Living Next Door to Putin

The war in Ukraine has had a huge impact on the eastern European countries that share a border with Russia. On a road trip from Poland, north through the Baltic States, Katya explores the consequences of Putin’s war on the west. She discovers a region still reeling from the legacy of the Soviet Union, where the war in Ukraine has reopened old wounds. But she also meets the people fighting back against the new threat in any way they can – from those travelling to Ukraine to fight on the front line, to the people making armoured ambulances in their garages.

Continuing her journey north along Russia’s border, Katya travels from Estonia into snowy Scandinavia. In Finland, a country scarred by past war with Russia, she discovers a state of hyper-preparedness as she travels deep into the bunkers beneath Helsinki. In Norway, she finds a more relaxed attitude, but one where personal relationships are breaking down in all sorts of ways – between reindeer herders, families and nuclear scientists.