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Ukraine War Diaries.
‘Life in a war zone.’
From the producers of Storycast - Sky News' documentary podcast.
Available episodes
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Feb 24, 2023
EP46: One year, three lives & our stories of war (Feb 25)
In an extended episode to mark one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ilyas, Oksana and Seva come together for the first time as a group, to share just some of what impacted them most in the last 12 months and to consider what the future holds?
OUR DIARISTS
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of February 2023, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
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Feb 17, 2023
Ukraine War Diaries: EP45 – Zelenskyy the great, loving power and ‘the smell of Spring’ (Feb 13-17)
Ilyas praises Ukraine’s leader after Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s UK visit and is grateful his wife and children, in Poland, don’t have to experience life in the middle of a warzone.
Oksana is happy to have electricity this week and is looking forward to Spring and a trip to Europe, where she’ll be reunited with her best friend after many months apart
And her husband Seva, a military volunteer, has returned from eastern Ukraine and reflects on how he has gotten used to the Russian missile bombardment, nearly a year on since the invasion.
OUR DIARISTS
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of February 2023, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP67 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producers: Rob Mulhern and Annie Joyce
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Archive: Simon Windsor
Digital: David Chipakupaku
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Feb 10, 2023
Ukraine War Diaries: EP44 - Barbarity in Bakhmut, bedding parcels & Kharkiv buyer’s guide (Feb 6-10)
Military volunteer Seva learns about comrades who suffered horrific deaths when he returns to Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
In Kyiv, answering a displaced mother’s call for help leads to an inspiring phone conversation for Oksana.
And Ilyas undertakes an anxious journey hundreds of kilometres across Ukraine to buy a car for his family.
WARNING: Seva’s diary contains graphic references detailing death and torture.
OUR DIARISTS
Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of February 2023, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP44 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Archive: Simon Windsor
Digital: David Chipakupaku
playlist_add
Feb 3, 2023
Ukraine War Diaries: EP43 - Strollers, sacrifice & the Spring offensive (Jan 30-3 Feb)
Now more than half-way through the winter, and more than 11 months since his family fled the country, Ilyas makes peace with the realisation that his eldest son is successfully assimilating into life in Poland, a re-location forced upon his family by the Russian invasion.
In Kyiv, conversations with his comrades on the front line forces Seva to yet again match the odds of mounting Russian pressure against the Ukrainian need for ever greater Western firepower.
Meanwhile, amid growing fears over a Russian Spring offensive - and the prospect of a major military push against Kyiv - Oksana redoubles her efforts to cherish special moments with her loved ones.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of February 2023, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe.
Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP43 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Archive: Simon Windsor
Digital: David Chipakupaku
playlist_add
Jan 28, 2023
Ukraine War Diaries: EP42 - Tanks, transfers & the threat of doing nothing (Jan 23-27)
Returning from assignment, Seva speaks with comrades in the eastern city of Bakhmut who are in desperate need of more advanced weaponry but happy to be alive.
In Kyiv, Ilyas turns his birthday into a military fundraising exercise.
And as Ukraine pleads to the West for more heavy weapons, the story of displacement continues as Oksana supports the arrival of more refugees into Kyiv.
OUR DIARISTS
Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of January 2023, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP42 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Archive: Simon Windsor
Digital: David Chipakupaku
playlist_add
Jan 20, 2023
Ukraine War Diaries: EP41 - Dnipro, despair & waiting for deliverance (Jan 16-20)
Seva has a difficult conversation with his sister after a Russian ballistic missile targets her Dnipro neighbourhood, killing 45 people and injuring dozens more.
In Kyiv, Oksana shares some of the stories that have penetrated the soul of the nation and reflects on how the attack is impacting the Ukrainian psyche.
Meanwhile, a conversation between Ilyas and his grandmother - who grew up in the aftermath of World War II - shifts his focus to those ageing citizens who are struggling to cope with war.
OUR DIARISTS
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of January 2023, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP41 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku
Archive: Simon Windsor
playlist_add
Jan 14, 2023
Ukraine War Diaries: EP40 - Comedy nights, corroding childhoods, & checking out at the gym (Jan 9-13)
As fighting rages in the east of the country and against the backdrop of mounting casualties in the mining town of Soledar, Oksana finds some unexpected respite at a Kyiv comedy night.
Meanwhile, in an basement gym, Ilyas finds a world removed from war until the building is plunged into darkness.
OUR DIARISTS
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP40 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku **
**
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Jan 6, 2023
Ukraine War Diaries: EP39 - Birthday at the pictures, pizza nights & polish pick-ups (Jan 2-6)
In Kyiv, making use of one of the cities bomb-proofed theatres, Oksana books a comedy night for military volunteer husband Seva.
In one of the capital’s restaurants, Seva begins the new year in the company of army comrades who extend an emotional gesture of brotherhood in the form of a knife.
And after saying farewell to his family, Ilyas transports an old car from Poland ear-marked for frontline soldiers, before finding himself in the blast radius of a missile strike in Kyiv.
OUR DIARISTS
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP39 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku
playlist_add
Dec 26, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP38 - Fond memories, fallen soldiers & our first war-time Christmas (Dec 25-31)
Against the backdrop of a Kyiv still under siege, Oksana reflects on magical Christmas memories from childhood until a drone attack brings her back to reality with a jolt.
Meanwhile Seva shares the Christmas reality of comrades who continue to fight through the festive period.
And Ilyas, looks to the New Year with hope.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there. Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP38 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editor: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku
playlist_add
Dec 16, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP37 - From a city under siege, a very Ukrainian Christmas story
Alone in his apartment in Kyiv, memories of Christmas past come flooding back to Ilyas. Can he find a way to escape the blitz-like conditions and be reunited with his wife and two sons in Poland?* *
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
EP37 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.
Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editor: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku
playlist_add
Dec 9, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP36 - Snowy returns, surviving by smartphone & going south (Dec 5-9)
Having left Kyiv on the day of a devastating Russian air attack in October, Oksana makes an emotional return.
Ilyas, illustrates how he - and other Ukrainians - are using their smart phones to stay one step ahead of enemy bombing raids.
And Seva marks a national day of military celebration.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left…
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Dec 2, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP35 - The bloody dark, bathroom pits & the blitz of Kyiv (Nov 28 – 2Dec)
Under siege in Kyiv, Ilyas endures his longest blackout.
Military volunteer, Seva, sources chainsaws for comrades in the east and in her mind, Oksana visits the rooftop of her apartment block to offer a god-like view of a Ukrainian capital under siege.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Eu…
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Nov 25, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP34 - Ghosts of Chernobyl, going south & grave phone calls (Nov 21-24)
In the dark of Kyiv, Ilyas fears for the under-fire Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, knowing how the 1986 Chernobyl disaster continues to impact lives in Ukraine to this day.
