401. The Battle for Kupiansk: Inside Ukraine's Comeback
Battleground
Goalhanger
4.5 • 824 Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In our latest on-the-ground episode of Battleground Ukraine, hosts Saul and Boldi take you directly behind the front lines of a major tactical breakthrough. Traveling down a high-priority supply highway newly shrouded under miles of anti-drone netting , the team infiltrates a hidden, highly secured battalion command post directing the live battle for Kupiansk.
Disguised as a civilian building to evade Russian surveillance , the bunker functions like a miniature, high-tech NASA centre. From inside, Saul and Boldi watch live video feeds from a wall of 60 screens , witnessing the exact moment Ukrainian forces employ specialised "Vampire" bomber drones and fibre-optic ambushes to systematically dismantle the Russian advance.
Featuring Exclusive Interviews from the Front Line:
The Deputy Battalion Commander breaks down the meticulous northern flank counteroffensive that blindsided the enemy , resulting in over 500 Russian casualties and the successful reoccupation of the city.
"Positive," Head of Intelligence, details the psychological drone and phone operations used to safely capture roughly 50 Russian defectors —and the grim reality of Russian forces shooting their own men who try to surrender.
An Assault Company Commander explains their critical mission to block Russian access to Kupiansk and exposes how Russia is deploying poorly trained "infiltrators" merely to draw fire and map targets.
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 | So, Baldy, we've just arrived at the battalion tactical command post. This is the battalion that's been separated or at least provided by |
| 0:22.7 | Hathia to take part in the Kupianz operation. To get here, we had to, oddly, because we didn't |
| 0:29.8 | think we need to, but we had to go through many miles of anti-drone netting. I mean, were you |
| 0:34.4 | surprised because you've been in this neck of the woods before? Yes. So I've been taking this road a lot of times last year and I don't remember any kind of |
| 0:42.3 | anti-drawn protection, but we've seen basically from the exit from Harkiv all the way here, |
| 0:49.3 | workers putting up anti-drawn nets, which indicates actually two things. |
| 0:56.2 | One, Ukraine doesn't expect peace anytime soon. |
| 1:00.0 | Two, they are really, they have this spare capacity, |
| 1:05.0 | thing God, to put up these anti-drone nettings |
| 1:08.0 | way before the enemy reaches the areas. Because truth to to be told Russian FPVs are not yet able to fly this far but it's its first so I guess this is why they are already putting up these anti-dron nets. So we need to be prepared and it's not, you know, my first instinct is are they concerned that they're going to lose a bit more ground and that the front is going |
| 1:27.7 | to even come as far as where we are at the moment? But that doesn't seem to be the case. These |
| 1:31.5 | are sensible precautions they're taking. This is to do with the development of drone capability. |
| 1:38.3 | So we've come into the bunker. It's fascinating because the outside of it doesn't look like |
| 1:42.5 | a military installation at all. For obvious reasons, this is a command post and a logical target for the Russians to get their hands on. Even the guard doesn't have a weapon, okay? The century and he's dressed in civilian uniform. He's dressed in civilian uniform. We're going to check, but we think it's because they don't want to be identified as military. |
| 2:03.4 | Everyone's wearing sort of dark clothing, look like civilians. |
| 2:04.8 | No way of identifying this. And just to add one more thing to that, there are way less cars parked outside than you would expect with this many people inside. |
| 2:12.6 | Yeah, and we didn't drive in. |
| 2:15.2 | If this is a UK base, there would be centuries on the outside, |
| 2:18.2 | be obvious a military base. You're driving. You go through a checkpoint. They look at your papers. |
| 2:22.8 | Here, we literally just walked in. We had the press officer with us, so obviously he knew the guys, |
| 2:27.2 | and they expected us. Now, we've come down into the bunker where we're standing at the moment. |
| 2:31.0 | There are lots of things we can't actually film down here for obvious reasons. |
... |
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