Life Under Russian Occupation

Evidence suggests that war crimes have been committed in the Ukrainian towns and cities which fell under Russian occupation. Bodies of civilians have been left behind where Russian troops withdrew, and those Ukrainians who remained in their homes throughout have spoken of imprisonment, torture and murder. Sophie Williams spoke to a woman who managed to escape from Izyum, a city that Russian forces took over back in April, and she revealed what life was like there.

Ukraine is effectively fighting a war on two fronts: there is the battle on the ground, but also the battle for public opinion, fought on the world stage. If Ukraine is to continue receiving arms from countries abroad, it must make sure it has those countries' support. That is particularly crucial when it comes to the US, which is supplying more assistance than any other. Tara McKelvey was watching as President Joe Biden tried to persuade people in the rural Midwest that such support is necessary.

It is forty years since Argentinian troops invaded the Falkland Islands, and Britain sent a task force to drive them out. Tributes have been paid to the hundreds of servicemen who were killed or injured, but what is sometimes overlooked is the role played by the Islanders themselves. Beth Timmins has been hearing how civilians there used a secret system of radio communication, to help those who had come to liberate them

Paddy O'Connell has been a regular visitor to the beaches of Normandy, where his father fought in the allied landings of 1944. On his latest visit, he met the French son of a British soldier, trying to find out what had happened to his own father.

Stephen Moss is a glote-trotting birdwatcher, whose hobby has taken him as far as Costa Rica. On a recent visit, he found that ornithology enthusiasts have been kept away by the Covid pandemic, meaning that local nature sanctuaries could close down.