Q&A: Zelensky is afraid, Russian billionaires and Europe’s strongest army
Ukrainecast
BBC
4.7 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 4 December 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of attempting to stall peace talks this week, after Kremlin discussions with US diplomats ended without significant progress. The Ukrainian president said Moscow is hoping Donald Trump will lose interest in resolving the conflict, if the latest uptick in American-led diplomacy fails to deliver a decisive outcome quickly.
Lucy and Vitaly are joined in the studio by the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale, and senior digital journalist Laura Gozzi. As Vladimir Putin arrives in India, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff returns to Florida to meet Ukrainian negotiators, the team answer your questions on the current diplomatic outlook and plenty more.
Which country boasts Europe's strongest military? How are Ukrainian farmers coping in wartime? And does a record number of Russian billionaires show oligarchs are thriving despite international sanctions?
Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producer was Laurie Kalus. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The social producer was Sophie Millward. The executive producer was Chris Gray. 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. |
| 0:05.7 | It's 1,380 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:11.8 | No compromise. That's how the Kremlin characterized hours of talks between U.S. and Russian |
| 0:16.7 | representatives in Moscow this week. And after returning from the Russian capital, the US special invoice, Steve Wittkoff, |
| 0:23.0 | has turned his attention straight back to discussions with the Ukrainian side in Florida. |
| 0:28.1 | But Volodymy Zelensky has warned that this diplomatic back and forth could lead to President |
| 0:32.6 | Trump losing interest if progress continues to elude his top team. |
| 0:36.6 | But do we're afraid if America will be tired, of course, it's not good for us. |
| 0:46.0 | It's the goal of Russians to withdraw interests of America from this situation. |
| 0:55.6 | And this is their goal. |
| 0:56.9 | So as Vladimir Putin accelerates his re-emergence on the world stage |
| 1:00.9 | with a two-day trip to India, |
| 1:03.2 | will Washington's attempt to quicken the pace of diplomacy bear any fruit? |
| 1:08.2 | As always, our panel were here to answer your questions |
| 1:10.5 | on this episode of |
| 1:11.9 | Ukrainecast. |
| 1:12.7 | Ukrainecast from BBC News. |
| 1:15.3 | This is a sovereign nation under unprovoked attack. |
| 1:19.6 | We are ready to finish this war as quick as possible. |
| 1:22.4 | Russia is not preparing for peace. |
| 1:24.5 | We are an enemy of NATO and we'll do whatever is necessary to ensure our security. |
| 1:29.7 | I don't love it. I don't like when that happens. |
... |
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