Ukraine: The Latest Folgen

Day 1,621.Putin finds himself in a sticky situation this morning after two more Wildberry distribution centres are attacked. There is also more evidence of Russia’s drone safari against civilians after a market vendor in Kherson was seen being hunted by a drone. We look at the latest diplomatic developments, which have seen Kyiv’s ambassador to the US dismissed, and its ambassador to London Valery Zaluzhny say that Ukraine is unlikely ever to join NATO. And later, a frontline reporter tells us what life is like today in the embattled fortress cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka.Contributors: Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Lily Shanagher (Foreign Breaking News Report for The Telegraph). @LilyShanagher on X.With thanks to Francis Farrell, Kyiv Independent Senior Reporter.Senior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O’SullivanSocial Producer: Tom SteedStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW 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 Kyiv Independent’s October event in London:https://kyivindependent.com/live/ Russia’s Wildberries to build 260,000 square metres of warehouse space in Kazakhstan (Novaya Gazeta)https://novayagazeta.eu/en/articles/2026/08/04/russias-wildberries-to-build-260000-square-metres-of-warehouse-space-in-kazakhstan-en-news Ukraine energy chief says infrastructure attacks will shape war’s outcome (Politico)https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-energy-denys-shmyhal-winter-war/ "Twelve years of fairy tales": former commander-in-chief Zaluzhnyi says Ukraine will never join NATO (Ukrainska Pravda)https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/08/03/8047090/ If you’re interested in sponsoring Dom’s upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.ukEMAIL 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:Russia’s ‘barbaric’ drone safari caught on filmAnother Wildberries warehouse burns in St Petersburg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,620. Today, we report on another weekend of intense military activity: from renewed strikes on Wildberries warehouses – so severe that the company's owner and CEO Tatyana Kim was compelled to issue a public statement – to assassination attempts and a bombing at a Moscow restaurant. Plus, drone strikes on Russian positions in Crimea and a brutal attack on Kyiv that reveals the city's vulnerability to ballistic missile strikes. Dom and Francis also examine the latest casualty figures claimed by President Zelensky, the evolving US position on Ukraine, and what the new adaptation of The Odyssey might be trying to say about how modern warfare is having a corrosive effect on contemporary society.Contributors: Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Senior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O’SullivanSocial Producer: Tom SteedStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW 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:If you’re interested in sponsoring Dom’s upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.ukJames Kilner on the true significance of the Wildberries attacks:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_UYWPnaFRM&t=835s Ukraine only able to intercept one of 27 Russian missiles aimed at Kyiv (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/01/ukraine-only-able-intercept-one-27-russian-missiles-kyiv/ Trump backtracks on promise to give Ukraine Patriot blueprints (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/07/31/trump-backtracks-promise-ukraine-patriot-blueprints/  'Nature of the threats has changed' — Kyiv removes protective structures from city monuments (Kyiv Independent)https://kyivindependent.com/kyiv-to-remove-protective-coverings-over-monuments/?mc_cid=f58d6cc26e&mc_eid=08d0680a95 Zelensky Updates NSDC Roster Amid Government Reshuffle (Kyiv Post):https://www.kyivpost.com/post/81516 Tulsi Gabbard and her guru (The Washington Post):https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/06/21/tulsi-gabbard-her-guru-mysterious-messages-that-helped-shape-her-political-career/ 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.Thumbnail image credit: X/@bayraktar_1loveHIGHLIGHTS:Wildberries strikes light up the sky 1000km inside Russia Zelensky ‘reveals’ wartime death tolls Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 1,617.As yet more Russian Wildberries distribution sites reach for the stars, Ukrainian missile producer Firepoint wins the month’s top-trolling award by offering merch to anyone who correctly predicts their next target. Dom reports how ballistic-missile defence is the hot topic of military and diplomatic discussion at the moment, with offers from Poland, favours asked of SpaceX and, perhaps least surprising of all, a growing coolness from Donald Trump over the plan/idea/wishful thinking that Ukraine would be given the Patriot blueprints. Alex Nichol reports that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff may be in Ukraine in the next few weeks, which would be their first trip to Kyiv despite making multiple visits to Putin in Moscow. Finally, Adélie discusses Ukrainian war poetry, with the man who brought the newest generation of poets to English-speaking audiences. Contributors: Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Alex Nichol (Telegraph Journalist).Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.With thanks to Hugh Roberts (@hugh.g.a.roberts on Instagram) and the University of Exeter. Senior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O’SullivanSocial Producer: Tom SteedStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW 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:If you’re interested in sponsoring Dom’s upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.ukRussian missile destroys US firm’s Kyiv drone factory (The Guardian)https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/30/us-firm-drone-factory-terminal-autonomy-ukraine-russia Zelensky Asked Trump for a Favor From Elon Musk (The Atlantic)https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/07/zelensky-asked-trump-for-a-favor-from-elon-musk/688122/Donald Trump ‘not sure’ he will let Ukraine build Patriot missiles (Financial Times)https://www.ft.com/content/d8c42f6b-4dba-4976-a907-c7c93bca0bbd?syn-25a6b1a6=1 War and peace: Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington joins our table (Christian Science Monitor)https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2026/0731/ukraine-ambassador-olga-stefanishyna?icid=rssThe Geopolitics of Russia’s Civil Nuclear Exports Four Years into the War (Centre for Strategic and International Studies)https://www.csis.org/analysis/geopolitics-russias-civil-nuclear-exports-four-years-war Ukrainian War Time Poetry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx2YPXiQIIQvRHSFfabgsOZM_5G5eqj5OJantar Publishing House: https://www.jantarpublishing.com/Lines from the frontline: the poet soldiers defending Ukraine (The Conversation): https://theconversation.com/lines-from-the-frontline-the-poet-soldiers-defending-ukraine-276676 Death of a Ukrainian Writer (New Yorker): https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-death-of-a-ukrainian-writer-victoria-amelinaThe Buried Book That Helped Ukraine’s Literary Revival (The New York Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/20/world/europe/ukraine-publishing-buried-book.htmlMore about Aliaksei Lazarau: https://x.com/Alx_lazarau/status/2050195969103307014 The petition to allow non-Ukrainian to be recognised as Hero of Ukraine: https://petition.president.gov.ua/petition/264020 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:Russians 'fear being killed in Red Square,' Kyiv claimsZelensky asks Elon Musk a favour Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.