Is the Plan for the Russian Army to Take the Major Cities?

In the north of Ukraine, a convoy of Russian vehicles appears to be stalling as it attempts to advance on the capital Kyiv. Russian military expert at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies Dr Katarzyna Zysk tells Victoria and Gabriel why that may be and how it is impacting Russia’s strategy.

Last Thursday, we spoke to Hussein, a Pakistani man who lives in Kherson in the south with his wife and three-year-old daughter. He tells us how the occupation of the city is affecting local people as food supplies run low and many, including himself, consider attempting to leave.

Russia editor at BBC monitoring Vitaly Shevchenko joins us to explain his thoughts on the use of the letter Z by Russians to show their support for the invasion and we hear an update on Anna: the 25-year-old girl from Kharkiv who spoke to us last Wednesday from the bathroom in which she was sheltering.

This episode of Ukrainecast was made by Estelle Doyle with Emma Forde, Alix Pickles and Phil Marzouk. The studio director is Ash Taylor. The editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.