Ukraine: The Latest

Day 1,560.
Today, Sweden impounds a Russian cargo ship allegedly exporting Ukrainian grain from occupied territories. Then, as images of the results of yesterday’s Ukrainian strikes in and around St Petersburg start to appear, Marco Rubio denies any knowledge at all of a US delegation at the nearby economic forum, just as said participants show that they really don’t like the press asking them questions one little bit. Dom reports how Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has directly addressed Russian men, telling them that if they go to fight in Ukraine “you’ll be left to suffer in the mud and die”, and Lily looks at a tight vote in the US House of Representatives over Ukraine funding that managed, just, to get over the line. And later, we go hull down with Hamish de Bretton Gordon looking at his new book about tanks and ask: given the lessons we’re learning from Ukraine, is his book out of date already, or released just in the nick of time?

Contributors:
Dom Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Lily Shanagher (Telegraph journalist). @lilyshanagher on X.

With thanks to Hamish de Bretton-Gordon.

Producer: Phil Atkins
Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan
Social Producer: Katie Inglis
Studio Director: Meghan Searle
Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley
Created by David Knowles

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:
Rebuilding U.S. Missile Inventory: A Multiyear Project (Centre for Strategic and International Studies)
https://www.csis.org/analysis/rebuilding-us-missile-inventory-multiyear-project

'Heavy attack' hits Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant, IAEA says (Kyiv Independent)
https://kyivindependent.com/heavy-attack-hits-zaporizhzhia-thermal-power-plant-serving-russian-occupied-nuclear-plant-iaea-says/

Peter Magyar interview with Allgemeine Zeitung (in German)
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/peter-magyar-im-interview-wo-orban-recht-hatte-accg-200892861.html

Hamish’s book Tank Command: How the Tank Changed the Face of Battle is out now:
https://linktr.ee/TankCommand

Russia considers working age of 12 to solve wartime jobs crisis (Antonia Langford for The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/04/russia-considers-working-age-12-to-solve-wartime-job-crisis/

Putin is under pressure as the Ukraine war finally comes to Moscow and St Petersburg (Hamish de Bretton-Gordon for The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/04/putin-russia-st-petersburg-drone-strikes-moscow-casualties/

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected]. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Sweden impounds a Russian cargo ship allegedly exporting Ukrainian grain from occupied territories
US delegation at ‘Putin’s Davos’ refuses to speak to journalists

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

Day 1,559.
Today, smoke billows over St Petersburg after Ukraine hits an oil terminal and military facilities, embarrassing Putin on the opening day of his International Economic Forum. Ukraine continues its mid-range and long-range strike campaign as Russia’s economy is bailed out by oligarchs. Finally, we hear from one of our reporters who bravely attempted to train with the Royal Marines snipers and how their unit is adapting for the future of warfare.

Contributors:
Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @adeliepjz on X.
Alex Nichol (Telegraph journalist).

With thanks to the Telegraph’s deputy global security editor Arthur Scott-Geddes.

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan
Social Producer: Katie Inglis
Studio Director: Meghan Searle
Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley
Created by David Knowles

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:
US, NATO allies to launch scaled-back Baltic Sea drills (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-nato-allies-launch-scaled-back-baltic-sea-drills-2026-06-02/

Russian weapons plant in flames after Ukrainian attack in Tambov Oblast (Kyiv Independent)
https://kyivindependent.com/russian-weapons-plant-in-flames-after-ukrainian-attack-in-tambov-oblast/

Future presence of US troops in Lithuania is 'under review,' says minister (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/future-presence-us-troops-lithuania-is-under-review-says-minister-2026-06-02/

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy set to attend G7 summit in France (Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskyy-attend-g7-summit-france/

Billionaires have begun making voluntary contributions to the budget (Expert.ru)
https://expert.ru/ekonomika/milliardery-nachali-perevodit-v-byudzhet-dobrovolnye-vznosy

I learnt to be a Royal Marines sniper (Arthur Scott-Geddes for The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/03/marine-sniper-training-arbroath/

Dom’s interview with a Ukrainian sniper on hunting Russian tanks at night, PTSD and handling trauma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3un6JguaOE

The Royal Marines Charity
https://rma-trmc.org/

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected]. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Ukraine strikes St Petersburg on day one of ‘Putin’s Davos’
What it’s like to train as a Royal Marines sniper

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

Day 1,558.
Today, as more civilians across Ukraine are murdered by Russia in the latest mass aerial attack we look to the US for a response, given Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week that Russia planned only to strike Ukrainian "decision-making centers". We ask, again, when the United Nations is going to take a meaningful interest in the war, and look at the continuing diplomatic spat between Ukraine and Poland. And later, we examine possibly the most consequential election for Putin in years: this weekend’s contest in Armenia and a, perhaps surprising, intervention by Donald Trump.

