Day 1,520.

Today, as black rain continues to fall over the Russian city of Tuapse following Ukrainian strikes on an oil refinery, some residents are drawing comparisons to Hiroshima. We examine the latest developments in drone warfare, including new interceptor drones launched from fixed-wing aircraft in flight, and report on Prince Harry’s visit to a demining charity in Ukraine after his recent rebuke by Donald Trump. And later, we bring you our regular update on resistance activity in Russian-occupied Ukraine, along with a special report marking the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

Contributors:

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.

With thanks to Dr Jade McGlynn of King’s College, London, and Simon Evans, director of the Chornobyl Program at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Dom’s Video with Ukrainian Resistance leader:

https://youtu.be/nLERq02oexs

Dom’s long read on the Resistance: ‘The Ukrainian saboteur waging a revenge war on Russia’ (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/24/the-ukrainian-saboteur-waging-a-revenge-war-on-russia/

Ukraine kills 12 Russian FSB officers in drone strike (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/23/ukraine-kills-12-russian-fsb-officers-in-drone-strike/

Married pensioners killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/24/married-pensioners-killed-russian-strikes-on-ukraine/

The €500mn hole in Chernobyl’s roof (The Financial Times)

https://www.ft.com/content/c0f1ff87-cd28-4e7f-8f4c-6e4799ce53e5?syn-25a6b1a6=1

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Russian refinery inferno spews black rain
• Ukraine kills 12 Russian FSB officers in strike

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,519.

Today, in a global first, we bring you an exclusive interview with a leading member of Ukraine’s resistance movement operating inside Russian-occupied territory. We also give you updates as President Zelensky arrives in Cyprus met with confirmation that the European Union has not only formally approved the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, but also a 20th package of sanctions against Russia. We report on Ukrainian strikes against a major Russian counterintelligence unit, before examining how the US military has begun deploying Ukrainian counter-drone technology at an air base in Saudi Arabia to defend against Iran.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

With thanks to Petro of the Ukrainian resistance, and Dr Jade McGlynn and the Centre for Statecraft and National Security at King’s College London for assisting with this interview.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Dom’s Video Interview: ‘Inside the Ukrainian resistance in Russia’s occupied territories’:

https://youtu.be/nLERq02oexs

My grandfather ended Stalinism – now Putin has labelled me a ‘foreign agent’ (Iona Cleave in The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/21/nina-khrushcheva-putin-bringing-back-stalinism-russia/

US turns to Ukrainian counter-drone tech after Iran attacks, sources say (Reuters):

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-turns-ukrainian-counter-drone-tech-after-iran-attacks-sources-say-2026-04-22/

Russia could be ready for NATO conflict year after Ukraine, Dutch warn (Defense News):

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/04/22/russia-could-be-ready-for-nato-conflict-year-after-ukraine-dutch-warn/

Public Annual Report 2025 Military Intelligence and Security Service (Dutch Intelligence):

https://www.defensie.nl/documenten/2026/04/21/openbaar-jaarverslag-2025-militaire-inlichtingen--en-veiligheidsdienst

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• First ever interview with a Ukrainian resistance leader
• Updates as Zelensky finally gets EU’s €90bn loan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,516.

Today, as President Zelensky warns of increased Russian military activity in neighbouring Belarus, we discuss weekend Ukrainian air raids targeting oil refineries around Moscow. We then examine a shock election result that has brought another pro-Russia leader to power within both the EU and NATO, following in the footsteps of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. And later, we speak to a veteran foreign correspondent who spent 25 years in Russia – and has made more than a dozen trips to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion – for his memories of how Vladimir Putin built a system of ever greater repression and violence.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

With thanks to Marc Bennetts – foreign correspondent at The Times of London.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Marc Bennetts’ book, ‘The Descent: Witnessing Russia's Spiral into Madness Under Putin’:

https://amzn.eu/d/0euJ6Dc6

Pro-Russian fighter pilot wins crushing victory in Bulgaria election (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/20/rumen-radev-bulgaria-election-win-pro-russia-progressive

Moscow-born gunman kills six in Kyiv supermarket ‘terror attack’ (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/18/moscow-born-gunman-shoots-five-people-dead-in-kyiv-attack/

BBC’s Steve Rosenberg: I’m walking a tightrope in Russia. It could all end tomorrow (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/20/steve-rosenberg-on-putins-russia/

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,512.

Today, as Russian forces suffer more than 35,000 casualties in Ukraine in a single month – the highest rate of the war so far – we report on fresh strikes across Ukraine that have killed at least 17 civilians, including a 12 year old boy. We assess the outcome of the latest Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, and examine the dramatic first moves of Hungary’s new prime minister, who has vowed to shut down state television, describing it as “North Korean-style propaganda”. And later, we bring you the latest from Russia, including reaction in Moscow to the political fall of Viktor Orbán.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.

James Kilner (Russia Analyst). @Jkjourno on X.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Child among 14 killed in Russian strikes (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/16/wave-of-russian-strikes-kills-14-in-ukraine/

Ukraine’s drones dent Russia’s war-fuelled oil windfall (Financial Times):

https://www.ft.com/content/d49e288f-b74e-44a8-a2f3-ec87f7cb5c27?syn-25a6b1a6=1

‘The pope versus the president: how Leo became Trump’s fearless foe’ (Financial Times):

https://www.ft.com/content/4f67aa87-9210-402d-bfef-b71b294d65cb?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Pope Pius II’s memoirs (Vol. I; Harvard University Press):

https://itatti.harvard.edu/publications/commentaries

The Border by Erika Fatland:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57950362-the-border

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,511.

Today, as the 50-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group meets in Berlin just hours after President Zelensky signs a new defence cooperation pact with Germany, we assess the first moves of Hungary’s new prime minister and what they could mean for European support for Ukraine. We then take a deep dive into Russian military tactics and campaign design – including how Moscow consolidates control over occupied territories – with an expert from the Institute for the Study of War.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

With thanks to Karolina Hird of the Institute for the Study of War.

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Karolina Hird’s Occupation Updates for the ISW:

https://understandingwar.org/people/karolina-hird/

The SBU detained an FSB informant who, while working as a school principal in Kramatorsk, corrected shelling of the city (Ukrainian Government):

https://ssu.gov.ua/novyny/sbu-zatrymala-informatorku-fsb-yaka-pratsiuiuchy-zavuchem-shkoly-u-kramatorsku-koryhuvala-obstrily-mista

17-year-old Lithuanian who won the Norwegian Mathematical Olympiad donated the entire prize to Ukraine (LRT):

https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/svietimas/45/2887345/norvegijos-matematikos-olimpiadoje-laimejes-17-metis-lietuvis-visa-priza-paaukojo-ukrainai

Ukraine opens first Africa food supply center in Ghana (Kyiv Independent):

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-links-food-aid-and-trade-with-ghana-agrohub/?mc_cid=d5c797f2f4&mc_eid=08d0680a95

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.