I'm Ordering the of Defence to Put the Strategic Nuclear Forces on Special Alert

Vitaly and Victoria hear from 19 year old Maksym Lutskyi, a soldier fighting in the Donbas where the Ukrainian army is under increasing pressure. He’s aware Russian forces might encircle him any time soon, but says he will fight on regardless.

Also, a listener based in Moscow explains how he’s been trying to bring Russians with opposite views of the conflict together and engage in a meaningful dialogue.

And another listener sends us a picture of a literal Ukraine-cast…

Today’s Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle with Alix Pickles, Osman Iqbal and Louise Hidalgo. The technical producer was Emma Crowe. The editor was Sam Bonham. You can email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments or send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 1234 220.