With new orders, military volunteer Seva, prepares to go on assignment in southern Ukraine, but not before an unexpected meeting with two soldiers involved in the recent liberation of Kherson.
And feeling helpless overseas, Oksana desperately tries to reach her family in the midst of yet another devastating missile attack.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of November 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He…
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Nov 18, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP33 - Russian fury, freezing down & the price of freedom (Nov 14-18)
On the road in freezing temperatures, military volunteer Seva, reflects on Russia’s latest mass attack on the Ukrainian energy network.
And looking out across a darkened Kyiv - after a Russian missile knocks out the power in his apartment block - the ramifications of winter become very real for Ilyas, but so too enemy soldiers.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of November 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various IT projects.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives wit…
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Nov 11, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP32 - Limping into darkness, lost limbs & longing for Kyiv (Nov 7-11)
In Kyiv, a sudden restaurant blackout forces Ilyas to consider the reality of winter in a city without power and increasingly isolated.
Injured by an anti-tank grenade, Seva accompanies a close friend to one of Kyiv’s trauma units.
Meanwhile, against the backdrop of conversations about a future evacuation, Oksana readies to return again to the Ukrainian capital.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of November 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various IT projects.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, wor…
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Nov 4, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP31 - More Russian payloads, Putin’s plan & Patriots (Oct 31-4 November)
From his apartment in Kyiv, Ilyas watches and listens as Ukrainian air defence armoury targets yet another onslaught of Russian missiles.
Meanwhile, military volunteer, Seva, sets off on a lone assignment to the frontlines in Donetsk where his thinking is challenged by an embattled tank battalion.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of November 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various IT projects.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartm…
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Oct 28, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP30 - Death drones, prayers for dad & living with the dark (Oct 24-28)
From the window of his Kyiv apartment, Ilyas witnesses a drone strike that results in the death of a pregnant woman and her husband.
On military assignment in Western Ukraine, Seva’s thoughts turn to his father who is about to undergo major surgery in a hospital within the compass of continued Russian strikes.
Meanwhile, Oksana readies to return to a Kyiv that looks set to be plunged further into darkness.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of October 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various IT projects.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a sma…
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Oct 21, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP29 - Tactical nukes, thermo nukes, & what we really think? (Oct 17-21)
After escaping Russia’s single biggest one-day attack on Kyiv, Oksana catches her breath in Madrid, where she tries to second guess what Vladimir Putin’s forces are going to do next?
Meanwhile, recording in the basement of his Kyiv apartment block during an air-raid, Ilyas outlines what he - and many Ukrainians - are being told in respect of a nuclear attack.
OUR DIARISTS
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of October 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on va…
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Oct 14, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP28 - Bombs, bunkers, blood, belief (Oct 10-14)
In Kiev, Ilyas watches in horror as Russian rockets rain down on his city— the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the war.
Having left for Poland just hours before, Oksana escapes the attack, only to find her exit route to Warsaw targeted by more enemy missiles.
Helpless, and on military assignment in Ireland, Seva takes stock of what’s to come.
And with the dust now settling somewhat in Kyiv, Ilyas returns to record a final reflection on one of the most significant week’s in the war.
OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of October 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various IT projects.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Uk…
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Oct 7, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP27 - More Martyrs, muting Elon Musk & marriage in the trenches (Oct 3-7)
Recording on assignment, military volunteer Seva weighs the cost of fallen colleagues against Ukraine’s greater ambition to liberate the entire country.
In Kyiv, Oksana expresses her horror at billionaire Elon Musk’s controversial peace plan - which involved getting Twitter followers to vote on possible outcomes — and at a world failing to grasp the threat of an apocalyptic conflict.
Meanwhile,encouraged in part by the continued nuclear threat, Ilyas wonders about a spike in marriage nationally -
BACKGROUND -
*This week billionaire Elon Musk tweeted a poll on Twitter headlined ‘Ukraine-Russia Peace’ which asked his followers to vote yes or no to the following proposals
- Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.
· Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783.
· Water supply to Crimea assured.
· Ukraine remains neutral.
TIMECODES -
0.00 - Seva
3…
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Oct 1, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries EP26 - Nuclear alarm, naked enemies & crazy neighbours (Sept 26-30)
In Kyiv, spooked by the threat of nuclear attack, Oksana’s close friend moves her family to western Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ilyas finds hope in what he sees as desperate Russian measures.
And Seva is left astonished by conversations with fellow military personnel on the frontlines.
TIMECODES -
0.00 - Oksana
4.45 - Ilyas
8.07 - Seva
BACKGROUND -
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of September 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various IT projects.
Seva, 40,…
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Sep 24, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP25 - Sitting room soldiers, solidarity & a second Bucha (Sept 19-23)
Military volunteer, Seva, greets news of the Russian mobilisation decree to call up of 300,000 army reservists with glee.
Thousands of miles from home Oksana finds an unexpected show of solidarity.
And in Kyiv, Ilyas reflects on the recent grim discovery of mass graveyards in liberated lands close to Kharkiv.
BACKGROUND
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv s…
playlist_add
Sep 16, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP24 - Piggy banks, pitstops & taking the fight to Putin (Sept 12-16)
In London, Oksana seeks out an antidote to the horrors discovered by Ukrainian forces during this week’s counter-offensive.
Returning from assignment in Ireland, military volunteer Seva makes a roadside pitstop in Poland to reflect on the Ukrainian army’s breakthrough.
Meanwhile in Kyiv, for the first time since the Russian invasion, Ilyas can see a clear road-map to victory.
BACKGROUND-
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.…
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Sep 13, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP23 - Hacking Russia, new runways & releasing the grip of war (Sept 5-9)
Close to the front line of his country’s cyber war with Russia, Ilyas discloses some of how Ukraine’s ‘IT Army’ are waging war.
Meanwhile in London, Oksana considers the feelings of guilt that follow a protracted conflict.
Seva is away on assignment.
ADDITIONAL -
*The Starlinks service referred in Ilyas' diary is a satellite communications network provided to Ukraine by Elon Musk and Space X to maintain and support the internet.
BACKGROUND -
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of September 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various projects.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest fri…
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Sep 2, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP22 - A nuclear ransom, road trips & the real me! (Aug 29 – 2 Sept)
Recording while on assignment for the Ukrainian army, Seva shares conversations with soldiers and friends with knowledge of the threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In Kyiv, Oksana prepares for another adventure.
And estranged from his family once again, Ilyas retreats into the memories from his last visit to Poland.
BACKGROUND
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from…
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Aug 26, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP21 - Call of duty & explosions of independence (Aug 22-25)
In Poland combat stress bleeds into Ilyas’ peaceful surrounds,
before he steels himself to say goodbye to his family and return to Ukraine.
In Kyiv, Independence Day is marked for Seva not by traditional marching bands but a concerning phone call from his sister in Dnipro.
