Eighty years on from Victory over Japan day in 1945, the contribution of British and Commonwealth soldiers in a brutal battle against the Imperial Japanese armed forces is often overlooked. The fact that the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved the lives of many in prisoner of war camps is even less discussed.

Featuring voicenotes from readers whose family fought in Asia and the Pacific, Venetia and Roland dive into this tangled history and reflect on the legacy they have left behind.

Plus, The Telegraph's Gareth Corfield gives the inside scoop on the story behind the biggest British data leak in history - the Ministry of Defence's Afghan list - and how Iran is using it to hunt for MI6 spies.

Read David Blair's piece: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/06/the-bombing-of-hiroshima-saved-my-grandfather/

Read more VJ Day veteran accounts: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/15/vj-day-80th-anniversary-veterans-who-were-there/

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As US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin get ready to meet in Alaska, there has been lots of talk about what Washington, Moscow and even Europe want from the historic summit.

But what about Ukrainians? What do they want? To find out, Roland speaks to former Ukrainian defence minister and chairman of the Center for Defence Strategies Andriy Zagorodnyuk and veteran frontline soldier Max Kuzmenko.

Plus, Ukraine: The Latest host Dominic Nicholls and acting deputy US editor Connor Stringer dial in from Anchorage to talk about international expectations ahead of the meeting.

Read Roland's analysis about the options available on the table in Alaska: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/14/ukraine-russia-alaska-summit-donald-trump-putin-zelensky/

Listen to our sister podcast Ukraine: The Latest for a special bonus episode on Friday after the Trump-Putin summit: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/02/russia-ukraine-war-listen-daily-podcast/

Listen to our mini series on the rise of China's military: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/08/battle-lines-podcast-inside-the-rise-of-chinas-military/

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Australia holds a unique position in global geopolitics - on the other side of the world but still very much a 'Western' country.

To that end, Roland Oliphant speaks with former Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne about the delicate balancing act his country faces in dealing with an increasingly sharp-elbowed China; and whether President Trump will stand by the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact with Australia.

Also in this episode, Roland looks at developments in Gaza. Nearly 200 journalists have been killed while reporting in the strip, but for the first time, Israel has publicly stated that the death of one on Sunday - Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif - was an assassination by its own forces...

The Telegraph’s Jerusalem correspondent Henry Bodkin discusses why the strike happened now and what it means for journalists either already in Gaza and those still trying to enter.

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Nuclear weapons are back.

This week, Moscow announced that it would no longer abide by the once hugely significant Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Last week, President Donald Trump announced that he had moved nuclear submarines towards Russia.

From growing stockpiles in China and North Korea, to growing cooperation between the UK and France, the direction of travel is clear.

As Japan marks the 80th anniversary of the devastating atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Venetia talks to Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a senior fellow in military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

What’s driving this new nuclear arms race? Which country will be the next to go nuclear? And is there an argument that it actually makes the world safer?

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Amid growing international outrage over an unfolding famine in Gaza, lack of aid supplies and the high death toll in the ongoing war, Israel is increasingly isolated on the world stage.

Last week, several of Israel's major Western allies - the UK, France and Canada - set out a timetable for recognising a Palestinian state. In the following days, an apparently emboldened Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad both released fresh videos of hostages they kidnapped on October 7th, showing the two men in shocking conditions.

Venetia speaks to Gili Roman, brother of a released hostage and brother-in-law of a murdered hostage, about the pain of the videos and the mood on the ground in Israel amid fresh anti-government protests.

Plus, The Telegraph's chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair looks at whether recognising a Palestinian state is the right move and what other options were available to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

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Will China invade Taiwan? If so, when and what signs should we look for that will show it is imminent? How exactly could Beijing seize the island? And what would the US do in response? These questions have been at the core of Indo-Pacific security concerns for decades, but in recent years, the threat has become more tangible - and the questions more urgent.

In the final episode of this three-part series on China's military, Venetia Rainey looks at different analyses of whether Beijing is getting ready to invade the self-ruled island it claims as its own. Plus, she examines the different scenarios that could unfold and crucially, what that would mean for a conflict with the US and a potential Third World War.

This series dives into the strengths and weaknesses of China’s military and its remarkable transformation over the last few decades from obsolete to world-class.

How significant is China’s military buildup? What does Xi Jinping’s ongoing purge mean for the People’s Liberation Army? And how likely is an invasion of Taiwan in the next few years?

As the US pivots to the Indo-Pacific and the threat of a truly global war looms, understanding the evolving role of China’s military on the world stage has never been more important.

With thanks to Dr Phillip Saunders and Joel Wuthnow from the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, Oriana Skylar Mastro from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, Meia Nouwens from the China Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Timothy Heath at RAND, Amanda Hsiao at Eurasia Group, and The Telegraph’s Asia Correspondent Allegra Mendelson.

Archive used: WION, SBS News, PBS News Hour, Channel 4, NATO, DRM News, CCTV, Weibo/social media

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China’s military is not a real army - it’s the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party. Ideology is paramount and corruption is endemic.

Plus, the People’s Liberation Army hasn’t fought a war since 1979. Xi Jinping calls it “the peace disease”.

In episode two of this three-part series, Venetia Rainey looks at the PLA’s weaknesses and how the Chinese president Xi is trying to fix them, from endless purges of top generals to a specially built training centre in Mongolia and live-fire drills around Taiwan.

This series on China’s military dives into the strengths and weaknesses of China’s military and its remarkable transformation over the last few decades from obsolete to world-class.

How significant is China’s military buildup? What does Xi Jinping’s ongoing purge mean for the People’s Liberation Army? And how likely is an invasion of Taiwan in the next few years?

As the US pivots to the Indo-Pacific and the threat of a truly global war looms, understanding the evolving role of China’s military on the world stage has never been more important.

With thanks to Dr Phillip Saunders and Joel Wuthnow from the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, Oriana Skylar Mastro from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, Meia Nouwens from the China Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Timothy Heath at RAND, and Amanda Hsiao at Eurasia Group.

Archive used: WION, SBS News, PBS News Hour, Channel 4, NATO, DRM News, Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, Reuters

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

Dive into the strengths and weaknesses of China’s military and its remarkable transformation over the last few decades from obsolete to world-class in a new special series on Battle Lines.

How significant is China’s military buildup? What does Xi Jinping’s ongoing purge mean for the People’s Liberation Army? And how likely is an invasion of Taiwan in the next few years? As the US pivots to the Indo-Pacific and the threat of a truly global war looms, understanding the evolving role of China’s military on the world stage has never been more important.

In episode one of this three-part series, Venetia Rainey uncovers the strengths that define the PLA today, from its vastly modernised Navy, now the largest globally, to its Air Force equipped with stealth fighters and advanced drones.

Plus, a look at China’s potent non-conventional forces, such as its highly sophisticated cyber warfare units, its independent aerospace and counter-space capabilities, and the secretive Rocket Force, responsible for a fast-expanding nuclear arsenal.

With thanks to Dr Phillip Saunders and Joel Wuthnow from the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, and Oriana Skylar Mastro from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.

Archive used: WION, SBS News, PBS News Hour, Channel 4, NATO, DRM News, CGTN, Getty

Contact us with feedback or ideas: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

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