Russian defectors: How to escape the military

After the downing of the Russian plane on Wednesday, Vitaly speaks to Petro Yatsenko, the Ukrainian spokesman for the coordination for the treatment of prisoners of war. Victoria and Vitaly also discuss the successes of his team’s ‘I want to live’ hotline that helps Russian soldiers defect.

And they’re joined by author and Time correspondent, Simon Shuster, to talk about his new book ‘The Showman’. It follows President Zelensky and his team in the lead up to the full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They discuss how the President has changed over the course of the war, and if being a comedy actor has helped him in his presidential role.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Ivana Davidovic, Clare Williamson and Keiligh Baker. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Lucy Boast. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480

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