This week, Oksana is away.
BACKGROUND
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of August 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various projects.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment…
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Aug 19, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries EP20 - What now for Illyas, Oksana, Seva & Ukraine (Aug 15-19)
It’s almost six months to the day since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Throughout that time, Ilyas, Oksana and Seva have been documenting their personal lives in a country at war.
In this edition of Ukraine War Diaries they ask what the future holds for them now?
BACKGROUND
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and…
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Aug 12, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP19 - Combat stress, stoicism & a special journey (Aug 8-12)
After months of war Oksana begins to experience vivid destructive thoughts.
Recording while returning from the frontline, Seva shares important news about his father.
Meanwhile, Ilyas is given clearance to make a special journey to Poland.
BACKGROUND
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are…
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Aug 5, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP18 - Law of the gun, the longest road & a new code (Aug 1-5)
Seva learns that his friend is quitting his job as a lawyer to become a full-time soldier.
Returning by road from Belgium, Oksana dodges a series of air strikes.
Meanwhile, Ilyas reveals how he and fellow Ukrainians are combating the Russian disinformation war.
BACKGROUND
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, a…
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Jul 29, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP17 - Distant thunder, air raids & the therapy of tears (July 25-29)
Despite being thousands of kilometres from Kyiv, war with Russia continues for the refugees who Oksana meets in Brussels.
In Kyiv, recording in the middle of an air raid alert, Ilyas offers yet more insight into the war through the eyes of his grandmother — a survivor of World War II.
And in Poland, Ilyas’ wife Natalia goes to therapy.
BACKGROUND
Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
Ilyas is now back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various projects.
Natalia is the wife…
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Jul 22, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP16 - Green jeeps, cold chills & a new city view (July 18-22)
Against the backdrop of further Russian advances in the east - and while returning from another mission - Seva reflects on a significant supply drop to the frontline.
In Kyiv, despite soaring temperatures, |lyas begins to worry about the winter to come.
Meanwhile, Oksana charts an emotional, and wandering, first journey beyond the borders of wartime Ukraine - recording this week’s diary from Brussels.
BACKGROUND
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of July 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian governmen…
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Jul 15, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP15 - Warrior citizens & when a girl ‘checks’ a nation (July 11-15)
Ilyas wrestles with issues of personal and national identity while at the same time trying to figure out ways to see his sons in Poland.
Meanwhile, Oksana finds inspiration in the simple but significant actions of an 11-year old girl.
*Seva is away.
BACKGROUND
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of July 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various projects.
Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Euro…
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Jul 8, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP14 - Missile strikes, lone missions & the thunder of war. (July 4-8)
Ilyas has a near miss when Russian missiles strike his neighbourhood and discovers a new way to connect with his son in Poland.
Seva is given permission to leave the country for the first time since the war started - an experience that leaves him with a new perspective.
Meanwhile Oksana measure the toll of unrelenting air raid sirens on her and her girlfriends.
BACKGROUND-
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of June 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on various projects.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.
Oksana, 34, works in…
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Jun 17, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP13 - War waiters, fresh starts & a memory sent from Poland (June 13-17)
Against the backdrop of fierce fighting in the east and a growing feeling that international interest in Ukraine's plight is now waning, Seva experiences a surreal dining experience in a Kyiv now flip-flopping between conflict and a strange kind of normal.
Meanwhile, Oksana hears from two friends who fled to Canada and Belgium respectively, about the challenges of starting again in a new country.
And an unexpected parcel from Poland stirs up old feelings for Ilyas.
BACKGROUND-
Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of June 2022, Il…
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Jun 10, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP12 - Unexpected escapes, broken hearts & playgrounds (June 7-11)
In Kyiv, Oksana finds a bittersweet escape from the war.
In Poland, Ilyas’ wife, Natalia speaks for the first time about her experiences as a refugee trying to make a functional life for her and her children, alone.
Meanwhile Ilyas, writes something of a love letter to his wife Natalia and the two sons he still cannot see.
BACKGROUND-
Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of June 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on specialist projects.
Ukraine War Diar…
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Jun 3, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP11 - War/Life balance, Chainsaws & the Queen (May 29-3 June)
Ilyas seeks an escape from the war.
Seva begins to prepare for a long and protracted conflict.
And Oksana explains the Queen's popularity in Ukraine.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
BACKGROUND -
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of May 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on specialist projects.
Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Befor…
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May 27, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP10 - Ilyas, Seva Oksana - our lives before the war (May 23-27)
It’s more than three months since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, changing millions of lives, including those of Ilyas Verdiev, Oksana and Seva Goshel, forever.
In that time, Ilyas, Oksana and Seva have shared intimate insights into how war has redefined their priorities and their lives.
But what did a typical day in their lives, and life in Ukraine, look like before the Russian invasion?
This special episode features a Ukraine that never made the news because the country had yet to be consumed by war.
BACKGROUND
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife and two young sons are now taking refuge in Poland.
As of May 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on specialist projects.
Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since…
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May 20, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP9 - War toys, home invasions & crowd funding a helicopter (May 16-20)
Ilyas old life and his new normal collide when he tries to sources toys for his sons birthdays.
Oksana continues to come to terms with a Russian home invasion in Hostomel.
And Seva receives a letter of gratitude from the front line after using online crowd funding to secure vital military equipment.
BACKGROUND
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. Right now his wife and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland.
As of May 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on specialist projects.
Oksana, 34, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv and has remained in the Ukrainian capital since the war started.
Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s determined to stay.
Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Be…
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May 14, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP8 - Lost boys, birthdays & Eurovision banter (May 9-13)
In Lviv, Ilyas is reunited with his wife and sons for the first time since they fled to Poland.
In Kyiv Oksana reflects on how war has wiped birthdays from her social calendar.
And in Eastern Ukraine, Seva makes a resupply of medical aid to soldiers waiting to be sent to the frontline. Here, he finds a band of brothers in buoyant mood, despite the possibility some may never return.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
BACKGROUND -
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife and two young sons are now in Poland.
As of May 2022, Ilyas has returned alone to Kyiv. He’s living in the family apartment and working, in part, for the Ukrainian government on specialist projects.
Oksana, 34, works in overseas education and is married. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in Kyiv and has remained i…
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May 7, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP7 - Super powers, nuclear threats & nail bars (May 2-6)
In Kyiv, Ilyas' faith in the military is becoming increasingly spiritual. Seva visits his home village near Dnipro where he’s humbled by his parent’s war effort. And against the backdrop of the bombardment of Mariupol, Oksana receives a routine invitation that triggers an emotional response.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast,
Ukraine War Diaries follows experiences, lived by and told by people, whose lives have been twisted out of shape by war.
Week 7 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice notes and first published on the Ukraine War Diaries podcast feed. To follow this series when it broadcasts, on weekdays, subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts.
