383. Odesa Mama, Port of War & Surviving Russian Occupation

Battleground

Goalhanger

History

4.5 • 820 Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Battleground team returns to Ukraine to witness how a whirlwind year of shifting geopolitics and a brutal winter have transformed the nation. On our first day in Odesa, hosts Saul David and Julius Strauss explore a city that remains a stunning architectural gateway to the country, despite being a primary target for Russian drones and missiles. In this episode, we sit down with friend of the podcast, Boldizsar Gyori, to discuss Odesa’s complex history and its critical role as the port that keeps the Ukrainian economy afloat through the grain corridor. We also hear two deeply moving firsthand accounts from two young Ukrainian women, Katerina and Tatyana, who share their harrowing experiences living under occupation in Kherson and Bucha. If you would like to watch this podcast you can watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@BattlegroundUkraine Julius Strauss writes the blog Back from the Front and also owns and runs Wild Bear Lodge, a bear-viewing lodge, in Canada. Here are the hyperlinks: Substack: https://backfromthefront.substack.com/ Wild Bear Lodge: https://wildbearlodge.ca/ Join the Conversation: If you have a question about the war in Ukraine or any of the conflicts we cover, email us at podbattleground@gmail.com Follow us on: X - @PodBattleground Instagram - podbattleground Producer: James Hodgson A Goalhanger Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Now, are all the traitors present?
0:02.5	Let's get started, shall we?
0:04.5	From rags to riches.
0:05.8	I'm so sick of this.
0:07.0	Working like a dog and being treated worse.
0:09.1	Yorkshire to New York.
0:10.7	Poor climbers, you and me.
0:12.3	A life dedicated to revenge.
0:14.4	Let's make this an occasion to remember.
0:16.5	A woman of substance on Channel 4.
0:19.2	Stream now.
0:37.7	Day one, Julius, a battleground's third trip to Ukraine.
0:39.2	The second you've been part of.
0:42.9	We've also got your wife, Kim Retchik, on the trip.
0:47.1	And James, our producer, of course, but not Patrick, sadly, couldn't make it this time.
0:49.1	So you're going to be filling in for him. And I know you're going to do a more than adequate job of that, Julius. What do you think we've got ahead of us?
0:58.6	You know, it's strange to think that we were here just when Trump was being inaugurated,
1:04.3	which is a little over a year ago, and yet it seems like a completely different world that
1:09.7	we're now living in. You know, of course, there's all this stuff going on with Iran, which is a huge distraction from Ukraine.
1:16.6	Afghanistan is fighting against Pakistan.
1:20.6	It's Venezuela. There's the fuss over Greenland.
1:23.6	Just so much is happening.
	...

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