live from ossington, this is bbc news. along long—awaited counteroffensive may be under way in parts of ukraine. —— washington. translation: ~ ., translation: well done, soldiers- _ translation: well done, soldiers. we _ translation: well done, soldiers. we can _ translation: well done, soldiers. we can see - translation: well done, soldiers. we can see howl soldiers. we can see how hysterically russia greets every step we make there, every position we take, the enemy knows that ukraine will win. former us vice president mike annes officially enters the republican field vying to become president. and experts want a catastrophic mental health crisis presents afg hanistan's health crisis presents afghanistan's women and girls.

i'm sumi somaskanda, welcome to our show. we start tonight with intensifying military activity intensifying military activity in southern and eastern ukraine. the ukrainian armed forces say they have on several attacks but the russians insist those attacks have been repelled and there is still no official confirmation that this is the start of ukraine's long—awaited counteroffensive against russian forces. russian officials are claiming that their troops have succeeded in blocking attacks, the ukrainian attack on .net was said to be on a significant scale. these density are backward is described as the epicentre of hostilities ukraine's ground centre are moving against russian positions. it his no time address, president zelensky thank ukrainian troops but gave few details on any advances. translation: in the direction of bakhmut. — translation: in the direction of bakhmut, well— translation: in the direction of bakhmut, well done - translation: in the direction | of bakhmut, well done soldiers. you can see how hysterically russia greets every step we take there, every position we

take, russian knows ukraine will win, they feel it into your straights, soldiers, and in particular in the donetsk region. i'd like to make today a special mention of our combat units, they are skilfully and the —— decisively defending. they are moving forward. fiur they are moving forward. our correspondent _ they are moving forward. our correspondent james waterhouse has the latest from kyiv. shhh. in a war of words, a call for quiet from kyiv. when it comes to its anticipated counteroffensive, ukraine has certainly revelled in trying to confuse russia. shhh. this video came with the caption — "plans love silence". but today words seem to have been followed by actions. dance music in another produced video, with its own techno music, kyiv claims its troops are advancing close to the eastern city of bakhmut, and says that's not all. troops are moving to offensive actions in the eastern front too, according to the country's

deputy defence minister, hanna maliar. even russia's defence ministry reported three major counterattacks, which it says it repelled. it released this footage from near the city of donetsk. bbc verify has confirmed it was most likely filmed there, but we don't know when. "the enemy launched an unsuccessful attempt at a large—scale offensive in the south donetsk direction," said its military spokesman. so, has ukraine's counteroffensive started? well, if you look at the heightened language from both sides, as well as the military movement, it certainly looks to be in the early stages, but what will take longer to answer is the question of whether it will be successful. mr president, welcome. any potential liberation will rely on continued political support, today coming in the form of the uk's foreign secretary, james cleverly, with an exchange

of pleasantries with president zelensky. when we made the commitment publicly that we would continue backing you and your country until you are victorious in your self—defence, we meant it. when we said that we would do more and go further, we meant it. it's about opening the possibility for training missions for our pilots on fighterjets. kyiv has always managed to straddle defending with diplomacy. you can be sure the talking won't stop. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. the question on whether that offensive has started is not entirely clear, even for ukrainians. as i've found out when i spoke to ukraine's former minister of economical development and trade. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. the defence ministry of ukraine released a video on

twitter yesterday saying "words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm." what do you think that mancz? i only do harm.�* what do you think that mane?— only do harm." what do you think that mancz? i think they hint at the _ think that mancz? i think they hint at the counteroffensive. i hint at the counteroffensive. there is this theme in ukraine that we should talk less and do more and there have been variations of this theme or topic in different ways. and i think this is a little bit as direct as it can get.- think this is a little bit as direct as it can get. does that hand mean — direct as it can get. does that hand mean the _ direct as it can get. does that i hand mean the counteroffensive has begun?— has begun? well, it's really difficult. — has begun? well, it's really difficult, even _ has begun? well, it's really difficult, even for _ has begun? well, it's really difficult, even for me, - has begun? well, it's really difficult, even for me, to i has begun? well, it's really i difficult, even for me, to make out what exactly is happening. and i have been talking to people who are directly in the midst, but something is going on. that much is clear. directly from people who are usually at the front lines,

they report there is increased intensity of combat, they are typically not saying where exactly, but then if you look at the news space, at the reports, there is so much going on around belgorod, it is really difficult to make sense of it, but something is happening there. there does seem to be _ happening there. there does seem to be an _ happening there. there does seem to be an activity, - happening there. there does| seem to be an activity, which us officials have confirmed as well. russia has that it has repelled assaults on afflicted casualties on ukrainian forces, how difficult you think it's going to be for ukrainian forces to dislodge russian forces to dislodge russian forces in the south and the east? in forces in the south and the east? h, forces in the south and the east? ,., ., ., , forces in the south and the east? ., ., , ., forces in the south and the east? ., ., ., ., east? in some areas and, again, this is my. _ east? in some areas and, again, this is my. not — east? in some areas and, again, this is my, not directly _ east? in some areas and, again, this is my, not directly from - this is my, not directly from the area, it is based on the information i have, and the person was uncertain, but my understanding many, many areas in the east and the south, russia has fortified it a bit.

