live from washington, this is bbc news. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america. a long—awaited counteroffensive may be under way in parts of ukraine. translation: in the direction of bakhmut, well done, - soldiers. we can see how hysterically russia greets every step we make there, every position we take, the enemy knows that ukraine will win. and experts warn a catastrophic mental health crisis threatens afghanistan's women and girls. i'm sumi somaskanda, welcome to our show. we start tonight with intensifying military activity in southern and eastern ukraine. the ukrainian armed forces say they have launched several

attacks but the russians insist those attacks have been repelled and there's 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 around donetsk, lu ha nsk, and zaporizhzhia. the ukrainian attack on donetsk was said to be on a significant scale. but the eastern city of bakhmut is described as the epicentre of hostilities where ukraine's ground forces are said to be moving against russian positions. it his night time address, president zelensky thanked the ukrainian troops but gave few details on any advances. translation: in the direction of bakhmut, well done, - soldiers. we can see how hysterically russia greets every step we make there, every position we take, the enemy knows that ukraine will win. they can see it, they feel it into your stikes, soldiers, and in particular in the donetsk region.

i would like to make today a special mention of several of our combat units, they are skilfully, decisively, and effectively defending our positions, destorying to occupiers and, most importanly, moving forward. our correspondence 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 found out when i spoke to tymofiy mylovanov, ukraine's former minister of economical development and trade. mr mylovanov, thank you very much forjoining us here 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 meant? i think they 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. does that hint mean that the counteroffensive has begun? well, it's really 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 involved, 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 activity, which us officials have confirmed as well. russia is saying 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 in the south and the east? in some areas and, again, this is my, not directly from the area, it is based on the information i have, and the person was uncertain, so 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 i 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 which clearly is 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 have been travelling around many parts of ukraine assessing the war effort and also impact on cities like dnipro. what have you witnessed? i have witnessed a lot of resilience and normalcy in people.

people actually strive for living every day, mundane 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 dnipro is at any moment in time, an assault can come in without warning there is not enough time ahead of time to give a warning and people and that happened the day i 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 fate and 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 give us 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. i 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 this 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. 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 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. last question, if you are looking to the west, what money do you think is needed right now and for the future for rebuilding? we have seen that the war commitments, around $130 billion since the beginning of the war, then ukraine itself has spent about $32—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. mr mylovanov, thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. around the world and across the uk this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. in a nature reserve nestled between middlesbrough and teesside's industrial landscape, the team at rspb saltholme say they want visitors to fall in love with the nature on their doorstep with the help of a new installation dedicated to a ferocious prehistoric predator. thankfully for visitors, it is very small and only emerges in warm weather. the dragonfly nymph is a real monster. scaled to our size, it would make any horror film you would want to watch. they are huge predators. and people love it.

the fascination with life on the water 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, the fascination for the dragonfly has already encouraged people to emerge into the great outdoors, whatever the weather. we come here all the time. and they love walking through the dragonfly garden. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. 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 want| 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? our 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 a0 years, no part of this country is at war. but its people are not at peace. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. that news from afghanistan comes just as the women peace and security summit is set to take place in washington. earlier i spoke the co—chair. thank you so much forjoining us here on bbc news this is just the latest report as we

heard about mental health among women and girls, the dire situation, what is your women peace and security caucus doing to address this issue?— to address this issue? let's start by saying _ to address this issue? let's start by saying this - to address this issue? let's start by saying this is - to address this issue? let's start by saying this is a - start by saying this is a tragedy, and it's not only a tragedy, and it's not only a tragedy for the girls and women in afghanistan but for everyone who believes in freedom, who understands the importance of girls getting educated, as there is not an easy solution to this, somehow we have to find resources to organisations that can get to these young girls, to get them educated. the problem obviously is the taliban so how do we help people who are in need, who are under—resourced in afghanistan without interference from the taliban butjust to let without interference from the taliban but just to let you know, this is a subject matter