Series producer - Rob Mulhern
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Apr 30, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP6 - Cakes, victory & dogs of war (Apr 25-29)
In Kyiv, Seva makes an unusual delivery to a recently liberated village.
Meanwhile, Ilyas visits his reopened barber shop —an experience that leaves him dreaming of victory and Oksana is moved by the stirring stories of children trapped inside Mariupol’s steelworks.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast,
Ukraine War Diaries follows experiences, lived by and told by people, whose lives have been twisted out of shape by war.
Week 6 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice notes and first published on the Ukraine War Diaries podcast feed. To follow this series when it broadcasts, on weekdays, subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts.
Series producer - Rob Mulhern
Production support Paul Stanworth
Music - Океан Ельзи - Місто Марії
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Apr 23, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP5 - Dark tales, defiance & stolen underwear (Apr 21-25)
In the Kyiv suburbs, Seva hears shocking allegations involving drunk Russian soldiers.
Meanwhile, having travelled from Lviv, Ilyas decides to stay on a little longer in the capital. Here, by telephone, he endures a difficult conversation about the war with his 4-year-old son in Poland.
And Oksana is staggered by the sheer scale of what Russian soldiers are stealing, which stretches to her neighbour’s underwear.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast,
Ukraine War Diaries follows experiences, lived by and told by people, whose lives have been twisted out of shape by war.
Week 5 diary entries were all recorded using WhatsApp voice notes.
These diary entries were first published on the Ukraine War Diaries podcast feed. To follow this series when it broadcasts on weekdays, subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts.
Series producer - Rob Mulhern
Production support - Paul Stanworth
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Apr 15, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP4 - Love, War and Parrots (Apr 11-15)
In Kyiv, Oksana rescues a parrot left behind by a fleeing neighbour. Ilyas returns to the Ukrainian capital for the first time in over a month. Here, he meets with his 84-year-old grandmother who shares stories of nazi occupation and makes comparisons with today. And we return to Oksana once more as she reflects on how the war is impacting her marriage.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast,
Ukraine War Diaries follows experiences, lived by and told by people, whose lives have been twisted out of shape by war.
Week4 diary entries were first published on the Ukraine War Diaries podcast feed. To follow this series when it broadcasts, on weekdays, subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts.
Series producer - Rob Mulhern
Digital producer - David Chipakupaku
Production support Annie Joyce and Paul Stanworth
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Apr 9, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries EP3 - War crimes, art & the frontline (Apr 4-8)
In Lviv, Ilyas tries to escape news of the terrible war crimes committed in Bucha.
In Kyiv, the bleak reality of these alleged crimes, is visited upon Oksana’s neighbourhood.
Meanwhile her husband, Seva, has a moving experience close to the frontlines.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio recorded on the ground in Ukraine to give an intimate perspective of day-to-day life in a war zone.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast,
Ukraine War Diaries follows experiences, lived by and told by, people, whose lives have been twisted out of shape by war.
Week 3's diary entries were first published on the Ukraine War Diaries podcast feed. To follow this series when it broadcasts, on weekdays, subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts.
Series producer - Rob Mulhern
Digital producer - David Chipakapaku
Production support Annie Joyce and Paul Stanworth
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Apr 2, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP2 - Bunkers, Going back & Bad war movies (Mar 28 -1 Apr)
In Kharkiv, musician Alex, continues to record and perform live music despite the siege. In Lviv, Ilyas starts planning his return to Kyiv. While in the capital, against the backdrop of anti-aircraft fire, Oksana and her husband seek an escape in their favourite movie.
Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.
Week 2 diary entries were first published on the ‘Ukraine War Diaries’ podcast feed. To listen to diary updates on the date of recording, search for Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts.
From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series StoryCast.
Series producer - Rob Mulhern
Digital producer - David Chipakupaku
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Mar 26, 2022
Ukraine War Diaries: EP1 - Living in a War Zone (Mar 21-25)
In Lviv, Illyas - an IT specialist, reflects on seeing his wife and sons cross into Poland. In Kyiv, Oksana, keeps a commitment to meet her family for breakfast, despite her parents' home being on the wrong side of the city, near the front-line.
These lives and more have been changed forever by the Russia/Ukraine war.
But what does the future hold?
Ukraine War Diaries follows experiences, lived and told by people whose lives have been twisted out of shape by war.
Week 1’s diary entries were first published on the Ukraine War Diaries podcast feed. To follow this series, search for Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts.
From the producers of Sky News StoryCast.
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Feb 23, 2022
REPOST EP4/4: Polonium & the Piano Player - The Reckoning
Conlon escapes to a new life, but destiny and the nuclear poison appear to have decided his fate.
Narrated by Diana Magnay.
Produced by Robert Mulhern
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Feb 23, 2022
REPOST EP3/4: Polonium & the Piano Player - Victims and suspects
As one of the biggest police investigations in British history gets underway, Derek Conlon is astonished to learn that he too has been poisoned. But having crossed into the world of espionage, that’s only the beginning of his problems.
Narrated by Diana Magnay.
Produced by Robert Mulhern
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Feb 23, 2022
REPOST EP2/4: Polonium & the Piano Player - The poisoning
A former KGB agent takes us deep into the world of the Russian spies who have just poisoned Alexander Litvinenko and piano player Derek Conlon using a miniature nuclear weapon.
Narrated by Diana Magnay.
Produced by Robert Mulhern
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Feb 23, 2022
REPOST EP1/4: Polonium & the Piano Player - A nuclear connection
Ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko is lured by Russian agents to a meeting in a 5-star London hotel. What happens next will change his life, the relationship between the UK and Russia, and suck the hotel's piano player Derek Conlon into a world of espionage and murder.
Narrated by Diana Magnay.
Produced by Robert Mulhern
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Dec 30, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 21/21 The Y2K Prison Bug
The biggest, and very first story of the year 2000, involved a bug that was expected to impact tens of millions of lives all over the world.
But unlike the Covid-19 pandemic of today, The Millennium Bug, or Y2K for short, was a computer programming problem, with predicted Armageddon-like consequences.
In the months leading up to the year 2000, people feared the world was on the brink of disaster; that planes would fall from the sky, cardiac pacemakers would stop, and nuclear reactors would shut down. The problem was devastatingly simple - computers were never programmed to read dates beyond 31 December 1999. And the inability to do so, at 12-midnight on 1 January 2000, could lead to a global computer crash.
Governments around the world spent an estimated $500 billion trying to fix the problem.
Each individual nation had their own unique concerns.
In Russia, the military moved to protect the software that secured their nuclear weapons systems.