at the same time i think ukraine has trained and prepared substantive resources and they are well equipped and they have sufficient ammunition, but they also think that logistically some areas are vulnerable, some areas occupied by russia are vulnerable. for example if you look at crimea, crimea has very challenging logistics. for example there is this carriage bridge that is more vulnerable. then there is the landline, but that one is also more vulnerable with the longer range weapons available. so there could be different strategies and tactics involved, but it does seem that russia is exposed. you involved, but it does seem that russia is exposed.— russia is exposed. you have been travelling _ russia is exposed. you have been travelling around - russia is exposed. you havei been travelling around many parts of ukraine assessing the war effort and also impact on cities like to be pro. what have you witnessed? —— dnipro

river. i have you witnessed? -- dnipro river. ., have you witnessed? -- dnipro river. . , , ., ., river. i have witnessed a lot of resilience _ river. i have witnessed a lot of resilience and _ river. i have witnessed a lot of resilience and normalcy i river. i have witnessed a lot| of resilience and normalcy in people. people actually strive for living every day monday and almost boring life. and when you talk to people they seem normal. they seem happy, they seem unbroken and sound and resilient until they are not. because what happens in the pro is at any moment in time, and assault can come in without warning there is not enough time ahead of time to give a warning and people can die —— dnipro and that happened the day i've arrived there, a two story building was simply destroyed and a child died and people were wounded. and people who live in dnipro, they seem to have resigned or kind of committed to their feet and they continue to sit in cafes, they continue to sit in cafes,

they continue to open stores and businesses, they continue to produce equipment. they have continued to run the economy even though daily some of them die. and i think that's amazing and it's a powerful story of human resilience and i think that's another reason why ukraine should be supported. you have seen some of these images of destruction first hand, can you gives an idea of what it will take to rebuild ukraine when this war is over? frankly, the images don't do justice to the feeling you get next to the building or in the building after the missile hit. they have been out to multiple buildings and i have been overwhelmed there, i understand people died there and it is just the entire scale. you cannot get the true feeling of theirs through the videos or pictures. but i think it is important that ukraine rebuilds

now. why? well, some people argue we should wait until the day the war is over because it is just too risky. day the war is over because it isjust too risky. but day the war is over because it is just too risky. but think of a clinic which has been destroyed and now people on top of having a war threat they are denied healthcare, basic healthcare or maybe cancer healthcare or maybe cancer healthcare or maybe heart attack treatment. so more people will die simply because they don't get treatment, not because of the war. and that's awful, you know. and i think we need to help ukraine maintain its economy and services during the war and then after the war reveal it as a prosperous economy. reveal it as a prosperous economy-— reveal it as a prosperous economy. reveal it as a prosperous econom . . , , ., , ., economy. last question, if you are looking _ economy. last question, if you are looking to _ economy. last question, if you are looking to the _ economy. last question, if you are looking to the west, - economy. last question, if you are looking to the west, what i are looking to the west, what money do you think is needed right now and for the future for rebuilding? indie right now and for the future for rebuilding?— right now and for the future for rebuilding? we have seen that the war _ for rebuilding? we have seen that the war commitments, l that the war commitments, around $130 billion plus since the beginning of the war, then

ukraine itself has spent about $35 billion, but ukraine is spending around 80% of all its tax and nontax revenues, so ukraine needs the amount of up to $50 billion to maintain its economy. and i think a similar amount, maybe a little bit less, to rebuild the economy. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you so much for “oining us. ., ~' thank you so much for “oining us. ., ~ , ., here in the us mike pence has officiallyjoined the growing field of candidates vying to be the republican 2024 presidential nominee. the former us vice president who served underformer former us vice president who served under former president donald trump is expected to position himself as a continuation of the trump administration's conservative agenda but without the controversy. pence filed his paperwork on monday with the federal election commission and he is expected to publicly launch his campaign with again seventh rally in iowa.

