ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah, this is the w news live from good as war rages in ukraine. there are the 1st glimmers of hope. ukraine and russia. great peace talks, even as moscow's troops drew closer to king fuel depos come under attack with the mare says the city is still holding and we'll get the latest from our correspondence in ukraine. the european union chopin's, it's response to the conflict funding weapons view grant, closing a day space to russia, and banning some pro kremlin media. meanwhile,

germany says the war mark the turning point in history channel. the old of shots announces a massive upright and berlin's military capability and plants. germany is dependent on russian energy suppliers. ah, i'm anthony. how'd walk into the program? we begin with 1st hopes for dialogue over the boy in g crank, president vladimir salenti, his office says it will hold negotiations with russian officials at the border with bella. bruce raw says, talks have not yet begun, but the 2 sides are arriving at the location. in other developments president vladimir putin has brushes, nuclear forces on high alert. in an escalation of tensions with the whist, the u. s. has accused him of manufacturing threats. meanwhile, fighting continues on the ground in ukraine. russian forces have attacked fuel depots and reports of explosions outside the capital. the mayor says there are no

russian troops in the city. battles are still going on around other population centers. or for more, let's bring in date of the correspondent nick connelly, who's in vanessia in western g, cried nick the ukranian side as announced that the negotiations have already begun that the russian foreign ministry has denied that. do we know for sure what is happening and bushy as a ways, right? over the last few days, we don't have any conclusive information either way. that's been the same way in terms of the actual fighting, whether 1000000000 insurance on the ground and up see during war that since ships so no side really giving a full picture. it is important that this is even happening at all. and it's happening without pre conditions that's being seen as a victory for ukraine because the russians basically were pushing for the grain to turn up and find what essentially amounts to a capitulation by sea demilitarize being allowing rochelle way from over there. in general,

politics and busy allowing rushed to kind of my brains to my classically government . but as for these talks, i'm not very competent. there's actually going to be much to them. we've heard as much from volume lensky says he's not impressed. or you're convinced because this could just be attracted by rushed to wind. some time we've seen russian troops and tanks, getting stuck on roads in ukraine stuck while invading you, because they basically haven't caught up with a few slides. so this could be just a little bit of tactical glen approach and he did the same just before this invasion where you entered to a metal microphones that he was opened some big summit. there would be meeting between foreign ministers. and then before those meetings that even happened, he sent his tanks rolling over the border. so not much trusting ukraine. the russians are playing fairly and i think it's just important to stop from it and just think how crazy the situation is. they're going to be meeting at the border next, which noble nuclear power station on the border region. ukraine beller is, is, it's like something out of our kind of fancy, noble russian troops control the channel nuclear power station,

which is the fact the world's biggest nuclear incident at 60 kilometers from ki, if there are any fighting the huge risks to some brilliant effect. but now these 2 countries are meeting at the border next to nuclear. disaster zone is just an indication of what extraordinary kind of search you're on right now. give us a sense of how the people feeling in ukraine. do they have hope for these piece talks or given the brutality of the last 4 days? they just focus more on fighting to defend their country at this point. i think it's definitely more of the last year. i think ukrainians have been very cheered by seeing how well, how well the ukraine is holding up against the russian army, especially on the western weapons. entertain massage that have been brought to grain from the u. s. u k. seems to be pretty effective and they definitely slowed down the rest of the bonds. you read when you read russian miniature, unless they seem pretty shocked at how slow this is going. they thought they could

just have some kind of blitz and get to kid within a day or $2.10 ukrainian government in tax all fleeing out of q. if that hasn't happened. and lots of russian troops being taken prisoner, lots of these tanks, images everywhere on social media here of destroyed tanks and also lots of ukrainians. i was just in a youth center today where you had a dozen young people. it's a 100 making camouflage, knitting, collecting food and equipment for the troops. it also refugees heading west from here. so if, if blood region was trying to demoralize ukrainians, it seems like teaching just the next fall. and again, nerves are, i guess, a constant for the people, but just quickly on nights the most nervous times during an invasion. definitely, and we've been spending a lot of our time in bomb raid shelters, in this case where we are in just this blocks, stella and just to give you a bit of insight. the reason why i'm sitting here in the living room in front of a bookshelf is because i can't stand outside with lights with

