Inside Geneva – "Peace Talks but the War Grinds On" (Dec 23, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this episode of Inside Geneva, host Imogen Foulkes dives deep into the reality of daily life in wartime Ukraine, as peace negotiations make headlines but fighting and humanitarian challenges persist. Through in-depth interviews with Marcel van Maastricht of the UNHCR in Odessa and Robin Meldrum of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Kyiv, listeners are offered first-hand accounts of resilience, fear, hope, and the critical role of humanitarian aid—set against the backdrop of a cold, war-torn holiday season.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Contrasts of War-time Normalcy in Ukraine

• Distorted Normalcy: Residents attempt to maintain everyday routines amid regular attacks.
  • Quote: "At two o'clock in the afternoon you might have an air alert. And at three o'clock, people in shops and restaurants are putting up Christmas decorations because they want to continue their life." – Marcel van Maastricht (01:03)
• Despite festive decorations, frequent airstrikes and infrastructure destruction create a constant undercurrent of danger and anxiety.
• The psychological toll is immense, especially on children, whose formative years are disrupted by repeated air raids and bunker drills.

2. Humanitarian Work on the Ground

• Aid efforts focus on emergency shelter, home repairs, legal assistance, and support for vulnerable groups (elderly, disabled).

  • Quote: "After an attack...our staff and our partners go out to provide emergency shelter materials, for example, to make sure that people can stay in their homes and are not displaced as a result of the attack." – Marcel van Maastricht (04:09)

• UNHCR and MSF face increased operational challenges as attacks intensify, especially near frontlines such as Kherson, where civilians are "hunted" by drones.

  • Quote: "Kherson is one of the areas where small drones...are used to target civilians that are on the street going out for shopping, on a bike, on a motorbike...The population is being terrorized." – Marcel van Maastricht (06:00)

3. Life Amid Blackouts & Danger

• Energy Infrastructure Attacks: Russian strikes on energy sources leave residents with as little as 3-4 hours of electricity per day, intensifying hardship during the harsh winter months.

  • Quote: "Today I had electricity in my flat a few hours in the afternoon. I'll have three or four hours of electricity tomorrow. And it's wearing. It's tiring." – Robin Meldrum (15:37)

• Local Resilience: Despite hardship, people find ways to celebrate and create fleeting moments of joy for children and families.

4. Aid Workers' Personal Reflections

• Both Marcel (from the Netherlands) and Robin (from Britain) spend holidays away from their home countries, striving to blend personal traditions with the reality of war.
  • Marcel finds solace taking care of three puppies rescued during his missions (11:29).
  • Robin brings ingredients from home (vegetarian suet) to recreate British Christmas food, sharing it with Ukrainian colleagues (21:56).

5. Challenges Facing Elderly and Isolated

• Near frontlines and in depopulated villages, elderly residents resist evacuation and lack access to basic health care and transportation.
  • Quote: "These are people who...have chronic diseases, they have diabetes or hypertension. They have medical needs that must be responded to otherwise, otherwise they will die." – Robin Meldrum (19:00)

6. Moral Imperative of Humanitarian Aid

• Funding is declining even as need grows; aid workers stress the immense, irreplaceable impact of their services.
  • Quote: "Anybody who doubts the importance of supporting humanitarian aid in Ukraine should come and visit my team embedded in a hospital in Kherson City...I don't know if they would collapse without our support, but they would struggle massively and they might even collapse." – Robin Meldrum (24:17)

7. Reflections and Hopes for the Future

• There is pervasive exhaustion and uncertainty, yet steadfast hope for peace.
  • Quote: "I can hope for peace, I can hope for ceasefires, I can hope for an end to, frankly, what is a totally unjustified hell that is happening to the Ukrainian people." – Robin Meldrum (26:12)
• Aid workers are inspired by local colleagues' strength, commitment, and resilience, even as the humanitarian sector faces severe funding cuts.

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "At two o'clock in the afternoon you might have an air alert. And at three o' clock in the afternoon, people in shops and restaurants are putting up Christmas decorations because they want to continue their life."
  — Marcel van Maastricht (01:03)

• "Kherson...the authorities clearly stated, they say our population is being hunted...They're called safaris by the other side."
  — Marcel van Maastricht (06:00)

• "Today I had electricity in my flat a few hours in the afternoon. I'll have three or four hours of electricity tomorrow. And it's wearing. It's tiring."
  — Robin Meldrum (15:37)

• "These are people who...have chronic diseases...They have medical needs that must be responded to otherwise, otherwise they will die. And there's very little provision of medical care in those areas."
  — Robin Meldrum (19:00)

• "Anybody who doubts the importance of supporting humanitarian aid in Ukraine should come and visit my team embedded in a hospital in Kherson City..."
  — Robin Meldrum (24:17)

• "I can hope for peace, I can hope for ceasefires, I can hope for an end to...what is a totally unjustified hell that is happening to the Ukrainian people."
  — Robin Meldrum (26:12)

• "There is a real effort to make it look like everything is normal and to have the decorations, have the music outside... Sometimes people go to parties. It's nice to walk through town and see that happening."
  — Marcel van Maastricht (12:37)

Notable Segments (Timestamps)

• 01:03 - 02:14: Impressions of daily life in Odessa—switching between air raids and holiday preparations.
• 04:09 - 10:22: UNHCR’s operations in frontline regions, psychological challenges, and Marcel’s personal reflections.
• 14:44 - 16:23: MSF's Robin Meldrum details difficulties of living amid blackouts in Kyiv.
• 18:28 - 20:31: Challenges facing elderly populations near frontlines, reluctance to evacuate, and accessing health care.
• 21:51 - 22:46: Coping with holidays away from home and using personal traditions for comfort.
• 24:17 - 26:12: The critical, often life-saving, role of humanitarian aid amid doubts and donor fatigue.
• 26:12 - 27:16: Reflections on uncertainty for the future, hopes for peace, and pride in Ukrainian colleagues.

Tone and Language

The episode balances somber realism with moments of warmth and hope. The firsthand testimonies are personal, vivid, and unflinching about both their exhaustion and enduring commitment. Despite the grim facts, both aid workers and the host emphasize resilience, community, and the importance of solidarity.

Summary

"Peace Talks but the War Grinds On" lays bare the dichotomy between distant diplomatic hopes and the relentless, grinding human cost within Ukraine. Through moving personal accounts and concrete examples, the episode underscores both the resilience of Ukrainians and the vital necessity—and precariousness—of humanitarian aid as winter, uncertainty, and war drag on.