And in Western Australia, the Ministry of J…
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Dec 20, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 20/21 The Queen's stuntman
On 27 July 2012, Gary Connery pulled up his tights, adjusted his wig, and put on a dress fit for a queen. The London Olympics opening ceremony was about to get underway and the professional stuntman was all set for the biggest job of his career. With the Queen scheduled to open the Games it was decided she would make a very special, very British, entrance. The idea was that James Bond would chaperone Her Majesty to the ceremony in a helicopter, before they both parachuted into the celebrations.
But selling the illusion to a billion TV viewers around the world depended on the movie making skills of director/producer Danny Boyle and the bravery of a little-known stuntman ready to wow the world.
In 2021, Sky News is marking some of the century’s biggest news events through the personal stories of lives defined by unforgettable moments from the last 21 years.
The Queen's Stuntman is episode 20 of the 21-part series StoryCast' 21.
Credits -
The Queen's Stuntman was recorded by Tom Gill…
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Dec 13, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 19/21 Michael Jackson - The Trial of the century
A veteran of movie cameos and music videos, Eddie Moss was one of the most successful Michael Jackson impersonators in the world in 2005, but then he took a job like no other.
At the time, Michael Jackson was one of the world’s most iconic celebrities. But news headlines about his personal life and not his music had come to tarnish his reputation.
Now, Jackson was due to go on trial in California on multiple charges of child abuse against a minor.
The eyes of the world were watching. However, when the judge presiding over the case prevented cameras in the courthouse, it posed a major problem. How were news outlets going to communicate court proceedings to an international audience?
Sky News, along with E! entertainment, decided to attempt something no one had tried before — deliver daily reconstructions of key evidence, using a cast of Hollywood actors, hired to play the main roles.
None was more important, or consequential, than that of Jackson himself. But as the trial began to u…
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Dec 6, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 18/21 The Shooting
On 22 July 2005, when Patricia da Silva learned that police marksman had killed a man at Stockwell Underground Station in London, she’d no reason to second-guess news reports describing the deceased as a terrorist.
The capital then was on high alert.
Just two weeks earlier, a series of bomb attacks killed 52 people, injured hundreds and London was left reeling.
Then, on 21 July 2005, four men targeted the capital’s transport network in a carbon-copy style attack.
This time, the terrorists' bombs failed to explode and they fled.
So less than 24-hours after that failed attack, when Patricia left for work, she knew from news reports that police were in a race against time to catch the bombers.
She’d absolutely no idea that the block of flats where she lived on Scotia Road in Tulse Hill was already under intense surveillance; that it had been linked by police to one of the terrorists — Hussein Osman, the target of the police shooting in Stockwell.
Or was he?
Critically, Scotia Road…
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Nov 29, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 17/21 Batman raids Buckingham Palace
In September 2004, Jason Hatch dressed up in a Batman costume and broke into the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The Queen's home is protected by some of the tightest security measures in the world - but they weren't tight enough for this caped crusader, who climbed on the iconic building and made his way to the main balcony. A casual observer might have been forgiven for thinking Batman had stolen into the palace to execute a daring rescue.
But in reality Mr Hatch was risking his life because he hadn't seen his children in more than eight years - and this superhero dad was set to stage a protest that would soon be beamed around the world.
Would the British establishment bend to the will of Batman?
In 2021, Sky News is marking some of the century’s biggest news events through the personal stories of lives defined by unforgettable moments from the last 21-years.
Batman raids Buckingham Palace is episode 17 of the 21-part series StoryCast ’21
CREDITS -
Batman Raids Buckingham Palace…
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Sep 26, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP16/21 Escape the Taj Mumbai
On the evening of 26 November 2008, Director and photographer Daniela Federici was in the lobby of the five-star Taj Palace hotel, Mumbai, when Islamic terrorists began a deadly 4-day terror attack using automatic weapons and grenades.
Hours before, the Australian had arrived in the Indian port city – referred to my many in India as the ‘City of Dreams’ – to begin recording for a new TV documentary series.
Instead, she found herself fleeing deep into the hotel’s vast warren of corridors as the terrorists, sent from Pakistan, mercilessly hunted down and murdered guests and security personnel. Escape the Taj Mumbai is Daniela’s story of survival and ultimately, escape.
In 2021, Sky News is marking some of the century’s biggest news events through the personal stories of lives defined by unforgettable moments from the last 21-years.
Escape the Taj Mumbai is episode 16 of the 21-part series StoryCast ’21
CREDITS -
Escape the Taj Mumbai was written and produced by Rob Mul…
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Sep 19, 2021
StoryCast ’21: EP 15/21 Tim Peake: Britain’s first spacewalk
The UK has a long history of exploration, however by 2016, only one astronaut, Helen Sharman, had travelled to space bearing the colours of the UK flag and no Briton had ever experienced the most demanding and perilous experience of spaceflight. That was until one January morning in 2016. Former RAF test pilot, husband and father, Tim Peake, had arrived at The International Space Station (ISS) just weeks before.
When mission control discovered damage to an external power unit, Peake, and fellow astronaut Tim Kopra, were tasked with its repair - a complex undertaking, fraught with danger, which could only be executed during night orbit at 17,000 km per hour.
In 2021, Sky News is marking some of the century’s biggest news events through the personal stories of lives defined by unforgettable moments from the last 21-years.
Tim Peake: Britain’s first spacewalk is episode 15 of the 21-part series StoryCast ’21
CREDITS
Tim Peake: Britain’s first spacewalk was recorded by Tom Gille…
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Sep 12, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 14/21 Taking Down Saddam
From Pauls Valley in Oklahoma, USA, Miles Hill always dreamed of joining the US Marine Corps.
Growing up, family life was coloured by US military history - his grandparents served in World War Two and Korea. So when al Qaeda terrorists attacked the US on 11 September, 2001, it set in motion a chain of events that brought Hill to Iraq in 2003, as part of the Marine Corps.
An idealistic 19-year-old, Hill had little understanding of geo-politics, but it was his absolute conviction that the world would be a better place without the Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi dictator had been a destabilising influence in the region since the 1990 Gulf War. Now accused of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) as well as forging links with al Qaeda terrorists, Hill and his fellow Marines were tasked with leading the ground invasion and deposing Hussein. On the morning of the invasion, military leaders warned of the bloodiest urban battle in US Marine Corp history. By the end of that day, Miles Hill…
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Sep 5, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 13/21 9/11 Janice Brooks: Inside the South Tower
Saturday September 11, 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on the US, which resulted in almost 3000 deaths and injured 25,000 people.
At around 8 o'clock on the morning of the attacks, a group of al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes before flying them - packed with passengers - towards targets in New York and Washington D.C.
In the hours that followed, one of the deadliest attacks in US history played out live on TV screens around the world.
From London’s East End, Janice Brooks, had just moved to New York. Then aged 41, she'd started a new job with the finance firm Eurobrokers. Her new office was located on floor 84 of 2 World Trade Centre (The South Tower).
