338. From Rebuilder to Drone Builder: The Huge Impact of Foreign Volunteers in Ukraine

Battleground

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Host Saul David interviews special guest Richard Woodruff, a young British volunteer in Ukraine since 2022. Richard shares his journey from rebuilding destroyed homes in Bucha and Irpin to delivering critical humanitarian aid near the front lines. He recounts his immediate response to the Kakhovka Dam disaster, using speedboats to rescue stranded civilians and animals. The discussion focuses heavily on his current work running what is described as Ukraine's largest volunteer-controlled drone factory, which has produced over 5,500 FPV drones credited with destroying millions in Russian equipment. Richard also discusses the future of the war, the challenge of international support, and his post-war plans to moving to Kharkiv to help lead the massive rebuilding effort. If you want to have a look at Richard's work check it out here: https://frontlinekit.org/ If you have any thoughts or questions, you can send them to - [email protected] Producer: James Hodgson X (Twitter): @PodBattleground Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Battleground Ukraine with me, Saul David. With my co-hosts otherwise engaged this week and significant news thin on the ground.
0:21.3	I'm joined by young British volunteer Richard Woodruff, who, since the summer of 2022,
0:26.9	has been in Ukraine helping at food kitchens, rebuilding destroyed schools and homes,
0:31.7	raising money to buy drones and transporting dehydrated meals, energy bars,
0:36.8	medical supplies and other humanitarian aid to
0:39.6	troops and civilians on or near the front line. But first, the news in brief, and much to Russia's
0:46.0	surprise, Trump is continuing to turn the screw on Putin, his former friend, after his administration
0:51.5	sanctioned the two largest Russian oil companies. The Kremlin's initial
0:55.8	response to this was to rattle the nuclear sabre, including tests of the new Buravestnik ballistic
1:01.9	missile, which is supposed to have a range of 8,000 miles. Trump, needless to say, was unimpressed,
1:07.5	saying on October the 27th that Putin should end the war in Ukraine instead
1:12.0	of testing a nuclear-powered missile and noting that the United States has a nuclear submarine
1:17.2	station close to Russia that does not have to go 8,000 miles. Meanwhile, the sanctioning of those
1:23.8	Russian oil companies does appear to be having at least some effect. After the sanctions were
1:28.8	imposed, Chinese state oil major suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil, multiple trade sources said.
1:36.6	Refiner's in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil were also set to sharply cut crude imports
1:42.9	from Moscow. A sharp drop in oil demand from Russia's two
1:46.4	largest customers will, of course, put a strain on Moscow's oil revenues and force the
1:51.2	world's top importers to seek alternative supplies. What effect is all of this going to have?
1:56.6	Well, Bill Browder, the financier-turned-activist, said, this is the first concrete damaging thing that
2:02.0	Trump has done to Russia, and it is damaging. It will make a difference, but it won't push Putin to
2:07.2	end the war. To force Putin to end the war, said Browder, the US, UK and the rest of Europe need
	...

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