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Yeah. Hello and welcome to the battleground Ukraine podcast with me, Patrick Bishop and Saul David.

Well, the focus again this week is very much on Bahmoud.

All the talk about a possible Ukrainian strategic withdrawal has died away,

and instead Kiev seems determined to hang on to it, sensing perhaps that this is where the Russian army could begin to crack. We'll be going into that in some depth, armed with some really good

information given to us by Western officials. We're also going to be going slightly off-piece to have a look at some rare details of Vladimir Putin's private life,

which have leaked out thanks to some indiscretions by his long-term lover and mother of his children,

the one-time Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva.

We'll also be asking what they tell us about someone who, despite having been a

world player for a quarter of a century, remains strangely opaque. But first, Bahmoud. Now, we were

pleased to be invited to an insider briefing by Western officials the other day and given a fascinating

readout on the intelligence assessment of what's been

happening there and where the battle is likely to go. I was unable to attend, unfortunately,

had to go to the dentist. So Saul and James, our producer, represented the podcast. Saul,

tell us what they told you. Well, first of all, Patrick, the fact that we're invited in the first place

is proof that the word is getting out about the pod. You know, as you know, from your time as a war

correspondent, it's great to be invited to these things because you're getting a much fuller picture,

frankly, than ever really comes out into the press. So what did they say? So many important

points. The battle for back mout had, they pointed out to

us, no operational or strategic significance. From a tactical level, there was an opportunity for

...