Ukrainians fear another Chernobyl
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 24 January 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kate Adie introduces stories from Ukraine, Russia, France, Uganda and Morocco.
As temperatures plummet in Ukraine, Russia is aggressively attacking the country's energy grid. Ukraine is heavily reliant on its nuclear power plants, which are also being targeted. There are concerns that without proper maintenance, it could trigger another nuclear disaster. Wyre Davies spoke to the head of Ukraine's nuclear authority.
President Trump has claimed the threat posed by Russia and China is one of the reasons the US must acquire Greenland - but rather than antagonise the Kremlin, the pro-Kremlin Russian news service has been full of praise for the US president. Steve Rosenberg reports from Moscow.
From South Korea to Western Europe, there’s deep concern over falling birth rates – and it was one of the reasons behind France’s decision a few years ago to amend its policy regarding egg-freezing for non-medical purposes, bringing it in line with other European countries. Carolyn Lamboley recounts her personal experience.
1986 was the year Diego Maradona lifted the World Cup - and when Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni first came to power. Last week, the 81-year-old won his seventh consecutive term in office, Sammy Awami was in Kampala where he heard from young people about how they voted.
The 2026 Africa Cup of Nations came to a close in Morocco last weekend and aside from missing the chance to lift the trophy for the first time in fifty years, the tournament proved controversial in Morocco due to the vast sums spent on it. Tim Hartley reflects on the discontent over prioritising sporting prestige over public services.
Producer: Serena Tarling Production coordinators: Katie Morrison and Sophie Hill Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, today we're in Moscow for a put-in-eye view on the ongoing disagreements over Greenland. |
| 0:13.1 | In Uganda, we hear from young voters as the country's president is re-elected for his 40th year in power. |
| 0:23.9 | In France, women, still undecided on motherhood, |
| 0:30.2 | are given extra time to think, thanks to a national egg-freezing programme. And in Morocco, |
| 0:35.7 | the final whistle has blown on this year's Africa Cup of Nations, but will the government rue the political cost of hosting hugely expensive football |
| 0:39.9 | tournaments? But first to Ukraine, where Russian drone attacks are continuing to target the country's |
| 0:46.5 | energy infrastructure. Thousands of homes in the capital Kiev are without heating, at a time of |
| 0:52.7 | year when the temperature drops well below zero. |
| 0:56.1 | Amid Russia's targeting of the energy grid, there's increasing concern for the security of Ukraine's |
| 1:01.8 | nuclear power plants, on which the country is becoming increasingly reliant. The memory of the |
| 1:07.6 | Chernobyl disaster is never far from people's minds these days, as Wira Davis has been finding out. |
| 1:14.8 | It's difficult to overestimate or articulate just how cold it has been in Ukraine in recent days. |
| 1:21.1 | They're used to cold winters here, but the biting eastern wind has been particularly sharp this year. |
| 1:27.0 | Temperatures in Kiev have regularly |
| 1:28.8 | reached minus 20 degrees Celsius and it requires multiple layers of clothing before you can venture |
| 1:35.7 | outside for anything more than a few minutes. For many people though, staying inside brings only |
| 1:41.1 | some respite. Huge swathes of Ukraine, especially in the capital |
| 1:45.4 | Kiev, have been crippled by power cuts and blackouts. For days on end, thousands of homes |
| 1:51.3 | are without electricity, running water or power. In the midst of war, the city authorities have |
| 1:57.5 | set up invincibility centres, pop-up emergency tents or railway carriages, |
| 2:02.9 | where people come for food and company, but mostly warmth. |
| 2:07.1 | At one facility at a Kiev railway station, I met 11-year-old Staz and his mother. |
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