The Global Story Ukraine’s defiance, four years on
15 snips
Feb 25, 2026 
Jeremy Bowen, BBC international editor and veteran conflict reporter, travels Ukraine’s front lines. He describes frontline life, local resilience, stalled peace talks and shifting international support. Short, vivid scenes show towns under threat, soldiers’ hardships and leaders debating whether any territory could be ceded for peace.
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Fishnet Road Tunnels Stop Explosive Drones
- Jeremy Bowen describes roads in eastern Ukraine protected by 20-foot poles and fishing-net tunnels to stop FPV explosive drones.
- The nets, often donated by fishermen from Scotland, France and Norway, catch drone rotors and are a cheap effective defense.
Armoured Bakery Delivers 17,000 Loaves Weekly
- Bowen met a Christian minister, Ollier, running a relief operation and an industrial bakery producing 17,000 loaves a week in Donetsk.
- He uses an armoured SUV to deliver bread and sometimes evacuate people from dangerous outlying villages.
Conceding Land Feels Like Moral Capitulation
- Locals see conceding territory as moral and existential betrayal, comparing Russian promises to Hitler's Sudeten pledges.
- A Donetsk resident asked rhetorically whether you hand over your home to a rapist who promises not to return.