Ukraine: more vulnerable than ever

Available for over a year

Pascale Harter introduces stories from Ukraine, Ecuador's Presidential Palace, the Ghana/Burkina Faso border and the northeastern Italian city of Trieste Donald Trump's trumpeted prospects of an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine when he came to office. But amid an apparent economic rapprochement between US and Russia, Ukrainians fear they are being sidelined. James Waterhouse has been in the north-eastern city of Sumy, after a ballistic missile attack. Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa was returned to power in a decisive win in elections last weekend. He has became known for his tough military crackdown on violent criminal gangs. Yet rates of homicide remain high. Ione Wells heard about the scale of the challenge ahead in the drugs fight. The Sahel region of Africa has recently been described as the ‘epicentre of global terrorism’ according to the Global Terrorism index. Military governments in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso seem increasingly unable to contain the spread of different Al-Qaeda related groups. And there are fears that increasingly complex smuggling networks are feeding the violence. Ed Butler has been to northern Ghana. Eighty years ago this spring the Second World War in Italy was drawing to a close. And as allied forces raced to liberate cities, Trieste was briefly occupied by Yugoslav communists who wreaked widespread devastation. Tony Grant finds the ghosts of the past still stalk the city. Producer: Polly Hope Production coordinator: Katie Morrison Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Image: Pallbearers carry a coffin during a funeral ceremony in the village of Stare Selo, outside Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on April 16, 2025, after a Russian missile strike on April 13 killed dozens of people. Photo by ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images