Contributors:
Dom Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Venetia Rainey (Telegraph journalist and host on Iran: The Latest). @venetiarainey on X.
James Kilner (Russia Analyst). @Jkjourno on X.

Producer: Phil Atkins
Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan
Social Producer: Katie Inglis
Studio Director: Meghan Searle
Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley
Created by David Knowles

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:
Listen to our sister podcast, Iran: The Latest: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran--the-latest/

Read the Irish Times’ coverage of the Aughinish Alumina story: https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/aughinish-alumina/

Magyar signals Ukraine reset ahead of expected talks with Zelenskyy next week (Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-peter-magyar-ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskyy-upcoming-talks/

Danish shipyard still servicing LNG tankers for Russia trade (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/945c6085-e14a-4acb-8e41-3986e7486480?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Russian Officer Accused of Bucha Atrocities Secures Candidate Slot for Parliament Elections (United 24 Media)
https://united24media.com/world/russian-officer-accused-of-bucha-atrocities-secures-candidate-slot-for-parliament-elections-19382

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected]. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
'Loser' Putin rains missiles on Ukraine as Russia 'out of ideas'
Zelensky warns Moscow there are ‘no safe roads’ in south and east

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

Day 1,557.
Today, after a weekend that saw Russian ships hit by drones, hit by drones and hit by drones again, it ended with another Russian ship being seized by abseiling Frenchmen. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s “logistics lockdown” continued, leading to fuel rationing in Crimea and more Russian oil refineries self-sanctioning in very dramatic ways; no wonder Putin’s Finance Minister has said Russia’s spending on the war has gone two trillion rubles over budget.

Contributors:
Dom Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Sophie O’Sullivan (Telegraph journalist).
Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @adeliepjz on X.
With thanks to Stergios-Aristoteles Mitoulis (Associate Professor of engineering at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction at UCL). @DrMitoulis on X.

Producer: Rachel Porter
Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan
Social Producer: Gezim Hilaj
Studio Director: Meghan Searle
Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley
Created by David Knowles

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:
Russia overspends on Putin’s war in Ukraine by $28bn (The Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/93674b5c-06ea-4e49-a005-dc08e1091574?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Inside the schools preparing Ukrainian children for war (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/31/inside-the-schools-preparing-ukrainian-children-for-war/

For more information on Professor Mitoulis’s work, follow the links below:
Bridge Ukraine: https://bridgeukraine.org/
Meta Infrastructure: https://metainfrastructure.org/

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected]. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
France seizes Russian shadow fleet tanker in mission Moscow calls ‘piracy’
Ukrainian drones dominate skies over occupied cities

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

Day 1,554.
Today, as Romania kicks Russian diplomats out of the country following a drone strike last night that has injured civilians in the eastern city of Galati, we ask, why is it so easy for Romania to name the perpetrator of such attacks when others still seek to avoid apportioning blame. We then look at reports Russia is continuing to be hit hard on the southern corridor, including now by drone-landed mines, followed by the second part of Francis’s special dispatch from the La Biannale art festival in Venice, today looking at the decision to permit the reopening of the Russian Pavilion and his encounter with Pussy Riot. And we finish with an audio dispatch from me, after my visit to a prisoner of war camp in western Ukraine.

Contributors:
Dom Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
With thanks to the soldiers, artists, and curators at the ‘Still Joy’ exhibition in Venice, and to Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot.

Producer: Rachel Porter
Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan
Social Producer: Tom Steed
Studio Director: Meghan Searle
Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley
Created by David Knowles
Additional thanks to Tom Steed and Natalia Makohon for dubbing.

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 full documentary interviewing POWs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJwjbWheClk

Francis’s first dispatch from Venice and La Biennale:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay2UT-SeKDI

Learn more about ‘Resistance Imprisoned’:
https://www.ritschfisch.com/exhibition/resistance-imprisoned/

Learn more about the PinchukArtCentre’s exhibition ‘Still Joy’ (running until 1st August):
https://pinchukartcentre.org/en/exhibitions/still-joy-from-ukraine-into-the-world-biennale-arte-2026

Russian drone hits Romanian apartment block in ‘grave escalation’ (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/29/russia-ukraine-war-drone-strikes-romanian-apartment-nato/

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on [email protected] . We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Putin strikes NATO: Romania hit in 'major escalation'
Dom Nicholls interviews ‘brainwashed’ Russian PoWs

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