meanwhile, attorneys for donald trump met with justice of department officials on monday as an investigation into the former president's abbring of classified documents appears to be nearing an end. there was in a post citing an unidentified person familiar with the situation that a trump's lawyers had come to make the case that the former president of not fazed any charges. the case involving a trove of classified documents that drumhead stood at his mar—a—lago after leaving the white house. i spoke earlier with bob costas, chief correspondent for cbs news who has been covering both those stories. you have been following all the stories today, what we know about what happened in this movie —— meeting with doj officials? four lawyers arrived at the justice department in washington. they did not make remarks outside your cbs news crew, and so they made an argument tojustice department argument to justice department officials that this final phase officials that this final phase of the documents investigation that the former president should not bejudged. they raise their concerns without

the investigation has unfolded, especially on the front of attorney—client privilege. they believe the former president has not been treated in a fairway. the special counsel himself, jack smith, was present was not listened to the arguments, there is no sign at the special counsel in any way is wavering from the investigation or the possibility of a charge, and historic charge of the former president. historic charge of the former president-— historic charge of the former resident. ~ . ~ ., ., president. what we know about where this _ president. what we know about where this investigation - president. what we know about where this investigation is? - where this investigation is? how likely is it we will see a judge and one could that come down? ~ ~' ., judge and one could that come down? ~ ~ ., , judge and one could that come down? ~ ~' ., , ., judge and one could that come down? ~ ~ ., ., ., down? we know based on our conversation _ down? we know based on our conversation with _ down? we know based on our conversation with sources - down? we know based on our conversation with sources of i conversation with sources of knowledge of the investigation that this investigation is near its final phase. they are probably close to finished when it comes to hearing from further witnesses, though they may hear from some additional witnesses in the coming weeks. a decision we believe based on people with knowledge of the investigation will likely come this month injune. investigation will likely come this month in june.— investigation will likely come this month in june. could you remind us — this month in june. could you remind us of _ this month in june. could you remind us of the _ this month in june. could you remind us of the other- this month in june. could you remind us of the other legal. remind us of the other legal troubles that the former president is facing right now because it is sometimes hard to tell her part. it because it is sometimes hard to tell her part-— tell her part. it is hard to tell her part. it is hard to

tell them _ tell her part. it is hard to tell them apart. - tell her part. it is hard to tell them apart. i- tell her part. it is hard to i tell them apart. i wouldn't tell her part. it is hard to - tell them apart. i wouldn't be surprised if some people are confused. i'm confused at times as a reporter. i wouldn't be surprised if some people are confused. i'm confused at times as a reporter. i'd do my best to keep gravel trap stopping of the ongoing trial and investigation is pending in new york based on the stormy daniels incident from 2016 in that payment, so there is a city investigation and likely trial of donald trump on the horizon, you have the ongoing federal grand jury investigations, two of them, one on documents, classified records, trump's handling of them, not on 6january and trump's involvement in that, you also have ongoing investigations in georgia of trump and his allies of how they present election officials during the 2020, post 2020 period. shill during the 2020, post 2020 eriod. �* ., , period. all of this coming as we know _ period. all of this coming as we know his _ period. all of this coming as we know his former - period. all of this coming as we know his former vice - we know his former vice president mike pence, as we mentioned, has officially thrown his hat in the ring, he is vying for that republican presidential nomination, what he trying to sell voters on? he is reviving _ he trying to sell voters on? he: is reviving an older message from within the republican

party. his run will be a comeback on a personal level after doing his duty injanuary 2020, want to certify the election, it is also a comeback for a certain strand of american conservativism that ronald reagan type republican politics, small government arguing forecast taxes, or foreign policy, he is not going to echo trump's grievances, trump's populism, instead offering the republican party a path back to that reagan model. that has made a very busy field of candidates even more crowded. i think we have some pictures of the list of people at the moment you have thrown their hat in the ring. let's pull that up. it is, as we said, going to be a really busy field. how competitive do you think this race will be to make these are all the people who have thrown their hat in the ring so far. if have thrown their hat in the ring so far-— ring so far. if you look at this composite _ ring so far. if you look at this composite of- ring so far. if you look at this composite of camp i this composite of camp contenders and candidates you see a lot of people who are looking for an opening should former trip was —— president trump stumble politically,

someone like vivek, swami, all the former arkansas governor next to the former vice president, asa hutchinson, the media personality larry elled at the bottom and senator tim scott of south carolina, former south carolina governor nikki haley and ron desantis. what is intriguing about the race right now when you talk to people close to these campaigns, the target is not necessarily trump, at least at this early stage, the candidate is dissenters. many republicans are seeing him as the obstacle, him as the person to get through if they ever want to reach that final match politically speaking with trump in the primary. the former president is leading by a good margin in the polls? he continues to maintain his political base from his rent 2016 and 2020. but i have been there, in iowa, and i go back tomorrow. i've been to south carolina and other early voting states. while there is a lot of

