Putin's mass drone attack 'fails' as Ukraine’s special forces wreck Russian fighter jets in daring night-time raid

Day 1,202.


Today, we assess the overall strategic picture as Russia sets its
sights on one of the regions not illegally annexed after one the
most furious, but failed, aerial bombardments of the war. Then we
hear more from the fallout of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s
meeting with Donald Trump and from the Polish Presidential
election last week, before hearing from a historian of the Cold
War about the right, and wrong, lessons we take from that era.


Contributors:


Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley
on X.


Memphis Barker (Senior foreign correspondent). @memphisbarker on
X.


James Rothwell (Berlin Correspondent). @JamesERothwell on X.


With thanks to Vladislav Zubok (Historian of international
relations, London School of Economics). @VladislavZubok1 on X.


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Content Referenced:


‘The World of the Cold War’ by Vladislav Zubok:


https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/303799/the-world-of-the-cold-war-by-zubok-vladislav/9780241696149 


Ukraine’s race to recovery after Russian devastation (Memphis
Barker in The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/07/ukraines-race-to-rebuild-power-plants-russian-bombardment/ 


How Merz plans to avoid an Oval Office pasting (James Rothwell in
The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/05/german-chancellor-merz-plan-avoid-oval-office-pasting/ 


Watch: New footage of Ukraine’s daring drone raid on Russian
planes (The Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/08/watch-new-footage-ukraine-drone-attack-russia-planes/ 


Putin unleashes a summer offensive to break Ukraine (The
Economist):


https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/06/08/putin-unleashes-a-summer-offensive-to-break-ukraine 


President Zelensky’s Interview with ABC News:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7gSoZ0_M8E 


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Email: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk


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