For residents of Kyiv, 2026 has been the deadliest since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Air defences are virtually nonexistent so strikes and civilian deaths have skyrocketed, making Kyiv’s firefighters evermore crucial. Amid the terror and destruction, they have emerged as heroes – public servants who run towards danger to rescue civilians while being targeted by Russian strikes.

For the first time, Ukrainian emergency services have allowed a journalist to embed with them. The Sunday Times’ Tom Watling has the exclusive.

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Guest: Tom Watling, writer, The Sunday Times.

Host: Rosie Wright.

Producers: Micaela Arneson and Olivia Case.

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Read more: A week with the Kyiv firefighters battling Russian drone strikes

Further listening: Sir Anthony Beevor: Russia is ‘a prisoner of their own past’

Clips: Fox, BBC, Newsmax, 9News, TalkTV, Asia One News.

Photo: Paula Bronstein for The Sunday Times.

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In Tenancingo, the country’s sex trafficking capital, children as young as eleven are being forced into prostitution. When they can no longer make money, they ‘disappear’. The state governor has said, it simply does not exist. The women the Sunday Times has spoken to say the problem is worse than anyone knows. Senior correspondent Louise Callaghan travelled to there to investigate.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Louise Callaghan, senior US correspondent, The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Dave Creasey, Micaela Arneson.

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Read more: We exposed sex-trafficking town: now officials admit it's a problem

Clips: El Debate News.

Photo: Getty.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After an operation in 2022 to detain the leader of a terrorist cell goes wrong, the SAS is plunged into crisis raising questions about the future of Britain’s special forces.

Insight, The Sunday Times investigations team, has gathered witness testimony, leaked documents and open source intelligence, meaning the full story can be told for the first time.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Read and reported by:

• Gabriel Pogrund, editor of Insight, The Sunday Times
• Venetia Menzies, Insight investigations correspondent, The Sunday Times
• Emanuele Midolo, Insight investigations correspondent, The Sunday Times

Producer: Sophie McNulty

Sound designer: Ivan Eastley

Further listening: Posh George: The criminal behind Farage

Artwork: Nina Krause

Get in touch:

Call or WhatsApp The Sunday Times’s Insight team: 020 7782 5959

For any tips: insight@sunday-times.co.uk

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.