love among republicans for trump and his record, they are exploring options. they believe trump will always be a favourite, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are committed to him to be their standardbearer in 2024. send standardbearer in 2024. and last question _ standardbearer in 2024. and last question for _ standardbearer in 2024. and last question for you, bob, you are heading to iowa to see mike pence's official announcement. what chances you think he has with his nomination?— with his nomination? former vice president _ with his nomination? former vice president mike - with his nomination? former vice president mike pence i vice president mike pence believes he can be uniting figure from all these different groups that have fractured the trump era. but still has an association with the express reduced i was vice president. it will be difficult because the events of the three have been serious and politically and personally.— and personally. we'll be watching _ and personally. we'll be watching your _ and personally. we'll be watching your reporting | and personally. we'll be - watching your reporting from iowa. bob costa from cbs news, great to have you with us again. around the world and the uk, this is

bbc news. the world and the uk, this is bbc news-— the world and the uk, this is bbc news. �* �* , , ,:, bbc news. bbc news, bring you different stories _ bbc news. bbc news, bring you different stories from _ bbc news. bbc news, bring you different stories from across - different stories from across the uk. in different stories from across the uk. :, :, , the uk. in a nature reserve between — the uk. in a nature reserve between middlesbrough i the uk. in a nature reserve| between middlesbrough and teesside, this team say they want — teesside, this team say they want visitors to fall in love with — want visitors to fall in love with a _ want visitors to fall in love with a nature on their doorstep with_ with a nature on their doorstep with the — with a nature on their doorstep with the help of a new installation dedicated to a bridges prehistoric predator. thankfully it is very small and only— thankfully it is very small and only emerges in warm weather. it is only emerges in warm weather. it is a _ only emerges in warm weather. it is a real— only emerges in warm weather. it is a real monster. scaled to our size, it is a real monster. scaled to oursize, it it is a real monster. scaled to our size, it would make a horrorfilm our size, it would make a horror film you would want to watch. they huge predators and people love it. it really gets people love it. it really gets people excited. notjust the kids, but mums and dads, too. as the summer gets warmer we will see more and more of them around on this wonderful site. and whether or not they make an appearance, deep fascination for the dragonfly has already encouraged people to emerge into the great outdoors, whatever the weather. do you come here all the time? --we come here all the time? --we come here _ come here all the time? --we come here all— come here all the time? --we come here all the _ come here all the time? --we come here all the time. - come here all the time? --we come here all the time. they i come here all the time. they love walking through the

dragonfly garden. for more stories from _ dragonfly garden. for more stories from across - dragonfly garden. for more stories from across the - dragonfly garden. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you are watching bbc news. in you are watching bbc news. in afghanistan, doctors have told the bbc there is a catastrophic mental health crisis, particularly among women and girls and they report a sharp increase in cases of suicide. the united nations has also raised concerns about the latest trends. while official numbers are not available from the taliban regime, yogita limaye has travelled to investigate what is happening. translation: | just wantl someone to hear my voice. i am in pain and i'm not the only one. most of the girls in my class have had suicidal thoughts. we are all suffering from depression and anxiety. in her 20s, this afghan student told us why she tried to end her life.

we're hiding her identity to protect her. translation: going to i university and meeting my friends was the only comfort and happiness i had in my life, and it was banned. i started spending a lot of time alone, at home, with just one thought on my mind — that nothing was ever going to be ok again. one night, i tried to take my own life. her words give an insight into a less visible yet urgent crisis facing afghanistan, particularly its women. in a patriarchal society, especially one worn out by a long war, one in two people — most of them women — suffered from mental health issues, even before the taliban took over. now, experts tell us, the situation is worse than ever before.

