Ukraine: The Latest

Day 1,521.
Today, as Donald Trump tells the G7 summit that “Russia should make a deal”, we examine what this apparent shift in tone from the US president could mean for Ukraine, and what President Volodymyr Zelensky can realistically hope to achieve from this crucial gathering – perhaps even a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin. We also ask how Ukrainian drones continue to penetrate Moscow’s formidable air defences, after another strike reportedly hit a Russian oil refinery and disrupted operations at airports across the capital. We report on allegations that a Russian diplomat was involved in an arson attack targeting the home of Britain’s Prime Minister, and later speak to the independent journalist leading an investigation into an Irish manufacturing plant accused of supplying components that may be helping to sustain 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.

With thanks to Caolan Robertson. @CaolanReports 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

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:

Our sister podcast Iran: The Latest:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran--the-latest/

G7 Live Blog:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/16/g7-summit-latest-news-trump-ukraine-iran-war-peace-deal/

Russian diplomat ‘linked to Starmer firebomb attack’ (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/15/russia-firebombers-verdict-london-ukraine-keir-starmer/

Britain to supply Ukraine with more nuclear fuel (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/15/britain-to-supply-ukraine-with-more-nuclear-fuel/

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:

Trump tells Putin to ‘make a deal’ at G7
'Revenge strike' as Kyiv hits major Moscow oil refinery
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,571.
In what could prove one of the most consequential weeks of the year for international diplomacy, Francis and Dom assess what a ceasefire in Iran might mean for the war – and whether it could help unlock a pathway towards peace after another bloody weekend in which a Russian attack left one of Kyiv’s most historic cathedrals in flames. They also examine the significance of British Royal Marines boarding and seizing a Russian shadow fleet tanker, and report the latest on Ukraine’s EU negotiations as formal accession talks kick off today. Finally, Dom considers the sweeping military reforms now being undertaken by Kyiv that could have profound consequences for Ukraine’s armed forces and those fighting on the frontline.

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

Producer: Rachel Porter
Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan
Social Producer: Tom Steed
Studio Director: James England
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:
Our sister podcast Iran: The Latest: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran--the-latest/

Trump negotiators to visit Moscow after birthday call with Putin (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/14/iran-ukraine-g7-witkoff-kushner-russia/

Russia bombs historic Kyiv cathedral (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/15/russia-bombs-kyiv-cathedral/

Royal Marines seize Russian shadow fleet tanker in Channel (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/14/british-armed-forces-russian-oil-tanker-english-channel/

Inside six-hour mission to storm Putin’s shadow oil tanker (The Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/14/inside-six-hour-mission-to-storm-russias-shadow-oil-tanker/
EU countries weigh ‘tearing apart’ bloc’s diplomatic service (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/a7278d93-98fc-4fa7-a14c-d0c089b693dd?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Russian MP warns Putin: We’re on the brink of social collapse (Antonia Langford for the Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/13/russian-mp-warns-putin-were-on-the-brink-of-social-collapse/

It Was Meant to Unify. Now the G7 Is Dogged by Chaos and Divided by Trump (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/world/europe/g7-summit-evian-trump.html

Donald Trump stages show of political domination with UFC bout on White House lawn (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/11f71770-5872-4769-9ea5-a21f12151e10?syn-25a6b1a6=1

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:

'Barbarism' as Moscow bombs historic Kyiv cathedral
British commandos seize Russian shadow fleet ship
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,568.
As Putin marks Russia Day by handing out state prizes, including to a former human rights commissioner who’s been sanctioned for gross human rights violations, Ukraine chose to celebrate the big day by launching attacks across Russia. Dom reports how repeated Ukrainian strikes have reduced traffic along the critical supply corridor to Crimea by nearly three quarters, and looks at the latest European diplomatic overtures to the Kremlin. Later, Adelie interviews two charities that rescue animals from the frontline.

Contributors:
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.

With thanks to:
Yuriy Tokarski, CEO of U-Hearts Foundation and Yaryna Vintoniuk and Yuliana Symchych of Animal Rescue Kharkiv.

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: James England
Social Producer: Tom Steed
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:
Exclusive: Ukraine's drone commander wants to cut Crimea off from Russia (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-drone-commander-wants-cut-crimea-off-russia-2026-06-11/

Learn more about Animal Rescue Kharkiv:
https://youtube.com/@animalrescuekharkiv?si=eXf93VmXprnAGoMb
https://www.facebook.com/spt.kh/
https://www.instagram.com/animal.rescue.kharkiv.en
https://www.animalrescuekharkiv.org/

Learn more about U-Hearts Foundation:
https://u-hearts.com/

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

HIGHLIGHTS:
Ukraine wipes out 'critical' supply route on Russia's national day
50 Russian military trucks also destroyed
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,567.
As Ukraine intensifies its campaign against Crimea by striking key bridges and transport links in an effort to isolate the peninsula, we examine potentially seismic political developments in London. Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey – one of Kyiv’s strongest allies and a leading advocate for military rearmament – has dramatically resigned in protest over defence spending and the country’s preparedness for a future conflict, triggering a crisis that could topple the Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Francis and Dom comb through Healey’s damning resignation letter and consider how Kyiv will react to the news. Later, Francis explores a major new report on the risks of a sudden ceasefire in Ukraine with some of the world’s leading experts.

Thumbnail image shows Crimean bridge ablaze in 2022.

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

With thanks to:
Orysia Lutsevych OBE (head of the Ukraine Forum, Chatham House)
Simon Smith (chair of the steering committee, Ukraine Forum, Chatham House, and British ambassador 2012 to 2015)
Keir Giles (senior consulting fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, and author Who Will Defend Europe?)
John Lough (associate fellow, Chatham House, and head of foreign policy, New Eurasian Strategies Centre)

Producer: Phil Atkins
Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: James England
Social Producer: Tom Steed
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:
John Healey resigns over Starmer’s defence spending plan (The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/06/11/john-healey-resigns-as-defence-secretary-labour-starmer/

Russia is creating launch sites for combat drones near the borders of Belarus. We show you where (Radio Liberty, in Belarusian):
https://www.svaboda.org/a/33777451.html

How a Russia–Ukraine ceasefire could imperil Ukrainian and European security (Chatham House):
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/05/how-russia-ukraine-ceasefire-could-imperil-ukrainian-and-european-security

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

HIGHLIGHTS:

Putin arms up summer palace as Ukraine deep strikes tear through Russian defences
Is the election of a pro-Europe party in Armenia actually a win for Putin?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,566.
As Putin installs yet more anti-drone defences around his mistress’ lakeside retreat north west of Moscow, Ukraine shows there are still glaring holes in the Russian air defence network with deep strikes on oil refineries and weapons factories elsewhere across the country. The main bridge linking to occupied Crimea from Kherson oblast has been hit again, this time reportedly closing it completely, leaving Russian authorities – in the words of one Ukrainian official – ‘trying to conceal the situation’ now in Crimea. And later, after Sunday’s election of western-leaning Nikol Pashinyan in Armenia, Dom speaks to Russia and Caucasus analyst James Kilner to ask how significant the result is, and why Mr Pashinyan may actually be left feeling slightly deflated.

Contributors:
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
James Kilner (Russia Analyst). @Jkjourno on X.

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett
Video Producer: James England
Social Producer: Tom Steed
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

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

HIGHLIGHTS:
Putin arms up summer palace as Ukraine deep strikes tear through Russian defences
Is the election of a pro-Europe party in Armenia actually a win for Putin?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.