Ukraine has been rocked by a major corruption scandal surrounding the country's energy sector, amidst ongoing Russian attacks on electricity infrastructure. An alleged $100m scheme, involving money laundering and kick backs, has led to the resignation of senior ministers and engulfed prominent allies of Volodymyr Zelensky. But despite the president's public backing of the probe, questions are being asked about what government officials knew, just months after mass protests against controversial attempts to curb the independence of state anti-corruption bodies. This week, Lucy and Vitaly are joined by Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse, and BBC Verify's Olga Robinson. They discuss the fallout from the fifteen-month investigation, and answer all of your questions. Could we see a western-backed referendum in the occupied territories? Will Ukraine reduce the age of conscription? And how much do Russia and the US cooperate beyond headline diplomacy? Today’s episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Laurie Kalus and Julia Webster. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The executive producer was Lewis Vickers. The series producer is Chris Flynn. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email
[email protected] 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
