Ukraine war: Russian soldiers

The BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg has heard accounts from Russian servicemen and their relatives which suggest some soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine have been locked up in cellars and subjected to violence. Steve talks about their stories and explains what it has been like to report from Moscow during the Ukraine war.

Our BBC Persian colleague tells us about a second execution in Iran linked to the anti-government protests.

With the rise of K-pop music globally, there has also been a growing phenomenon of hyper realistic avatars in girl bands. Our reporter tells us about this new, digital trend, idolising singers who are all presented as perfect, slim, ageless.

(Photo: A newly-mobilised Russian reservist practices shooting during a training on a range in Donetsk Region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, October 4, 2022. Credit: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)