Ukrainecast

Vitaliy and Lucy Hockings talk to Gogol Bordello’s frontman Eugene Hütz about the band’s recent secret gig for Ukrainian soldiers.

Frank Gardner brings us up to date on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant inspection and the offensive in Kherson.

And Irpin resident Oleksandr describes what it is like to have your home bombed then occupied by Russian forces, and how he’s going about rebuilding.

The series producer is Estelle Doyle. The producers are Clare Williamson and Arsenii Sokolov. The technical producer is Emma Crowe and the editor Jonathan Aspinwall. The assistant editor is Alison Gee.

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.

Donald Trump, some top secret documents and the FBI.

Welcome to episode one of the new-look Americast (we thought, as listeners of Ukrainecast, you might enjoy Americast).

Classified documents stored at former President's Florida home were likely concealed as part of an effort to obstruct an FBI investigation, says the US Department of Justice officials. Justin, Sarah and the Zurch chat to former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa, about how attempts to retrieve the documents went down and what could happen next.

And Marianna introduces our undercover voters…

If you like Americast, please subscribe to the podcast on BBC Sounds. Americast will be publishing every Wednesday.

Americast is made by Phil Marzouk and Alix Pickles. The studio director is Emma Crowe. The assistant editor is Sam Bonham. The senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

The boss of Lukoil, a Russian oil company, died on Thursday, the latest in a string of deaths of key Russian business people. Vitaly and Victoria unpick the rumours with Russian expert and author Mark Galeotti.

We get the latest on the inspection of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant with James Waterhouse.

And Maria Korenyuk has been investigating the re-writing of history books for schools in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine.

He contributed to Ukraine's independence. So why do they not remember him more fondly?

Victoria and Vitaliy reflect on the Gorbachev years, the demise of the Soviet Union and what he thought about Ukrainian independence with former BBC Moscow correspondent, Bridget Kendall.

Justin Bronk a defence analyst from RUSI brings us up to speed with the Ukrainian offensive in Kherson.

And we discuss the return to school for Ukrainian children with James Elder who is a spokesperson for UNICEF currently based in Kyiv.

Russian investigative journalist Ekaterina Fomina speaks to the team about her headline-making interviews with Russian soldiers, one of which admitted committing a war crime.

Vitaly, James, and Victoria also talk about how disaster was avoided despite the electricity needed to cool reactors at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant being cut.

And, as the football season in Ukraine starts again, we speak to a player who would be playing for FC Mariupol, if not for the war.

The series producer is Estelle Doyle. The producers are Arsenii Sokolov, Louise Hidalgo, and Chris Flynn. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

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.

We mark the anniversary of Russia's war in Ukraine and follow the stories of Max, Anna, Hussain, Maksym and Viktoria, none of whom will ever be the same again.

This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Chris Fynn, Philip Marzouk, Arsenii Sokolov and Louise Hidalgo. The technical producer and sound designer was Emma Crowe. The assistant editor was Sam Bonham.

Russia has opened a murder investigation after a journalist, Darya Dugina, died in a suspected car bombing not far from Moscow. Was she the target? Or was it her father, the ultra-nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin?

Victoria, Vitaly and Gabriel Gatehouse, who interviewed Alexander after the annexation of Crimea, profile the man said to be one of Putin’s inspirations.

They also talk about who might be behind the murder and what consequences there might be in Ukraine, where Independence Day celebrations planned for Wednesday have already been curtailed.

Ukrainian wife desperate for news. Natalia wants to know where her husband, a civilian mechanic, is being held prisoner in Russia. He was captured in March and the Red Cross confirm that he's in a Russian jail but hasn't heard anything since; she tells Victoria and Vitaly about how she is coping.

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.

What is it like living under Russian rule? We hear from Hannah (not her real name) in Crimea. She tells us how she’s coping living through the recent explosions.

And acclaimed Ukrainian author, Andriy Kurkov, explains how art has helped him process the conflict in Ukraine.

This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Phil Marzouk with Ivana Davidovic and Arsenii Sokolov. The planning producer was Louise Hidalgo. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The assistant editor was 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.

From performing with Ed Sheeran to becoming an army paramedic. We hear from Taras Topolia, lead singer in the Ukrainian band Antytila, about his transformation from frontman to physician.

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.

UK listeners can watch 'Frontline Frontmen' on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0cs677h/frontline-frontmen.