Q&A: Russia advances on Pokrovsk, Ukraine digs in, and sanctions start to bite
Ukrainecast
BBC
4.7 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
While Russia makes advances on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, Western sanctions on Russian oil have begun to impact how some countries source their energy.
And as Ukraine continues to ask its allies for more money and weapons, some are left wondering what’s happening with the frozen Russian assets in held in Belgium.
Plus, why doesn’t Ukraine obtain nuclear weapons? And what would happen if the country ran out of people who are willing to fight?
To answer those questions and more, Lucy is joined by diplomatic correspondent James Landale in Kyiv, Europe digital editor Paul Kirby and senior digital journalist Laura Gozzi.
Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings. The producers were Julia Webster, Laurie Kalus, and Rufus Gray. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The social producer was Grace Braddock. The series producer is Chris Flynn. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. 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
You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts |
| 0:04.5 | Newscast is on the face of it, a podcast about the news. |
| 0:11.2 | But it's also perhaps the world's most athletic podcast, |
| 0:14.0 | we have BBC correspondents dashing in and out, |
| 0:16.3 | ready to give us a deeper understanding of the biggest stories of the day. |
| 0:19.9 | Thankfully, we let them catch their breath before we actually start recording the podcast. |
| 0:24.2 | Listen to newscast every day on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:27.6 | It's 1,352 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:33.7 | For more than a year, Russian forces have been fighting to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Pekrofsk, |
| 0:39.4 | and in recent days, they have made significant advances. |
| 0:43.4 | Russian officials are even reporting they have the city surrounded. |
| 0:47.5 | For Russia, seizing the city would clear the road towards a total capture of the Donetsk region. |
| 0:53.5 | But while Ukraine attempts to hold the line, |
| 0:56.3 | Western sanctions on Russian oil are starting to bite. Turkey is turning to non-Russian oil, |
| 1:02.2 | Poland is striking a deal for US liquefied gas, and the Russian company, Luke Oil, is being |
| 1:07.4 | forced to sell its stake in Bulgaria's only refinery. But will any of this deter |
| 1:13.1 | Russia's advances? And can Ukraine hold the line in Pekrofts? If Pekrofts does fall, what all that |
| 1:19.9 | mean for the wider war in the east? That's all to come on Ukrainecast. |
| 1:24.7 | Ukraine cast from BBC News. |
| 1:31.6 | This is a sovereign nation under unprovoked attack. |
| 1:34.4 | We are ready to finish this war as quick as possible. |
| 1:36.4 | Russia is not preparing for peace. |
... |
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