Russian nursery-school children ‘taught to fly drones’ & reviewing controversial thriller ’The Wizard of the Kremlin’

2026-04-21

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Day 1,517.Today, amid another exchange of drone and missile strikes between Ukraine and Russia, we report on growing speculation that the European Union’s €90 billion loan for Kyiv could finally be approved as early as tomorrow. We also examine Ukraine’s efforts to develop its own alternative to US-made Patriot air defence systems. Then, later, we take a deep dive into a major new Western film, The Wizard of the Kremlin, exploring how accurately it portrays Vladimir Putin’s rise to power – and the wider questions raised by tellin...

Day 1,517.

Today, amid another exchange of drone and missile strikes between Ukraine and Russia, we report on growing speculation that the European Union’s €90 billion loan for Kyiv could finally be approved as early as tomorrow. We also examine Ukraine’s efforts to develop its own alternative to US-made Patriot air defence systems. Then, later, we take a deep dive into a major new Western film, The Wizard of the Kremlin, exploring how accurately it portrays Vladimir Putin’s rise to power – and the wider questions raised by telling Russia’s story through a pre-war, fictional lens.

Contributors:

Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.

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

With thanks to Chief Film Critic at The Telegraph Robbie Collin and political scientist Anna Colin Lebedev.

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:

Exclusive interview: World faces new nuclear arms race (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/20/world-faces-new-nuclear-arms-race-head-of-un-atomic-agency/

Former tank commander reviews Challenger 3 (Hamish de Bretton-Gordon in The Telegraph):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PLOyJKtGKw

Russian nursery-school children taught to fly drones (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/21/russia-nursery-school-children-fly-drones/

Jude Law as Vladimir Putin? It’s a strangely flattering choice (Robbie Collin in The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/review-wizard-kremlin-putin-jude-law/

(Hom)mage du Kremlin, Anna Colin Lebedev:

In French: https://colinlebedev.fr/2026/01/22/hommage-du-kremlin/

In English: https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article77848

Personal Website: colinlebedev.fr

Jude Law plays Putin in a film shot in Riga. Latvian officials say it serves Kremlin propaganda (Meduza):

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/03/07/jude-law-plays-putin-in-a-film-shot-in-riga-latvian-officials-say-it-serves-kremlin-propaganda

The History Bureau, Putin and the Apartment Bombs (BBC):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m002q5dk

Ukraine pushing to produce home-grown ballistic defense system 'within a year,' Zelensky says (Kyiv Independent):

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-pushing-to-produce-home-grown-ballistic-defense-system-within-a-year-zelensky-says/

EMAIL US:

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

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