As talks between Russia and Ukraine fail again, the human toll of the war is escalating. Laura, Chris and Adam are joined by Gabriel Gatehouse of Ukrainecast, to discuss the latest developments in both countries, and try to work out what President Putin and his small circle of “strongmen” are thinking. The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale is in Turkey, where that meeting between Russia’s Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine’s Dmitry Kuleba ended without any meaningful discussion even beginning. Labour’s Lisa Nandy reacts to the latest changes to the government’s refugee policy for Ukrainians and argues that much more bureaucracy needs to be stripped away immediately.This edition of Newscast was made by Danny Wittenberg and John Murphy. The assistant editor was Alison Gee.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.