that we talk about, i am on the subcommittee that funds our foreign relations portfolio, and although there are some political differences, one thing that we do agree on is the need to get girls educated. to set a number of goals to be reached by the year 2023 and those goals r, i will read them out here : again, those goals were set out to be achieved by 2023, so have they been achieved? fix, to be achieved by 2023, so have they been achieved?— they been achieved? a work in rocess, they been achieved? a work in process. in _ they been achieved? a work in process, in fact _ they been achieved? a work in process, in fact today - they been achieved? a work in process, in fact today i'm - they been achieved? a work in process, in fact today i'm met| process, in fact today i'm met with women parliamentarians who around the world, were at a reception to kickoff a week—long conference sponsored by romania and united states to

discuss these very issues and some really outstanding, articulate, deep thinking women are going to be meeting and talking about this. it is not a magic wand. let's start with the concept. the concept is that when girls and women have access to education, economic opportunities, are free from violence and obviously educated, there are communities are safer and more peaceful. it also means empowering women, making sure that there is equality, that women are in leadership positions and in government and at the table during peace negotiations because the research shows that when women are at the table peaceis when women are at the table peace is much longer lasting. as we are talking about peace and security i would like to ask you as well about the war in ukraine. there is a pentagon supplemental package that looks like it could tee—up a potential fight like it could tee—up a potentialfight in like it could tee—up a potential fight in the fall with ukraine funding, some

republicans want to scale back that funding, you it on that subcommittee, what do you expect to see in this fight? i still believe the overwhelming majority of members of congress understand what is at stake. it is notjust the understand what is at stake. it is not just the freedom and understand what is at stake. it is notjust the freedom and the lives of the people in ukraine but it matters to the world. today we heard a report from one of the ukrainian parliamentarians, and all she could really talk about is getting the weapons, and it is interesting because she came from a background where she called herself a piece protester, and a peace proponent and now she says all she can think about is ukraine having the weapons to defend themselves, so i expect that themselves, so i expect that the united states will be in this for the long run.- this for the long run. final question. _ this for the long run. final question, you _ this for the long run. final question, you talked - this for the long run. final| question, you talked about needing to have women at the table for security and peace,

we have heard various proposals about a path to peace for ukraine, what role do you think women have to play in finding peace for ukraine.— peace for ukraine. ukraine is no different _ peace for ukraine. ukraine is no different than _ peace for ukraine. ukraine is no different than any - peace for ukraine. ukraine is no different than any other i no different than any other country in terms of wanting long lasting peace. 0bviously they are not at that stage yet. what they talked about today at this women peace and security session, what we heard from ukraine as they need to defend themselves, they need to win this well. it is not a conflict, it is a well and we need the weapons to defend ourselves and when it, and at some point we hope there will be a negotiated peace and if it is going to be a lasting peace they have to have women at the table and women have really stepped up in a big way in ukraine, they are not only on the front fighting but they have taken huge positions in support of the armies and

unfortunately our the victims of the tools of war with children being kidnapped and of course women having to flee to other countries, but with that said, the women in ukraine are ready and able to be at that peace table. we ready and able to be at that peace table.— ready and able to be at that peace table. we will have to leave it there, _ peace table. we will have to leave it there, thank - peace table. we will have to leave it there, thank you - peace table. we will have to l leave it there, thank you very much forjoining us. we finish our show tonight with a sailor. ken fowler started the challenge to raise money for cancer research taken him over three years but he is due to finish this week. ever felt like you are going around in circles? ken knows that feeling all too well.— all too well. when i first started _ all too well. when i first started planning - all too well. when i first started planning at - all too well. when i first started planning at i - all too well. when i first - started planning at i thought 180 islands maths is not my strong point because it turns out there's 263.—

