Exclusive: ‘My son moved to Russia for love. Now, he’s missing on the front line’

15 Sep 2026 · 41 min

Episode Exclusive: ‘My son moved to Russia for love. Now, he’s missing on the front line’

0:00 40:52

Day 1,661.

Today, the Danish Prime Minister condemns the latest ‘reckless action’ by Moscow, after a Russian frigate in the Baltic Sea fired flares at a military helicopter. NATO jets were also in action last night, shooting down a drone over Lithuania. The Ukrainian commander who masterminded the recent counterattack in the Donbas region gives a little more detail about what happened. And in news that will surprise almost no one, Donald Trump’s claim to have got a deal over the line between Kyiv and Moscow about a ceasefire on energy facilities has, just like Russia’s Syzran oil facility last night, gone up in smoke. Later, Dom speaks to the mother of a man missing on the frontline after being forced to fight for Russia.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

With thanks to Valerie Stobbart.

Producer: Phil Atkins

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan

Social Producer: Tom Steed

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley

Created by David Knowles

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

My son moved to Russia for love. Now, he’s missing on the front line (Dom Nicholls and Natalia Makohon for The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/15/my-son-moved-russia-love-missing-front-line/

Civil servant sacked after asking Telegraph to find son missing in Ukraine (Dom Nicholls for The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/15/civil-servant-sacked-telegraph-appeal-son-missing-ukraine/

Russian frigate fires flares at Danish military helicopter (The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/15/nato-italy-jets-shoot-down-drone-lithuania/

Zelensky sanctions press secretary who accused him of using drugs (The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/14/volodymyr-zelensky-press-secretary-drugs-ukraine-russia/

Putin’s plan to paralyse Ukraine (Antonia Langford for The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/15/putins-plan-paralyse-ukraine/

Donald Trump Jr.’s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin (ProPublica)

https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-wedding-bankrolled-russian-oligarch-umar-kremlev-putin

Jared Kushner’s Dollar Diplomacy (New Yorker)

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/09/21/jared-kushners-dollar-diplomacy

Learn more about the Ukrainian Film Festival in London:

https://uil.org.uk/ukrainian-film-festival-2025-through-love-and-loss-2/

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Exclusive: ‘My son moved to Russia for love. Now, he’s missing on the front line’ • Denmark condemns ‘reckless action’ after a Russian frigate fired flares at a military helicopter

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