i am really sorry for your loss. can you tell us what happened? we spoke to the father of a girl who took her own life on the first day of the new school term this year. he is in a remote province. translation: until that day, she had believed i that the schools would eventually reopen, but when it didn't happen, she couldn't cope. she became extremely distressed and took her own life. what impact has it had on you and your family? 0ur life has been destroyed. nothing means anything to me or to my wife any more. we are at the lowest we have ever been. five other families also told us their daughters killed themselves for similar reasons. we started looking into this issue, because we saw an increasing number of articles in the local news, reporting suicides from different parts of the country. partly because of the stigma

associated with it, and partly because the taliban are not recording numbers, official figures are not available. in the absence of that, we have been speaking to families in different provinces who have lost loved ones to suicide in recent months. we have spoken to people who have attempted to take their own lives. we have seen recent research that suggests two thirds of afghan adolescents, mostly female, but also male, are suffering from depression in parts of the country, and we have asked numerous mental health professionals to give us their assessment of the scale of the crisis. we met this teenage girl, in the presence of her psychologist, who has been treating her since she tried to take her own life. sighs. translation: the staying i at home without an education or a future, it feels ridiculous. i feel exhausted and indifferent to everything. education is the only hope we had, and it's been taken

away from us. there is nothing left for us now. sighs. don't worry. hundreds of miles away, this is one of the psychologists we met. she receives seven to ten new calls for help each day. we have a pandemic of suicidal thoughts, mental health issues in afghanistan, which rarely people think of, which rarely people talk about. it's like, as you are slow poisoned, we are like this. she said the economic crisis is another major reason, and men are also affected. the taliban did not respond to questions about a surge in suicides since they took power. for the first time in 40 years,

no part of this country is at war. but its people are not at peace. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. 0ne one year ago 0ne yearagoa one year ago a british journalist and a brazilian indigenous expert was shot dead as returning from a reporting trip in the amazon. debbie robinson has more. events were held today in london and across brazil in memory of dom phillips sabrina bremer, murdered in a remote area of the brazilian amazon. dom phillips�* widow spoke at an eventin dom phillips�* widow spoke at an event in rio dejaneiro. she says she has received threats and want to see an end to violence in the amazon. the expert and journalist were exploring a valley on the

border of colombia and brazil. there remains of dom phillips and bruno pereira were found days later. their bodies had been cut up and buried in the forest. last week to more men were chose without murders, including a man who is thought to have ordered the killing. police say the alleged leader of the local gang plenty murders because bruno pereira posed a threat to illegal fishing operations. three other men who are local fishermen are in custody awaiting trial next month. it is a story that is a tragedy for the families of the two men but also highlights the dangers in the amazon. campaigners say lawlessness thrived under former president gable are narrow and those who wanted to carry out illegal activities to do so outside the law. —— jair bolsonaro. these events that we have seen today are obviously a memorial to the two men who were reporting on the region but also they are

events that highlightjust how dangerous it can be to monitor the amazon and how dangerous it can be to report in those areas. stay with bbc news. hello, there. 0urfine, dry run of weather continued on monday. plenty of sunshine out west, bit more cloud in the east, and that created some cooler air that then flowed across the uk, hence the lower temperatures that we had — for example, london going from 23 on sunday to 18 for a high on monday. the highest temperatures out west, 24 celsius, warm in the sunshine. we�*ll see some changes in the weather picture, though, over the next few days, and it�*s all down to storm 0scar that�*s bringing torrential rain to madeira. some strong gusts of wind there, as well. 0scar itself doesn�*t actually make it to the uk — it stays to the southwest — but it will be transporting some much warmer air our way. humidity levels rising, as will the temperatures through the weekend, mid—to—high 20s. but it won�*t be dry everywhere, there will be some fairly hefty thundery showers around, as well, to watch out for — something that

gardeners might want, actually, given how dry the weather�*s been over the last few weeks. now, at the moment, we�*re seeing cloud come back in off the north sea, affecting central and eastern scotland, central and eastern england, eastern parts of wales, too. and so, for these areas, we start the day tuesday with a lot of cloud that cool breeze with us, notable again first thing in the morning. 0ut west, sunshine from the word go once again. now, where you start cloudy, that cloud will probably get burned back towards those north sea coasts by the time we get to the afternoon, so most areas will brighten up, but there could be some areas in the east. there the cloud loiters, the onshore winds continue to blow, it�*ll feel quite cool, 14—15 celsius — and that is a feature of the weather we�*ve seen so far this month. for example, in holbeach in lincolnshire, the average forjune�*s 19 celsius — we�*ll be nowhere near that so far this month, on account of often cloudy weather we�*ve seen, and often those chilly northeasterly winds. and another feature of the weather

we�*ve got at the moment is some of you will see quite high levels of pollen — and it�*s grass pollen we have at the moment — so if you�*re allergic to that, you might find it being a bit sneezy on tuesday. wednesday, probably less in the way of cloud around. what little cloud there is could loiter across some english eastern coasts, but otherwise more sunshine, and so probably temperatures a little bit higher, 24, maybe 25 out west. and over the next few days, more of the same — it�*s really into the weekend that we see those temperatures rise, along with the humidity, and we�*ll probably start to see showers and thunderstorms break out, as well.