Ukraine: The Latest

Day 987.Today, as Ukraine, and the world, waits with bated breath for the results of the US presidential election, we look at the situation on the battlefield as Moscow seeks to strengthen its foothold, and hear more about how ordinary Russians view the war.Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @FrancisDearnley on X.Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.James Kilner (Moscow Desk). @jkjourno on X.Content referenced:'To Avoid Another Munich, Europe Must Act to Secure Ukraine' (100+ Experts' Letter):https://www.democratic-strategy.net/_files/ugd/dcfff6_bc38b0fbac1b473bb5b0989446c08f67.pdfChina’s Xi Jinping poses as hunky Putin sidekick in FSB calendar (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/11/01/chinas-xi-jinping-poses-hunky-putins-sidekick-calendar/ Instruction manual for digging mass graves given to Russian troops (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/11/03/instruction-manual-digging-mass-graves-russian-troops/Google Maps ‘reveals location’ of secret Ukrainian military positions (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/11/03/instruction-manual-digging-mass-graves-russian-troops/Russia Suspected of Plotting to Send Incendiary Devices on U.S.-Bound Planes (Wall Street Journal)https://www.wsj.com/world/russia-plot-us-planes-incendiary-devices-de3b8c0aStolen Cheese! (BBC)https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ygw9ye90poSubscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

Day 986.Today, as Moldova resists alleged Russian meddling in Sunday's presidential vote, we report on how Russia is arming drones with thermobaric 'lung-busting' warheads, according to a leading Forensic Research Institute.Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Roland Oliphant (Senior Foreign Correspondent). @RolandOliphant on X.Content Referenced:Russia Deploys Deadly New Weapon in Drone Race With Ukraine (Newsweek)https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-drones-shahed-race-deadly-new-weapon-1979040Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

Day 983.Today, we discuss the North Korean general sent to lead troops in Ukraine, hear the latest from Georgia, and consider the impact of the First World War on Putin’s worldview, and how the treaty that ended the battles of the Eastern Front serves as a warning for today.Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @FrancisDearnley on X.Venetia Rainey (Co-host Battle Lines podcast). @venetiarainey on X.Marika Mikiashvili (Analyst and Lecturer). @Mikiashvili_M on X. Dr Thomas Clausen (Historian and Analyst). @DrThomasClausen on X.Content Referenced:Our sister podcast Battle Lines, which Venetia co-hosts:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/battle-lines/id1712903296Ukraine’s frontline is ‘crumbling’ against Russian advances, says general (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/30/ukraine-crumbling-russia-zelensky-victory-plan-kyiv/North Korea’s new ICBM missile records longest flight time yet (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/31/north-korea-new-icbm-missile-longest-flight-time/Close ally of Kim Jong-un is leader of North Korean troops in Russia, says Ukraine (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/31/kim-jong-un-vladimir-putin-ukraine-pyongyang-troops-gen-kim/South Korea weighs arming Ukraine after North Korean deployment (FT)https://www.ft.com/content/e7ca9021-1321-46c8-9b0c-2009a4c0dd50Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

Day 982.Today, further to updates on the front and in the political realms, we are joined by Danylo Mokryk, a war crime reporter, and Evan Williams, a multi-award winning producer and director, about their recent documentaries on the subject of war crimes. A warning: today's episode features graphic descriptions.Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @FrancisDearnley on X.Danylo Mokryk (Investigative Journalist, The Kyiv Independent). @DMokryk on X.Evan Williams (Producer and Director). @evanwilliams_tv on X.Content Referenced:Danylo Mokryk's investigative documentary Shadows Across the River: https://kyivindependent.com/shadows-across-the-river/ Evan Williams's new film On The Cranes Call:https://thecranescallfilm.com/ Ukraine and Russia in talks about halting strikes on energy plants (Financial Times)https://www.ft.com/content/69a57022-aeed-4bfe-8ada-b2ccd38f162aHow Ukraine Can Defeat Russian Glide Bombs (RAND):https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/06/how-ukraine-can-defeat-russian-glide-bombs.html#:~:text=The%20most%20practical%20counter%20to,air%20capabilities%2C%20and%20electronic%20warfare.The new face of European illiberalism (Financial Times):https://www.ft.com/content/78f49467-1e2c-4c4f-9908-897ce8d5319dSubscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