Shortly after Janice got to her desk on 9/11, the terrible chain of events that continue to mark her life, began to unfold. In this special extended episode of StoryCast 21 and using Sky News archive from the attack as it was being reported live, Janice tells the story of her escape from the upp…
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Aug 2, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 12/21 The Beirut Blast: Ghassan's story
Ghassan Hasrouty wasn’t supposed to be working at Beirut’s port on Tuesday, 4th August 2020.
He’d swapped shifts to allow him to attend an upcoming weekend trip with his wife and children.
A senior manager, Ghassan had worked at the port for 38-years. He knew its rhythms well and anticipating that he may have to work through the night, he called home and asked for someone bring him a pillow and blanket.
Around the same time Zein Ja’Far, Sky News' Middle East News Editor based in Beirut, was working from his apartment, less than half a mile away when he noticed smoke coming from the port.
A fire was about ignite thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored near Ghassan's workplace. The lives of the Hasrouty family, and Beirut’s two million residents were about to be changed forever.
In 2021, Sky News is marking some of the century’s biggest news events through the personal stories of lives defined by unforgettable moments from the last 21-years.
Episode 12 of the 21-part…
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Jul 26, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 11/21 The Last Gun: Disarming the IRA
In September 2005, the responsibility of securing a lasting peace in Northern Ireland fell on the shoulders of two unlikely men - a Protestant minister and a Catholic priest.
Unbeknown to high-ranking security officials in both the British and Irish Governments, the Rev Harold Good and Father Alec Reid were to undertake a secret mission to bring about the disarmament of the IRA.
To this day, what happened before and during that covert mission, remains shrouded in mystery. But now aged 84, Reverend Harold Good, speaking exclusively to Sky News, gives a searing new insight into an act that not only involved great personal risk, but on which the future of peace depended.
CREDITS
‘The Last Gun: Disarming the IRA’ was written and produced by Rob Mulhern with David Blevins.
Special thanks to Reverend Harold Good and David Blevins
Digital by Tom Gillespie
Presented by Jayne Secker
Sound Design, Rob Mulhern
TV treatment, Johnny El-Giathi
Head of Radio, Sky News, Dave Terris
Design and gr…
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Jul 19, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 10/21 On Stage with Amy Winehouse
Three days before Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning, she made her final stage appearance alongside her Goddaughter and musical protégée Dionne Bromfield.
Now for the first time, Dionne reveals the ‘Aunty Amy’ only she knew.
A decade since Winehouse’s death, she remains one of the UKs top selling artists.
She also remains eclipsed by the media portrayal: The icon, the beehive hairstyle, the bright lights, paparazzi, and addiction that ultimately destroyed her.
'On Stage with Amy Winehouse' explores the Amy Dionne remembers, why it’s taken 10-years to process her death, and how finding a ‘sister’ in Winehouse has come to define her.
‘On Stage with Amy Winehouse was produced by Rob Mulhern with Amy Hitchcock.
Special thanks to Dionne Bromfield
Digital by Tom Gillespie
Presented by Jayne Secker
Sound Design, Rob Mulhern
TV treatment, Amy Hitchcock
Head of Radio, Sky News, Dave Terris
Design and graphics, Brian Gillingham
Social media, Chris Scott
Press and Marketing,…
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Jul 12, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 9/21 The UK Biker Wars
On August 12, 2007, mechanic and Hell’s Angel, Gerry Tobin, was shot dead by a rival biker gang as he was riding his motorcycle on the M40 in Warwickshire. The shooting, on a busy Sunday afternoon, was carefully planned by members of the Outlaw’s biker gang and had roots in a turf war.
But the nature of the attack, brought a previously underground world screaming into the mainstream. Sky Correspondent, Darren Little, was dispatched to the murder scene, not knowing that it was the beginning of a story that would take more than two years to tell and culminate in a face-to-face meeting with one of Europe’s most notorious crime bosses.
CREDITS
The UK Biker Wars was written and produced by Rob Mulhern
Special thanks to our contributors, Darren Little and actor Tom McCall
Digital by Tom Gillespie
TV treatment, Victoria Hudson-Grant
TV output editor, Emily Deeker
Head of Radio, Sky News, Dave Terris
Design and graphics, Brian Gillingham
Social media, Chris Scott
Press and Marketing, A…
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Jul 5, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 8/21 Terror in Brussels Airport
Reporters typically arrive to the scene of a major news story after the event. But on March 22, 2016, Sky News National Correspondent, Alex Rossi, was in the Duty Free at Brussels Airport when ISIS terrorists detonated two bombs in the departures lounge.
Just metres from where he was stood only moments earlier, people now lay dead.
Among those severely injured was Sebastien Bellin, a former Belgian basketball player.
Just months before, in November 2015, ISIS had attacked Paris, killing 130 people.
Because of the nature of that attack, both men now expected more bombs and further deaths.
Within an hour, another bomb was detonated on the Metro in central Brussels.
Amidst the confusion, Alex Rossi began to document, live on Sky News, the terrifying unfolding situation inside the airport. What he had no understanding of at that time was the devastation inside the departure lounge, where Sebastien Bellin lay stricken.
Revisiting their respective experiences in depth this podcast is a graph…
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Jun 28, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP7/21 A Football Fairy Tale
In December 2012, Bradford City, a team that cost less than £10K to assemble, and then in danger of dropping out of the football league, wrote one of the most romantic chapters in the history of British sport when they met Arsenal, one of the elites of the game, in a competitive fixture.
The game represented not only a collision of football extremes, but economic circumstance. For Bradford, the contest symbolised a broader north-south divide.
So, led by former supermarket-shelf-stacker turned striker James Hanson, they set out to achieve the impossible.
New Episode every Monday
StoryCast '21: Using the timeframe of the last 21-years, Sky News returns to some of this century's biggest news stories, using the focus of extraordinary personal stories, defined by these events.
CREDITS
A Football Fairy Tale was written and produced by Rob Mulhern
Original idea - Joe Rawson, Sky News Radio Sports Editor
Special thanks to our contributors, James Hanson, Tim Thornton and Carl Smith.
Additi…
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Jun 21, 2021
StoryCast ’21: EP 6/21 War Child
Shot and left for dead during a military attack on her village in 2017, 12-year-old Rohingya girl, Zoora, escapes through the jungles and waterways of Myanmar, before finding refuge in Bangladesh.
But having lost both her parents, Zoora’s path to safety remains fraught with danger. Then, a chance meeting with Sky News correspondent Ashish Joshi, profoundly changes both their lives.
New Episode every Monday
StoryCast '21: Using the timeframe of the last 21-years, Sky News returns to some of this century's biggest news stories, using the focus of extraordinary personal stories, defined by these events.
CREDITS
War Child was written and produced by Rob Mulhern
Special thanks to our contributors, Ashish Joshi, Zoora and Saoirse Brady who voiced Zoora’s first-person testimony.
