Ukraine: The Latest

Day 1,712.
Today, as Ukraine’s attacks against Russian oil refineries – and Wildberries – spark huge blazes, the death toll continues to rise on the deadly strikes in Zaporizhzhia, while citizens of Kyiv found themselves without water for over 24 hours. Then we bring you the latest mood music around peace negotiations, as a growing number of European officials believe that Putin is ready to negotiate. Then we talk about the important role that shotguns play in bringing down drones, and how tank warfare is still being seen on the battlefield.

Contributors:
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Danielle Sheridan (Defence Editor). @SheridanDani on X.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon (Former tank commander and chemical weapons expert). @HamishDBG on X.

Producer: Phil Atkins
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

SUPPORT US – JOIN OUR MEMBERS’ CLUB
For more from the team, join UTL+. For a small monthly fee, you’ll get behind-the-scenes content, bonus videos, and discounted tickets to live events and merch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHjleMvPSs-JEjiQ8_D2cA/join

If you joined shortly after we launched the membership scheme on Monday 26th October, email ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk with your YouTube handle and mailing address. If you’re one of the first 50, we’ll send you a free mug!

You can also join in the conversation on our YouTube community page (it’s free!): https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest/community

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:
‘Tank Command: How the Tank Changed the Face of Battle’ by Hamish de Bretton-Gordon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tank-Command-Changed-Face-Battle/dp/1035437619

Watch Hamish's full dispatch on taking down drones with a shotfun:
https://youtu.be/8FtXkA2z0ng

Ukraine’s new, lethal combined tank-and-drone tactics are pushing Putin back (Hamish de Bretton-Gordon for The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10/02/ukraine-war-tank-drone-combined-arms-putin-russia-defeat/

Putin’s diesel delivery to the US veers off course (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/11/05/putin-diesel-delivery-to-us-veers-off-course/

Russia deepened Iran support with missile launcher deal (Financial Times):
https://www.ft.com/content/19ec7782-9f22-4101-ba55-da88860310bc?syn-25a6b1a6=1

How Kyiv cracked Russia’s kill zone and got its tanks back in the fight (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/10/03/how-ukraine-cracked-russias-kill-zone/?recomm_id=096fef1f-0b4d-4dfe-873e-2e27cc639ad7

Subscribe to the Telegraph’s Cables newsletter: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/newsletters/

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Death toll rises to 40 and 30 still missing after one of Russia’s deadliest strikes of war
Russia suffers second highest ever daily losses with 2380 Russian casualties
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,711.
Today, as President Trump is given a drubbing by the Democrats in the midterms, we ask what the result means and the opportunities it affords for Ukraine and Europe. Meanwhile, first lady Melania Trump prepares to host Russian and Ukrainian delegates at the White House ahead of peace talks in Abu Dhabi next week. Then, we turn to Ukraine, where deadly Russian raids continue, Moscow’s economy shows fresh signs of strain, and international pushback gathers pace against the participation of Russian athletes in international competition.

Contributors:
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

With thanks to Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch.

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

SUPPORT US – JOIN OUR MEMBERS’ CLUB
For more from the team, join UTL+. For a small monthly fee, you’ll get behind-the-scenes content, bonus videos, and discounted tickets to live events and merch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHjleMvPSs-JEjiQ8_D2cA/join

If you joined shortly after we launched the membership scheme on Monday 26th October, email ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk with your YouTube handle and mailing address. If you’re one of the first 50, we’ll send you a free mug!

You can also join in the conversation on our YouTube community page (it’s free!): https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest/community

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:
Ukrainian children ‘forced’ to study Russian GCSE (Poppy Wood and Francis Dearnley for The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/19/ukrainian-children-forced-study-russian-gcse-in-uk/

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Putin and Zelensky brace for impact of Trump's historic midterms defeat
Russian economy creaking as Moscow cuts military pay
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,710.
Today, as Russian carnage leaves dead and injured across Ukraine, including at an aid distribution site and a medical facility, Steve Witkoff says trilateral peace negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. will be held a week today in Abu Dhabi. We hear directly from Kyiv after disturbing scenes last night when violence broke out at a facility housing people forcibly drafted into the Ukrainian military. As voting continues in the US midterm elections, we catch up with one former State Department official about the likely consequences of the vote, and hear about tensions between the White House and the so-called ‘deep state’.

Contributors:
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

With thanks to Francis Farrell of the Kyiv Independent and Eliot Cohen, contributing writer at The Atlantic and former counselor to the head of the US State Department.

Producer: Phil Atkins
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

SUPPORT US – JOIN OUR MEMBERS’ CLUB
For more from the team, join UTL+. For a small monthly fee, you’ll get behind-the-scenes content, bonus videos, and discounted tickets to live events and merch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHjleMvPSs-JEjiQ8_D2cA/join

If you joined shortly after we launched the membership scheme on Monday 26th October, email ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk with your YouTube handle and mailing address. If you’re one of the first 50, we’ll send you a free mug!

