398. Katya’s War: The Last Night in Avdiivka

Battleground

Goalhanger

History

4.5 • 824 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2026

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the second part of our interview with Katya Ratushna, she recounts the harrowing final days of Avdiivka and shares her strategic vision for the future of the Ukrainian defence.

Following her account of Bakhmut in Part 1, Katya offers a raw perspective on the "fate" of being among the last to leave a city on its final night.

She offers an unfiltered look at:

The Avdiivka Evacuation: A gripping account of a midnight escape where a loose piece of thermal gear saved her from a Russian drone grenade that hit her group.
Leadership and Gender: How she earned authority over eight years to command men in the Special Operation Forces and why she believes women bring a unique, "idea-driven" motivation to the front lines.
The UAV Revolution: The challenges of scaling drone units and why she believes the military must move beyond technical piloting to a comprehensive system of tactical education.
The "Kill Zone" Reality: A candid discussion on manpower, revealing that only an estimated 15% of the army is physically holding the most dangerous front-line positions.
A Divided Kharkiv: A deeply personal reflection on the pro-Russian sentiments within her own family and the enduring Ukrainian roots of her home city.

Join us for the conclusion of this powerful interview as Katya explores how rational thinking saves lives and why the time bought by defending these cities is Ukraine's most precious resource

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

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Producer: James Hodgson

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome back to the second half of our conversation with Katya Rattushner. When we left off last week, Katia was describing the intense moment
0:22.1	her team withdrew from Bakhmud.
0:24.4	Today, we'll delve into the aftermath
0:26.1	of that retreat
0:26.9	and her raw reflections on the battle,
0:29.6	starting with a provocative question
0:31.3	about the human cost.
0:33.1	I asked her why she believes
0:34.3	the lack of education and willpower
0:35.9	ultimately played a role in the city's fall.
0:39.6	We had an occasion to compare two neighbour groups right at the front line.
0:44.7	The battle was, like the front line was a street, a small street, a narrow, narrow street,
0:50.7	between two, five-floor buildings, four-floor buildings in Britain. Yes, you count
0:56.9	like not so tall, not so tall. And they were very closed and actually opposite buildings one was
1:04.5	ours. The opposite was under Russians and two teams of territory defense. One of them were with glass eyes so feared,
1:15.7	so scared. Yeah, yeah, they just did not understand what's going around. We came there,
1:23.9	asked for information where from have you heard machine guns,
1:29.9	where from have you heard RPG or where have you seen some movements?
1:35.2	They did not reply.
1:37.5	They were sitting silently and just like, guys, please go away, just like that.
1:44.2	We said, okay, well, calm down.
1:47.0	We will work from the neighborhood.
	...

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