Recordings made in Bangladesh were co-ordinated by Shafiur Rahman.
Digital treatment by Tom Gillespie
Archive, Simon Windsor
Additional recordings and sound design, Rob Mulhern
TV treatment, Victoria Hudson-Gr…
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Jun 14, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP 5/21 Trapped: The Chile Miners
On 5th August 2010, a collapse in the San Jose copper and gold mine in the Atacama Desert, Chile, leaves 33 miners trapped. Among them, Edison Peña, an Elvis impersonator, entombed nearly half-a-mile underground. Facing almost certain death, the collapse sparks an international rescue effort, which captivates a worldwide TV audience of a billion people. What does the future hold for Edison, and the miners?
New Episode every Monday.
StoryCast '21: Using the timeframe of the last 21-years, Sky News returns to some of this century's biggest news stories, using the focus of extraordinary personal stories, defined by these events.
CREDITS
Trapped: The Chile Miners was written and produced by Rob Mulhern
Recordings in Chile by Esteban Cabezas
Interview co-ordinator for recordings in Chile, Carmen Aguilar Garcia
Digital by Tom Gillespie
Special thanks to our contributors, Edison Peña, and Jonathan Samuels
Archive, Simon Windsor
Sound design, Rob Mulhern
TV treatment, Victoria Hudson-Gra…
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Jun 7, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP4/21 Migrant Rescue
On January 15, 2016, Brussels based Sky News Correspondent Mark Stone received a desperate text message from Syrian refugee, Bassel Shekhany.
Shekhany had recently sought asylum in Germany and explained that his family and fiancé, Zanzon, were adrift in the Aegean Sea, after setting out to reach Europe from the Turkish coast, earlier that evening. At the time, crossings of the Mediterranean had claimed the lives of thousands of refugees, many of whom were fleeing the war in Syria.
Could he help?
New Episode every Monday
StoryCast '21: Using the timeframe of the last 21-years, Sky News returns to some of this century's biggest news stories, using the focus of extraordinary personal stories, defined by these events.
Migrant Rescue was written and produced by Rob Mulhern
Digital and research by Tom Gillespie
Special thanks to our contributors, Bassel and Zanzon Shekhany, and Mark Stone
Archive, Simon Windsor
Recordings and sound design, Rob Mulhern
TV treatment, Hope Yeomans
TV output…
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May 31, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP3/21 Marathon Man
In Vienna, on October 12, 2019, Kenyan distance runner and decorated Olympian, Eliud Kipchoge, set out to become the first person to run a marathon in under two hours — a challenge deemed impossible by many experts in the world of science.
New episode every Monday
StoryCast'21: Using the timeframe of the last 21-years, Sky News returns to some of this century's biggest news stories, using the focus of extraordinary personal stories, defined by these events.
Marathon Man was written and produced by Rob Mulhern
Research and digital treatment by Tom Gillespie
Special thanks to our contributors, Eluid Kipchoge, Valentijn Trouw, Endy Brady and Ineos
Archive, Simon Windsor
Recordings and sound design, Rob Mulhern
TV treatment, Victoria Hudson-Grant
TV output editor, Emily Deeker
Head of Radio, Sky News, Dave Terris
Design and graphics, Brian Gillingham
Social media, Chris Scott
Press and Marketing, Alexandra Horton
Email: storycast@sky.uk
For more on this story visit www.skynews/storyca…
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May 24, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP2/21 The hunt for Raoul Moat
StoryCast '21: On 3rd July 2010, Sue Sim, Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, received a call in the middle of the night, to say there’d been a double shooting in a quiet suburb of Newcastle. Specialist police units, snipers and RAF jets all featured in the pursuit of the gunman, which played out live around the world.
New episode every Monday.
StoryCast '21: Using the timeframe of the last 21-years, Sky News returns to some of this century's biggest news stories, using the focus of extraordinary personal stories, defined by these events.
CREDITS -
'The hunt for Raoul Moat' was written and produced by Robert Mulhern
Recordings, research, and production assistance by Tom Gillespie
Special thanks to our contributors, Sue Sim and Lisa Dowd
Archive, Simon Windsor
Sky News Head of Radio, Dave Terris
Digital, Tom Gillespie
Sound Design, Robert Mulhern
TV Treatment, Hope Yeomans
TV Output Editor, Emily Deeker
Social Media, Chris Scott
Graphics, Brian Gillingham
Press and Marketing, Al…
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May 17, 2021
StoryCast '21: EP1/21 Miracle Boy
StoryCast '21: On 26th December 2004, one of the deadliest disasters in modern history played out when a Tsunami led to almost 230,000 deaths in south east Asia. Amid the devastation, a Sky News camera crew discover an 8-year-old boy. Their subsequent report is seen by Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese footballer, known to many as the greatest player of his generation, but less so for his role in this remarkable survival story.
StoryCast '21: Using the timeframe of the last 21-years, Sky News returns to some of this century's biggest news stories, using the focus of extraordinary personal stories, defined by these events.
Miracle Boy was written, recorded and produced by Robert Mulhern
Additional recordings, photos and video, Fira Isrofillah
Special thanks to this episodes contributors, Martunis, Phil Hooper (Sky News Camera Operator) Martin Vowles (Sky News Security Advisor), and Donncha Brady (Martunis as a child)
Digital, Tom Gillespie
Sound Design, Robert Mulhern
Sky News Head of…
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May 10, 2021
Trailer: Storycast '21
Using the timeframe of the last 21-years, Sky News’ multi-award-winning podcast returns to some of this century's biggest news stories, using the focus of extraordinary personal stories defined by these events.
New episodes every Monday from May 17.
Series producer: Rob Mulhern
Host: Jayne Secker
Researcher: Tom Gillespie
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Aug 3, 2020
Polonium & the Piano Player: PART 4 - The Reckoning
With relations between London and Moscow deteriorating, Derek Conlon escapes to a new life, but destiny and the nuclear poison appear to have decided his fate.
Narrated by Diana Magnay. Written and produced by Robert Mulhern.
Production support by Chris Scott, and Dave Terris. Musical credit: "Olive" by Jake Chudnow, Original instrumentals by Derek Conlon. Digital by Phil Whiteside and Ronan Hughes. Legal support by Matt McKenzie. Graphics and Design by Matt Simpson and Sophia Leale. Continuity announcement -- Kit Bradshaw. Video by Alex Marshall and Cat Roper Davies. Social Media support from Adam Tate. Archive from Simon Windsor and thanks to former Moscow Correspondent Alex Rossi.
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Jul 27, 2020
Polonium & the Piano Player: PART 3 - Victims and suspects
As one of the biggest police investigations in British history gets underway, Derek Conlon is astonished to learn that he too has been poisoned. But having crossed into the world of espionage, that’s only the beginning of his problems.
Episode 4 released Monday August 3, 2020.
