Ukraine: The Latest

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

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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.

Day 1,554.
Today, as a senior intelligence chief cites a considerably higher figure of Russian deaths than has previously been cited, there are a raft of announcements from Ukraine’s allies that will see new fighter jets and Patriot missiles available to Kyiv, as the country suffers a new wave of strikes. Then – in a special dispatch – Francis takes you to Venice for our first film looking at the decision of the La Biannale art festival to permit the reopening of the Russian Pavilion, and exploring the work of Ukrainian artists in wartime.

Contributors:
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. Additional thanks to Sophie O’Sullivan for video production, Phil Atkins for audio production and 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:
Learn more about the PinchukArtCentre’s exhibition ‘Still Joy’ at La Biennale (running until 1st August):
https://pinchukartcentre.org/en/exhibitions/still-joy-from-ukraine-into-the-world-biennale-arte-2026

Britain and Poland to manufacture missile under new military pact (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/27/britain-poland-manufacture-missile-under-new-military-pact/

Putin arms Russian banks to combat Ukrainian drone attacks (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/27/putin-arms-russian-banks-to-combat-ukrainian-drone-attacks/

GCHQ puts AI in charge of stopping cyber attacks (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/27/gchq-ai-stopping-cyber-attacks-keast-butler-humans-threat/

Europe should not negotiate Ukraine peace, insists Norway (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/28/europe-should-not-negotiate-ukraine-peace-insists-norway/

Exclusive: How US ambassador's preplanned trip caused a diplomatic scandal in Kyiv and Brussels (Kyiv Independent):
https://kyivindependent.com/exclusive-how-us-ambassadors-preplanned-trip-caused-a-diplomatic-scandal-in-kyiv-and-brussels/

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:
'500,000 Russians killed in Ukraine,' says UK spy chief
Sweden pledges new fighter jets in 'historic' deal
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,553.
Today, in the aftermath of one of the most intense aerial assaults on Ukraine of the entire war, we report on fresh strikes against Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery – the site of the extraordinary “manmade volcano” that has become symbolic of Kyiv’s campaign against Moscow’s energy infrastructure. Antonia Langford joins us live from Kyiv after witnessing ballistic missile attacks on the capital firsthand. We also examine the shrinking number of countries contributing to the Czech-led ammunition initiative, which now supplies around half of Ukraine’s artillery ammunition, and assess Britain’s attempt to regain control of the political narrative after last week’s easing of sanctions on Russia by unveiling new measures targeting cryptocurrency networks accused of financing Putin’s war machine.

Contributors:
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Antonia Langford (Freelance Journalist in Kyiv). @Antonialford 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:
Learn more about ‘Ukraine Focus’:
https://ukrainefocus.org/

How a bombed-out café became a symbol of hope in Kyiv (Antonia Langford for The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/25/how-a-bombed-out-cafe-became-a-symbol-of-hope-in-kyiv/

UK sanctions crypto networks funding Putin’s war machine (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/26/uk-sanctions-crypto-networks-funding-putins-war-machine/

Does the "White Tiger" scene pose a new terrorist threat? (Der Speigel):
https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/white-tiger-droht-aus-der-szene-eine-neue-terrorgefahr-a-2a91696d-9746-40c1-8c30-a189f1fa7c01

Donald Trump’s Board of Peace fund is empty (Financial Times):
https://www.ft.com/content/5ba3bd2c-0e0e-4306-84be-99d6d89b0d49?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Nine countries pull out of Ukraine ammunition coalition (Financial Times):
https://www.ft.com/content/f5dd7bd9-6da8-438b-bf80-1f942b91333d?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Zelensky’s top negotiator flies to Berlin for talks with Germany, France, UK (POLITICO):
https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-top-negotiator-rustem-umerov-in-berlin-for-ukraine-peace-talks/

Exclusive: Zelensky sends Trump urgent letter warning of Ukraine's critical missile defense shortages (Kyiv Independent):
https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-sends-trump-urgent-letter-warning-of-critical-missile-defense-shortages/

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:
Fresh strikes against Russia’s Tuapse oil refinery
Antonia Langford joins us live from Kyiv
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.