Ukrainian troops ‘cross river’ as Donbas advance continues & Russia drafts children from occupied territories into army

Day 1,685.

Today, as reports emerge of a possible Ukrainian advance in the Donbas with some Russians saying they are ‘doomed’, Dom asks: is this Vivaldi’s fourth season? Russia continues its campaign of state terrorism with a drone strike on a kindergarten and we report powerful testimony from inside the besieged and occupied town of Oleshky. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration is said to be trying to negotiate a deal with Russia to reopen the Nord Stream pipeline, just as a Ukrainian delegation arrives in Florida to try to negotiate a deal to end the war. And later, Adelie speaks to a human rights lawyer about recent reports of children from territories occupied since 2022 being drafted into the Russian army.

Image: Ukrainian service members cross a river outside the city of Sievierodonetsk in 2022.

Contributors:

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.

Mykola Bielieskov (Research Fellow at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies). @MBielieskov on X.

With thanks to Kateryna Rashevska.

Producer: Rachel Porter

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Video Producer: Tom Steed and Sophie O'Sullivan

Social Producer: Natalia Makohon