Day 981.Today, as Ukraine announces a mobilisation drive to get another 160 thousand people into uniform we report how Russia is continuing to use chemical substances on the frontline, and we hear live from a cyber security expert in Kyiv about how the unseen war online is progressing.Contributors:Dom Nichols (Associate Editor). @DomNicholls on X.Daryna Antoniuk. @daryna_antoniuk on X.Hamish de Bretton Gordon @HamishDBG on X.Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

Day 980.Today, we assess reports of Russian progress in Donetsk, hear live from Tbilisi as protestors crowd the streets following the weekend’s contested election, and hear from our correspondent who was on the ground at the BRICS summit in Russia.Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @FrancisDearnley on X.James Rothwell (Berlin Correspondent). @JamesERothwell on X.James Kilner (Moscow Desk). @jkjourno on X.Nate Ostiller (Editor at OC Media). @NateOstiller on X.Content Referenced:More Ukrainian Defenses Fall as Russia’s Eastern Offensive Rolls On (Kyiv Post):https://www.kyivpost.com/post/41230US weapons can be fired at North Korean soldiers in Ukraine (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/10/28/us-weapons-fired-at-north-korean-soldiers-ukraine/‘Elite units’ and ‘cannon fodder’: North Korean troops enter Russia’s war in Ukraine (FT)https://www.ft.com/content/f908deed-7bc5-4e8c-b20f-02d935beaaafWatch: Burst pipe sprays filthy water over Moscow suburb (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/28/moscow-pipe-water-burst-video/Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

Day 979.Today, further to the latest military developments, we do a deep dive into the election in Georgia over the weekend, and what the result there means not only for the future of democracy in that country, but the potential ramifications for the West as a whole.Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @FrancisDearnley on X.Roland Oliphant (Senior Foreign Correspondent). @RolandOliphant on X.With thanks to Kateryna Shenheliia-Hanapolska (The Moscow Times). @eshenheliia on X.Articles ReferencedGeorgia election ‘stolen by Putin’s puppet government’ (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/27/georgia-election-stolen-by-putins-puppet-government/They want to show no one can escape’: how the long arm of Russia is reaching out for Putin critics in exile (The Guardian)https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/28/long-arm-russia-putin-critics-in-exile‘Modi can influence the end of war’: Zelensky (The Times of India):https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/modi-can-influence-the-end-of-war-zelenskyy/articleshow/114667946.cmsRussian economy overheating, but still powering the war against Ukraine (Washington Post):https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/10/27/russia-economy-overheating-inflation-interest-rates-war/Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk

Day 976.Today, as Putin admits Russia is working with North Korea, we look at several investigations into Moscow’s interactions with terrorist groups, and consider the former Ukrainian prisoners released to fight on the front lines.Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @FrancisDearnley on X.Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Francis Farrell (Report, The Kyiv Independent). @francisjfarrell on X.Content Referenced:Elon Musk’s Secret Conversations With Vladimir Putin (Wall Street Journal)https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/musk-putin-secret-conversations-37e1c187Russia Provided Targeting Data for Houthi Assault on Global Shipping (Wall Street Journal)https://www.wsj.com/world/russia-provided-targeting-data-for-houthi-assault-on-global-shipping-eabc2c2bMeet the Ukrainian prisoner soldiers entering the fray in the Battle of Donbas (Francis Farrell in the Kyiv Independent) https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-convict-soldiers-prepare-to-fight-russia/Kyiv preparing internal plan to 'strengthen Ukraine,' Zelensky confirms (Kyiv Independent) https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-internal-plan/Georgia election adverts point to horrors of Ukraine war (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/25/georgia-election-adverts-ukraine-war-georgian-dream-party/Putin admits holding talks with Kim Jong-un about deploying North Korean troops (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/24/vladimir-putin-talks-kim-jong-un-ukraine-north-korea-brics/British deputy ambassador clashes with Russian ‘journalists’ in Moscow (The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/10/24/britain-deputy-ambassador-russia-journalists-spying/Assessing Russian Firepower Strikes in Ukraine (CSIS):https://www.csis.org/analysis/assessing-russian-firepower-strikes-ukraineSubscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk