as a whole has been prepared for the situation in terms of unified action and sanction. tonight, the european committee will again decide on use sanctions and russia. and there will also be a package of humanitarian assistance to ukraine, and that there will be further presence on the eastern flank of nato to also a piece of goods the situation a lot on borders in the natal. right. so that's, that's what you're hoping to to hear from europe. what should ukraine expect to hear from germany? as i just mentioned, germany as part of the package of humanitarian assistance. but also we are preparing for people to come to europe and also to germany.

we help germans to come out from ukraine, but also we help people from ukraine who will flee or already being in the region in form of humanitarian assistance for that i at least have a shelter after these shocking events. last night. the preparations for refugees fleeing you claim is interesting because for the last, almost 10 years that the a u has found it terribly hard to come to an agreement on what to do with refugees to expect a process of agreement to be quicker. this time when it comes to a potential refugees from ukraine, the situation is the different from the crisis we have seen already to know, ukraine already today has a very low pressure to come to the european union. and i think

that this would also help in this regard. and as you know, in cold and many ukrainian refuge already in 2014, when the 1st time russia attacks ukraine territory. one of the big areas of contention between ukraine, germany has been weapons has been that the use of the military with germany, so far, reluctant to give military support. now the german defense minister has announced that they army has been put on national alert. so explained to us what is changing within germany. first of all, this alert concerns only the not territory as well. no. and secondly, we again are trying to give her to the ukraine government as we did in the past and monetary assistance,

but also equipment that is not lethal. and this is what we are going to do now. thank you so much for joining us. yes. ok, thank you. by and explain that. so clearly i saw 90 from germany's green party let's go straight to a man with the experience of observing conflict. alexander who is a former principal deputy chief monitor from the o. s. c special monitoring mission to ukraine. he joins us from the hey, go welcome to d, w at the o. s. c, and the o. s. c has monitored this tense situation in east ukraine closely for years. i wonder if you are surprised by this of this lightening attack from russia. good afternoon. it is indeed so that this special monetary mission of the organization

for security and cooperation has been monitoring and reporting about this conflict . for the past 80 years, i talked in documenting the violence that had been continued in this area. what we're seeing now is a level higher is more violence, is more key metric activity, not just limited to what had been previously referred us to complex land that frontline dividing government controlled area from non government controlled areas can be it's now a full fledged attack by the russian federation on southern ukraine. do you expect this to stop? the not going the hands regions to do expect them to carry on a, through the country. throughout the day, the reports have come in that have shown a tax solar ready all out in your crane from key if to the south in on the far west and towns of libby. if the attack outside these areas previously not controlled by

the government, by the russian federation has already started, we cannot know what's in mr. proteins mind. but again, from your experience, not only if you crane but of the way that was our wage. if he takes ukraine, it's hot to see how he can expect to keep it, given that you're going to have a population that, that so much resent the russian occupation. and it will also be the population that i think now requires the attention from the international community. there is a humanitarian credit crisis in the making. these attacks on infrastructure likely fighting, even the wrong highly densely populated areas will secures for sure lead to more casualties among the civilian population. it is now the time when those states

that will upheld the values that the past 70 years have guaranteed stability. and unity in europe stand together to assist ukraine in coping before the outcome of this attack will lead to an and how could that work on, on a practical level, if we, if we assume that russia wins this battle and the rest of the world then has to deal with the humanitarian results. so how do we provide that humanitarian assistance to what, what would effectively be an occupied country if assistance to be delivered inside the company is not possible. certainly that would now need to prepare it. also outside the country. it is all righty visible now that large numbers of civilians flee bigger towns westwards. i assume that some of them will be trying to find shelter ellsbury westwards in a crime, but also outside and crane. these countries need to be prepared to welcome these

refugees that they are then once they cross the country border and also be sure that this my last not just a few days or weeks, but so much longer. you're an observer. you're a diplomat. i wonder if we are as a situation where now the guns have started. well, where does diplomacy go from here? i think what we're seeing now is the crumbling of the world older. the stability that we have known before. it is the end of the rules or a long availability of the mechanisms that helped in the past 70 years to keep stability in europe. i do see now a need for the west. all those states that are held these values to stand together and to find and riley solutions to address this new situation. thank so much

for joining us. i alexander hook a former principal at deputy chief monitor from the o. s. c e. on craig governments as promising and all our defense of the country as russian troops invade, kiff says a dozens of it. soldiers have been killed. with dawn came the bombs, russia attacked sites across he crane. the russian troops that had been amassing on the border for weeks started rolling in, recorded on surveillance cameras by ukraine's board. a police brushes leader vladimir putin announced the military operation in a broadcast on russian t. v. he disparaged ukraine's democratically elected government and asked he cranium soldiers to surrender ukraine's president of

a lot of me as lansky introduced martial law. and he made an emotional plea to russians. questions can i'm addressing you, the russian people as the ukranian citizen, bullied, we are separated by a border stretching more than 2000 kilometers. and right now there are 200000 of your soldiers. there are a couple of your leadership has authorized them to move into the territory of another country. and this could mark the start of the major war on the european continent. now you can continue black smoke from a ukrainian military airport and to give in the east of the country. russia confirms that they bombed the site for housing block with hit and distraught residents were left, grieving the 1st casualties in

a new war. they did not want as the world condemned russia attack when its neighbor, the e. u commission president said all of europe is under threat. give them over the russians target is not only don bus. the target is not only ukraine. the target is the stability in europe and the whole of the international peace order. and we will hold president putin accountable for that. germany's chancellor laughed shalt promised. more sanctions will be coordinating closely with our international partners in nato and in the european union today. in order to place further severe sanctions against russia now, but plank sions can't come soon enough for many ukrainians. in the capital, keith calls jammed the roads as the residence tried to flee the city

as get more on this. and from d. w. 's, she, brussels bureau chief or alexandra farm and welcome alexandra. let's start with a reaction from a leaders so what we have been seeing a throughout the whole day, and i think i saw the 1st reaction about 6 30 in the morning where leaders taking to twitter, issuing statements, talking to reporters condemning the unprecedented and unjustified attack on ukraine and those words and president that unjustified were used very often as well as, for instance barberic act. and the leaders were also very quick to promise that russia will see massive and severe consequences. and so they also made clear very quickly as they have been doing in the last weeks,

basically that they are determined to impose massive sanctions on russia. and what sort of functions are our, is the you likely to impose you have been commissioned president was that are on the lion said that those sanctions that are on the table are aimed at crippling rushes economy. and they are going to target to rushes, transport sector, the energy sector, financial sector, the european union, one wants to prevent a state own companies and the russian government from being able to borrow money on international financial markets. and they are also a proposing a ban on high tech, a ban on exports of high tech products. that also like semiconductors are being used in russia's military. and what is also on the table is the suspension of visas

for russian citizens or for russian leads. right, so the e, you had already agree to parties of sanctions that hadn't been this happened. and the last set was agreed surprisingly quickly is agreeing a new stronger fact of sanctions going to be straightforward. well, i think yes sir, what we are hearing from our sources are they are saying that all leaders are on the same page and that is important for them to send a strong signal from brussels to make clear, there are united was a funder lion at the european commission president said that they know that at the unity their unity is their strength. because what is at stake here, as she pointed out, it's not only ukraine is the stability and peace in europe. what more than can

be? so we've got a set of sanctions, but targeted at russia. does it, you have a plan to help you cry. they have sat, they have work on a plan to help you clean with the emergency aid. so more money for you, queen. they're also working on a plan to help those countries add that border ukraine to help them with the expected refugees people fleeing ukraine. and what we are also hearing, at least from some member states from lithuania, for example, is a proposal to offer a member. oh, i'm sorry, i'm a candidate status to ukraine. however, it's not very likely that all member states would support such a proposal. we've seen over the last a few weeks and months, alexander, we seen a succession of european heads of state going to moscow sitting down to ridiculous

tables in front of the, the russian president. and now we have a hot war. a kinetic war is the you still talking about diplomacy as a way out of this? well, i mean, we saw the statement from the european union, the repeal commission from nate to their colon on moscow to seize all military options. and there are calling on most coach to, to pull out their troops. but at the moment, no one hears as is talking about trying to, to find a new way to have a dialogue with lady me putting i think that and they expressed it this way. or most leaders are really appalled by what is happening in ukraine and, and that's why there are sync now it's the time to punish ukraine. however.