Narrated by Diana Magnay. Written and produced by Robert Mulhern. Production support by Chris Scott, and Dave Terris. Original Music by Derek Conlon. Digital by Phil Whiteside and Ronan Hughes. Legal support by Matt McKenzie. Graphics and Design by Matt Simpson and Sophia Leale. Continuity announcement by Kit Bradshaw. Video by Alex Marshall and Cat Roper Davies. Social Media support from Adam Tate. Archive from Simon Windsor and thanks to former Moscow Correspondent Alex Rossi.
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Jul 20, 2020
Polonium & the Piano Player: PART 2 - The Poisoning
A former KGB agent takes us deep into the world of the Russian spies who have just poisoned Alexander Litvinenko and piano player Derek Conlon using a miniature nuclear weapon.
(Episode 3 released 27th July).
Narrated by Diana Magnay.
Produced by Robert Mulhern
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Jul 13, 2020
Polonium & the Piano Player: PART 1 - A Nuclear Connection
Ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko is lured by Russian agents to a meeting in a 5-star London hotel. What happens next will change his life, the relationship between the UK and Russia, and suck the hotel's piano player Derek Conlon into a world of espionage and murder.
(Episode 2 released Monday 20 July).
Narrated by Diana Magnay.
Produced by Robert Mulhern
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Jul 9, 2020
Introducing...Polonium & the Piano Player
Two Russians agents release a miniature nuclear weapon in a 5-star London hotel. But former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko is not the only victim?
From Sky News StoryCast.
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Mar 4, 2020
What happened to Annie? BONUS: The fight for key evidence
Classified files, the fight for key evidence and family reaction. This bonus episode updates with developments in the case of Annie Börjesson since part 6 of the series.
Hosted by Jayne Secker.
Produced by Robert Mulhern/Jayne Secker
Editing: Dave Terris
Production Assistance: Chris Scott, Charlotte Ekstrom
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Feb 26, 2020
What happened to Annie? Update: Where we're at
A quick update as to where we're at as we explore what happened to 30 year-old Annie Borjesson - a Swedish woman whose body was found on Prestwick beach on Scotland's west coast in 2005.
#WhathappenedtoAnnie
Email: StoryCast@sky.uk
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Dec 19, 2019
What happened to Annie? PART 6: The search for answers
Was Annie Borjesson murdered or did she die by suicide? As Guje and Maria make one final journey, the investigation attempts to reach a conclusion.
Narrated by Rona Dougall
Produced by Robert Mulhern
#WhathappenedtoAnnie?
Email: StoryCast@sky.uk
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Dec 17, 2019
What happened to Annie? PART 5: The case for suicide?
In the case of Annie’s death, how might the police have arrived at their conclusion of suicide?
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Narrated by Rona Dougall
Produced by Robert Mulhern
#WhathappenedtoAnnie?
Email: StoryCast@sky.uk
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Dec 11, 2019
What happened to Annie? PART 4: The CIA and Prestwick
Kristina Börjesson, a campaigning US journalist with a similar name to Annie, finds herself at the centre of a story linking Annie’s death with secret CIA flight’s through Prestwick Airport in 2005. Could Annie have died in a case of mistaken identity?
Narrated by Rona Dougall
Produced by Robert Mulhern
#WhathappenedtoAnnie?
Episode 5 released on 17th December.
Email: StoryCast@sky.uk
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Dec 10, 2019
What happened to Annie? PART 3: Testing the evidence
As Annie Börjesson's family continue their search for answers, they are forced to consider the somewhat incredible theory, that Annie’s death may in some way be connected to CIA activity at Prestwick Airport.
Narrated by Rona Dougall
Produced by Robert Mulhern
#WhathappenedtoAnnie?
Episode 4 released on 12th December.
Email: StoryCast@sky.uk
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Dec 5, 2019
What happened to Annie? PART 2: The case for murder?
Having learned that a London funeral company notified Scottish Police about disturbing markings on Annie’s body, her mother Guje Börjesson and best friend Maria set off on their own investigation. But some disturbing discoveries lie in wait.
Narrated by Rona Dougall
Produced by Robert Mulhern
#WhathappenedtoAnnie?
Email: StoryCast@sky.uk
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Dec 3, 2019
What happened to Annie? PART 1: The body on the beach
In December 2005, a dog walker discovers the body of a Swedish woman on Prestwick beach in Ayrshire on Scotland's west coast. Annie Börjesson’s family are told the 30-year-old died by suicide. But something felt wrong. Why had Annie been found along with her passport? Why didn't Annie board her flight at Prestwick airport?
Narrated by Rona Dougall
Produced by Robert Mulhern
#WhathappenedtoAnnie?
Email: StoryCast@sky.uk
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Nov 29, 2019
Trailer: What happened to Annie?
In 2005, the body of 30-year-old Swedish woman, Annie Börjesson, was found on Prestwick beach on Scotland's west coast. The authorities told Annie’s mother her daughter died of suicide. However, in the 14 years since, a new narrative has emerged that points not to suicide, but murder, cover-up and one of the world’s most secretive security agencies.
Narrated by Rona Dougall. #WhathappenedtoAnnie?
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Jul 12, 2019
Beyond the hunt for the Brink's-Mat gold
BONUS EPISODE: Where is the missing gold? How Ian Brown got on the case and why Kent’s 'Bermuda Triangle’ changed Britain’s criminal landscape forever.
Sky’s crime correspondent Martin Brunt and producer Rob Mulhern discuss the big talking points from the series. Featuring additional recordings and unheard bonus material. Hosted by Tom Macleod.
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Jun 24, 2019
The hunt for the Brink's-Mat gold: PART 2 - The Sting
The trail to recover the £26m in stolen gold from the high security Brink’s-Mat depot in London in 1983 leads undercover detective Ian Brown and a maverick group of Flying Squad officers overseas. Ripping up the rule book, they find an unlikely ally in their quest to crack the ‘crime of the century’ in the form of the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
But what’s happened to the 6,800 gold bars?
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Jun 10, 2019
The hunt for the Brink's-Mat gold: PART 1 - The Heist
In 1983, members of an armed gang break into the maximum security Brink’s-Mat depot near London’s Heathrow Airport and escape with £26m in gold. As the pressure mounts, Metropolitan Police chiefs turn to a wily, undercover detective with a reputation for being lucky. Ian Brown is given the job of cracking one of the most high-profile cases in Britain’s criminal history. But first, he must get on the trail that will lead to the missing gold.
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May 28, 2019
Trailer: The hunt for the Brink's-Mat gold
In 1983, an armed gang stole £26m in gold bars from a high-security depot near London’s Heathrow Airport. Dubbed the crime of the century by the press, the heist changed the face Britain’s criminal landscape and the life of one undercover Scotland Yard detective. Ian Brown tells what happened when he was sent out to recover the gold. Narrated by Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt.
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