Day 1,343.
Today, as the fierce battle for Pokrovsk rages on – with Russian troops now inside the city and 15 armoured vehicles destroyed on its outskirts – we report on the dramatic destruction of a dam in Russia that has cut off Moscow’s forces inside Ukraine. Later, we speak to one of the leading architects behind the Western initiative to seize $300 billion in frozen Russian state assets, exploring how close this unprecedented move is to becoming reality – and what it could mean for the future of the war.
Contributors:
Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Journalist and Producer). @adeliepjz on X.
Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.
With thanks to campaigner, journalist and entrepreneur Hugo Dixon.
WATCH OUR SPECIAL LIVE EPISODE
Link here: https://youtu.be/Mw_lWhp-flU
Questions from the audience are answered in the podcast version, below:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7DKehIQCz24eKK73xjP2e8
Content Referenced:
Ukraine floods Russian troops in dam strike (The Telegraph):
Inside Ukraine’s fortress belt, where Nato doctrine no longer applies (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/27/trump-freeze-frontlines-trouble-ukraine/
Western drones are underwhelming on the Ukrainian battlefield (The Economist):
Russian army committing murder in Ukraine: Independent rights commission (UN report):
Kyiv wants to cash in on OnlyFans creators’ unpaid taxes. There’s just one problem: making porn is illegal in Ukraine (Meduza):
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/10/08/turning-me-into-a-criminal
Ukraine's OnlyFans Paradox: Tax the Sin, Punish the Sinner (Iuliia Mendel’s Substack):
https://iuliiamendel.substack.com/p/ukraines-onlyfans-paradox-tax-the
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