After a career as an elite tennis champ, Sergiy Stakhovsky had a pleasant life growing grapes and making highly-rated wine in Ukraine's sunny Zakarpattia region. Then Russia invaded and he returned to a new type of elite athleticism as a special forces soldier.

He shares his story with American journalist Joe Lindsley, host of the "Land of the Free" podcast brought to you by Ukrainska Pravda.

Benya Stewart, an American musician from Ohio, chose to live in wartime Kyiv. Sharing a few of his wartime songs, he speaks with American journalist Joe Lindsley about playing front-line shows, the power of roots music, and life under missile attacks.

All podcast platforms: https://pod.link/1712687757

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John Sweeney: "Being in Kyiv, being in Ukraine feels like what it would've been in London or in Britain in 1940. What's happened is that this peaceful democracy has turned out to be far more of a fighter and full of fighters. And it's an honour to tell this story."

John Sweeney has an extensive background in British media, including contributions to the BBC, The Observer on Sunday, The Jewish Chronicle, and Byline Times. These days Sweeney's daily reporting on Twitter provides a real-time account of the situation in Ukraine. In a conversation with American journalist Joe Lindsley, he discusses his reporting experience as a witness to Russia's wars on Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and now – Ukraine, his books "Killer in the Kremlin" and "Putin's Prisoner", which gained sudden public attention after Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny attempt, and what kind of challenges today's Russia poses to the world.