strong point because it turns out there's 263. how are you doin: ? out there's 263. how are you doing? absolutely _ out there's 263. how are you doing? absolutely beautiful, | out there's 263. how are you i doing? absolutely beautiful, it was so stunning. _ doing? absolutely beautiful, it was so stunning. we _ doing? absolutely beautiful, it was so stunning. we got - doing? absolutely beautiful, it was so stunning. we got the i was so stunning. we got the calculations bang on and now it is just putting me calculations bang on and now it isjust putting me home, it is so good to have done that. this is 'ust so good to have done that. this is just one _ so good to have done that. this isjust one man _ so good to have done that. this isjust one man in _ so good to have done that. this isjust one man in a _ so good to have done that. this isjust one man in a very small is just one man in a very small boat. do you feel really lonely out there?— out there? you talk to birds, out there? you talk to birds, ou talk out there? you talk to birds, you talk to — out there? you talk to birds, you talk to anything, - out there? you talk to birds, you talk to anything, small. you talk to anything, small things become really exciting and i'll be honest, i'd probably cried more on that boat and my adventures they i have and any other part of my life. ., , have and any other part of my life. . , , , , life. that is because it is personal- _ life. that is because it is personal. this _ life. that is because it is personal. this is - life. that is because it is personal. this is my - life. that is because it is| personal. this is my dad, life. that is because it is - personal. this is my dad, lost him when i — personal. this is my dad, lost him when i was _ personal. this is my dad, lost him when i was only - personal. this is my dad, lost him when i was only 24 - personal. this is my dad, lost him when i was only 24 to - him when i was only 2a to cancer. he was one of six siblings, five of them died of cancer. 50 siblings, five of them died of cancer. , .. , ., cancer. so ken is cash and awareness- _ cancer. so ken is cash and awareness. nobody - cancer. so ken is cash and awareness. nobody has i cancer. so ken is cash and i awareness. nobody has ever cancer. so ken is cash and - awareness. nobody has ever done this challenge _ awareness. nobody has ever done this challenge before _ awareness. nobody has ever done this challenge before because - this challenge before because it is just so difficult stopping most of the time you've got your feet tucked under a strap, and half of your bodyis under a strap, and half of your body is hanging out. a kind of equated foot doing situps for five hours. it equated foot doing situps for five hours-—

five hours. it hasn't all been lain five hours. it hasn't all been plain sailing- _ five hours. it hasn't all been plain sailing. he _ five hours. it hasn't all been plain sailing. he even - five hours. it hasn't all been i plain sailing. he even rescued some teenagers stranded off the norfolk coast. and all this in something just bigger than a bath tub. i something 'ust bigger than a bath tub. , ., bath tub. i sailed past a walrus. _ bath tub. i sailed past a walrus, i've _ bath tub. i sailed past a walrus, i've had - bath tub. i sailed past a walrus, i've had pods i bath tub. i sailed past aj walrus, i've had pods of infants come and ride the bow wave, i've been passed islands where agatha christie wrote novels. , , where agatha christie wrote novels. , _ ., where agatha christie wrote novels. , ., ., , ., novels. they say no man is an island, but — novels. they say no man is an island, but ken _ novels. they say no man is an island, but ken is _ novels. they say no man is an island, but ken is surely - novels. they say no man is an island, but ken is surely the i island, but ken is surely the closest. , ., , island, but ken is surely the closest. , , ., ., closest. this has shown me what an absolutely _ closest. this has shown me what an absolutely stunning _ closest. this has shown me what an absolutely stunning country i an absolutely stunning country it is an equally we think of it is such a busy place but once you get out on the water its not, it's really quiet, it has absolutely magical moments and the rock formations, the wildlife, the scenery, you look out there today, it is absolutely magical. and now there is just _ absolutely magical. and now there is just one _ absolutely magical. and now there isjust one more - absolutely magical. and now there isjust one more roundj there isjust one more round trip to go. there isjust one more round trip to go— trip to go. things like this are never— trip to go. things like this are never easy _ trip to go. things like this are never easy and - trip to go. things like this are never easy and that i trip to go. things like this are never easy and that isj trip to go. things like this - are never easy and that is why you go out and do them. the last lap. _ you go out and do them. the last lap. the _ you go out and do them. the last lap, the isle _ you go out and do them. the last lap, the isle of - you go out and do them. the last lap, the isle of wight. that set from washington, it's just about morning in london,

our team there will have your headline is coming up in the next hour,. 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, 2a 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, 11l—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, 2a, 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.