the Liberty of Russia Legion, one of the groups reportedly responsible for the cross-border raids in the Russian city of Belgorod earlier this year.

The FT’s Ukraine correspondent Christopher Miller is in the studio to discuss his new book and reflect on his time in the Pokrovsk, in Ukraine, where at least seven people lost their lives in an overnight attack by Russia.

And BBC Verify’s Olga Robinson talks about why Russians are hunting for cheap flats in the occupied city of Mariupol.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko.

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01:54 - Pokrovsk attack

Why going back home to Ukraine is so heart breaking.

Fergal Keane returns to Ukraine with a refugee family to be reunited with their husband and father; they last saw each other 18 months ago.

Vitaly and Victoria catch up with Olga who has returned to Kherson after six weeks in the safety and calm of her children's home in Norway. She now faces constant shelling and her life is in danger, so why has she gone back?

And James Waterhouse talks us through today’s drone attack on the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

One woman's story of life in the Russian capital.

Moscow resident Masha describes life in the Russian capital, and security correspondent Frank Gardner examines whether, as President Zelensky suggests, war is coming back to the country.

Also, we check in on how the UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme is going. Ukrainian national Marina and her former sponsor Francis reflect on their year living together.

Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko.

Aiden Aslin, the British prisoner released by Russia, discusses his time behind bars, receiving the death sentence and his plans to return to Ukraine.

Also, Africa correspondent Andrew Harding and Beverly Ochieng from BBC Monitoring in Nairobi discuss the Russia-Africa summit and the continent’s relationship with the Kremlin.

And what does Yevgeny Prigozhin’s reappearance in St Petersburg tell us about President Putin’s position of strength?

Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko.

Why is Russia targeting the historic port city after it withdrew from the grain deal?

We hear from James Waterhouse, who has spent the weekend in Odesa and visited the landmark Transfiguration Cathedral, which was hit by strikes. And opera singer Katerina Tsymbaliuk tells us what it was like to perform in the cathedral and why her city’s residents are so resilient.

Also, Nick Sturdee has been speaking to contacts in Donbas about life in this Russian-annexed part of Eastern Ukraine.

Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko.

Will the collapse of the UN grain deal and attack on port cities in Ukraine affect food security?

James Waterhouse joins us from a grain processing plant in Poltava and we also hear from Oksana Karabin, who works for Ukraine's biggest grain exporter Kernel. Their terminal was shelled this week destroying 60 tonnes of grain.

And we return to the issue of the forced deportation of Ukrainian children by Russia. We hear from Vice correspondent Isobel Yeung and the BBC’s Kateryna Khinkulova - two journalists who’ve been investigating the story for several months.

Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Lyse Doucet.

The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Clare Williamson and Tom Smithard. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Email [email protected] with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480.