Moscow on lockdown amid largest drone attack of the war & ‘the phone call that saved me from certain death’
Ukraine: The Latest
Louisa Wells / Francis Dearnley
4.8 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 16 March 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Day 1,481.
Today, after a massive Russian bombardment across Ukraine – including missile launches from warships in the Black Sea – we assess Kyiv’s latest wave of strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and on Moscow itself. We also examine President Trump’s admission that Vladimir Putin may be supporting Iran’s war effort, and ask whether the easing of sanctions on Russian oil is impacting global energy prices, before hearing about cheating death from above thanks to an unwelcome phone call, and what a single missile strike can do to a town.
Contributors:
Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.
Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.
Colin Freeman (Freelance Journalist). @colinfreeman99 on X.
NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:
Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest
CONTENT REFERENCED:
I cheated death in a missile strike in Ukraine. Three years later I returned to the scene (Colin Freeman in The Telegraph):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/15/kramatorsk-ukraine-missile-attack/
The Mad and the Brave: The Untold Story of Ukraine’s Foreign Legion (Colin’s Book):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mad-Brave-Untold-Ukraines-Foreign/dp/0008722463
Belgian prime minister calls for EU to normalise ties with Russia (Financial Times):
https://www.ft.com/content/4ce01938-a671-4433-83a7-dada2b3bac01
Sean Penn Wins Best Supporting Actor but Opts for Ukraine, Not the Oscars (New York Times):
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/movies/sean-penn-oscars.html
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:
Our weekly newsletter includes maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons, answers your questions, provides recommended reading, and gives exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights.. It’s free for everyone, including non-subscribers. Join here – http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter
EMAIL US:
Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The Telegraph. I'm Francis Dernley, and this is Ukraine, the latest. Today, after a massive Russian bombardment across Ukraine, including missile launches from warships in the Black Sea, we assess Keeves' latest wave |
| 0:21.6 | of strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and on Moscow itself. We also examined President Trump's |
| 0:27.5 | admission that Putin may be supporting Iran's war effort and ask whether the easing of sanctions on |
| 0:33.0 | Russian oil is impacting global energy prices. Later, we hear about cheating death from above thanks to an unwelcome phone call, and what |
| 0:41.3 | a single missile strike can do to a town. |
| 0:45.3 | bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory. The Russians is not one face. |
| 0:56.0 | First, we're |
| 0:57.0 | we're in our help for the Ukraine |
| 1:00.0 | also our freedom and our European |
| 1:04.0 | Writers. |
| 1:05.0 | If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day, |
| 1:08.0 | 24 hours. |
| 1:09.0 | We are with you, not just today or tomorrow, but for a hundred years. |
| 1:14.1 | We can not, as Europeans, let us gain the Russia in Ukraine. |
| 1:19.1 | Nobody's going to break us. |
| 1:21.1 | We're strong. |
| 1:22.1 | We're Ukraine is. |
| 1:24.1 | It's Monday, the 16th of March, four years and 20 days since the full-scale invasion began. |
| 1:30.6 | And today I'm joined by my co-host and associate editor of defence here at The Telegraph, Dominic Nichols, |
| 1:35.5 | and later recently returned from a reporting trip to Ukraine, freelance journalist and author Colin Freeman. |
| 1:41.6 | The first over to Dom for the latest in the military realm. |
| 1:45.0 | Yeah, thanks, Francis. A busy weekend, mainly in the air, no movement on the ground. |
... |
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