Confessions of a Russian soldier
Ukrainecast
BBC
4.7 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 August 2022
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Russian investigative journalist Ekaterina Fomina speaks to the team about her headline-making interviews with Russian soldiers, one of which admitted committing a war crime.
Vitaly, James, and Victoria also talk about how disaster was avoided despite the electricity needed to cool reactors at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant being cut.
And, as the football season in Ukraine starts again, we speak to a player who would be playing for FC Mariupol, if not for the war.
The series producer is Estelle Doyle. The producers are Arsenii Sokolov, Louise Hidalgo, and Chris Flynn. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.
Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.2 | Hello, it's 184 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:11.4 | And James, you're in Keefe, what have you been reporting on? |
| 0:15.1 | Ukraine's Independence Day, Victoria, a very somber one in comparison to previous years. |
| 0:21.2 | Wednesday also coincided with it being six months since Russia launched its full-scale |
| 0:26.9 | invasion on this country. |
| 0:29.2 | It poses the question, just how much of a sovereign nation is Ukraine? |
| 0:34.0 | I asked President Zelensky this very question. |
| 0:37.2 | We are independent today as much as possible. |
| 0:43.5 | I think our resilience over these 30 years, our independence over these 30 years, is now |
| 0:48.8 | the most serious at the peak in the very heart of independence. |
| 0:53.6 | We have never been so strong as a nation and as a state. |
| 0:57.9 | Those presidents of Zelensky mean that literally. |
| 1:01.4 | There's no doubting that Ukraine's sense of identity for so many people has been strengthened |
| 1:07.5 | because of the very threat it faces. |
| 1:10.0 | But there is a political, uncomfortable truth here in that, for example, Ukraine's long |
| 1:16.0 | hell democratic desires to join NATO or the European Union. |
| 1:20.3 | Those have not yet materialized because of where Ukraine sits in this giant game of chess, |
| 1:26.0 | Russia is trying to play. |
| 1:28.2 | And alongside that, President Zelensky himself is starting to face scrutiny. |
| 1:33.1 | This is Ukraine's war hero, a man who decided to stay put when he had the option to leave, |
| 1:38.1 | a man who gives daily addresses in typically common green uniforms. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.