You can also join in the conversation on our YouTube community page (it’s free!): https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest/community

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:
Protesters, National Guard hold tense standoff over detainment of service members, draftees (Kyiv Independent)
https://kyivindependent.com/confrontation-involving-national-guard-soldiers-unfolds-near-kyiv-police-deny-hostage-reports/

Francis Farrell’s thread on X about the National Guard incident:
https://x.com/francisjfarrell/status/2117415987251380273?s=46

Eliot A Cohen’s book, ‘The Strategist: How to Think About War and Politics’:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strategist-How-Think-About-Politics/dp/0691269440

‘Desert Rats’ soldiers to train for peace in Ukraine (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/11/03/ukraine-war-british-uk-army-soldiers-desert-rats/

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Ukrainians clash with riot police over mobilisation
Trump envoy confirms peace talks in Abu Dhabi next week
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,709.
Today, after nearly 800 people make it back to Ukraine having endured years of Russian occupation in Oleshky, President Zelensky thanked First Lady Melania Trump for her efforts, and then sent a message of a different sort to her husband the president, by bombing three Russian oil refineries over the weekend; an act that had the Kremlin complaining to the US President that he’d been ‘disobeyed’. We report on possibly a hack against the Ukrainian emergency air alert app, followed almost immediately by a similar system being hit in Russia. Later, we hear directly from Kyiv from the commander of the only expat-manned air defence unit in the Ukrainian armed forces.

Contributors:
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.
Connor Stringer (Chief Washington Correspondent). @connorstringer on X.
With thanks to the International Volunteer Air Defence Project, to Dr Jade McGlynn and to Antonia Langford.

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

SUPPORT US – JOIN OUR MEMBERS’ CLUB
For more from the team, join UTL+. For a small monthly fee, you’ll get behind-the-scenes content, bonus videos, and discounted tickets to live events and merch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHjleMvPSs-JEjiQ8_D2cA/join

If you joined shortly after we launched the membership scheme on Monday 26th October, email ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk with your YouTube handle and mailing address. If you’re one of the first 50, we’ll send you a free mug!

You can also join in the conversation on our YouTube community page (it’s free!): https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest/community

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:
Ukraine never agreed to pause strikes on Russian refineries, sources confirm (Kyiv Independent)
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-never-agreed-to-pause-strikes-on-russian-refineries-sources-confirm/

Ukraine's air raid alert system hacked, Russian system targeted hours later (Kyiv Independent)
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-air-raid-alert-system-hacked-air-force-says-as-false-nuclear-chemical-warnings-sound/

Pentagon tells Europeans to cool their rhetoric on Russia, sources say (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/pentagon-tells-europeans-cool-their-rhetoric-russia-sources-say-2026-10-30/

How Russian military used Oleshky ceasefire to bring in troops, hardware and supplies (Sky News)
https://youtu.be/O1QLJGc-MXU?si=3NMlDZPxaEljrLdm

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Hoax nuclear alerts after cyber attacks on Russia and Ukraine
Russia loses territory for second month in a row
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,706.
As the first buses evacuate residents in Russian-occupied Oleshky, Dr Jade McGlynn puts us on the ground with reports from local sources. During a brief local ceasefire, brokered by US first lady Melania Trump, she tells us about residents’ mistrust of the process and fear of Russian authorities, to the point that some may prefer to stay in the starved city. In Russia’s Samara oblast, a Ukrainian strike transforms an oil refinery into an apocalyptic landscape, amid reports that Kyiv defied President Trump’s energy truce. Finally, we discuss Washington’s latest plans to ease sanctions on Moscow and the closure of the last independent Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta.

Contributors:
Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.
Jade McGlynn (Senior Research Fellow, King’s College London). @DrJadeMcGlynn on X.
Sophie O’Sullivan (Telegraph journalist).

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

SUPPORT US – JOIN OUR MEMBERS’ CLUB
For more from the team, join UTL+. For a small monthly fee, you’ll get behind-the-scenes content, bonus videos, and discounted tickets to live events and merch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHjleMvPSs-JEjiQ8_D2cA/join

If you joined shortly after we launched the membership scheme on Monday 26th October, email ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk with your YouTube handle and mailing address. If you’re one of the first 50, we’ll send you a mug!

You can also join in the conversation on our YouTube community page (it’s free!): https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest/community

Buy tickets to War Room, a new interactive event in London:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph-events/the-war-room/

Members of UTL+ can read the members-only YouTube post here to find out how they could win a free ticket:
https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxqSgx1mio5cviI1WrQnrbAdIurGr7AxyO

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 Adélie’s interview with the mother of a Ukrainian child adopted by Putin ally
On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/nato-and-russia-edge-closer-to-standoff-exclusive/id1612424182?i=1000728072996
On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5qaTQOZyq5jVUK1B2U7Cqh?si=bL1xPwIMT_CbT1xUlTPd8g

Residents leave devastated Russian-occupied Oleshky as evacuation corridor opens (BBC)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c60me298k1yeo

Melania’s ceasefire is cover for major offensive, say Ukrainian soldiers (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/10/30/melania-trump-pope-ceasefire-oleshky-southern-ukraine/

Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Refinery, Ending Pause and Defying Trump (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/ukraine-hits-russian-oil-refinery-ending-a-pause-and-defying-trump-be68eeff?mod=hp_lead_pos2

South Korean ‘tilt’ towards Russia alarms European allies (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/91f45684-1e10-4aa1-b1d5-019fc41ff1c5

EU governments helpless as energy prices soar to four-year highs (Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-energy-prices-fossil-fuels-gas-middle-east-four-year-high/

Ukrainian composer Lubomyr Melnyk
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7KVIfxOuAwtuVaWejKmKuA

EMAIL US:
Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Inside Oleshky’s chaotic evacuation as Russia ‘prepares fresh offensive’
Ukraine ‘defies Trump’s energy truce’ with major strike on Russian refinery
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.