a camera light or in the window without locals being worried that i'm trying to give some kind of signal that i'm a kind of sleeper agent, and it will sound like something from a novel, but this is real. these kind of cases have been found just today. there been reports of russian agents trying to destroy a re dos sites about 10 o'clock tomorrow. and now lots of shooting that i can't verify that, but it does seem to fit the big patent to go very know this very distrusting of strangers. but overall not panicking and fairly cheered right now by where this is going. and you know, the ability to green army, to actually sit this out and to make russia think twice about whether this is actually going to work out a w correspondent and calmly and western new trend. thanks so much rather than force making stiff resistance as they attempt to push further into you grant. the mayor of keith says the capital is holding its defensive lines and there are no russian troops in the city. not to report a heavy fighting in eastern ha,

he's the regional government says ukrainian forces have re taken full control of the city. russia light is the tax of targeted civilian infrastructure and the military. chaos at an oil depot. and both c give just outside of key of emergency services battled to the early morning after russian rocket fire destroyed the facility just one of the many targets of rush and fire overnight. ah, janice will let us go that night was hard hold. what did they do? this is revenge. yes. but people rose to defend their state. and thee, the russian army showed their real face. this is terror, little when they are going to bomb our ukrainian cities even more, and they're going to kill our children even more insidiously. sure, this is evil. naturally did. they say little russia has confirmed it destroyed what

called 975 military targets in the campaign so far. but many of its rockets have landed in civilian areas, killing and maiming bystanders. here and key of civilians continue to seek shelter in the cities, subway stations. there's little hope it seems for a quick end to the fighting the your opinion is to finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and equipment t crime for the 1st time. well, european commission, president ursula fond alliances. the block is also closing its a space to rush and aircraft and will ban state and media from the line announced the new sanctions targeting the regime of billy receipt lay to alexander lucas shanker was well for supporting russia's action, his little of what he had to say we will introduce restrictive measures against them most important sectors. this will stop their exports of products from men of fuels to tobacco would and timber, seminar, iron, and steel. we will also extend to better use the export restrictions we

introduced on dual use goods for russia. this will also avoid any risk of circumvention of our mess measures against russia. and in addition, we will sanctions those below russians, helping the russian war effort of more. let's bring in date of the correspondent bent league it in brussels, bent the a you is sending weapons to you. crime, a decision of historic proportions. yes. the booze of falling here and the european union is shifting into a war gear for the 1st time that you will buy for 450000000000 it 1000000, sorry, 1000000 euros of weapons for 3rd state outside of the u. that never happened before . and you will use a piece facility of fund that is actually meant for peacekeeping forces in africa. for example, to finance this. that shows how remarkable the situation is,

how unprecedented and also another set of sanctions is very important. the was trying to take away the volt chests of vladimir putin, the russian president. the union is attacking the russian national bank, which sits on assets of 600000000000 euros in foreign currency and outside of russia in this is sure and shall be banned by the european union and the allies so that the russian president and the state is not able to refinance its activities, so it's a total shut off of the russian state as far as possible. and we also talk a lot about swift, the banking system, the message thing system that will be cut for russia. and now the only option that is left for another round would be for a ban and embargo, an oil and gas trade, but so far the shying away from that evading. now of course,

the response from moscow, what measures will put in, come up is to counter these sanctions entry in brussels. thanks so much. meanwhile, russian president vladimir putin has put his deterrence forces, including nuclear armed forces on high alert in a video distributed by the kremlin throught and said knighthood powers have made aggressive statements towards russia. you also blamed economic sanctions that will cut off russian banks from international transaction the money a turning point in the history of the continent. that's our chancellor left sholtes described russia's boy against the ukraine speaking to a special session of parliament, the gym, and later announced the raft of policy changes that would have been unthinkable just days ago. germany will drastically strengthen its military and moved quickly to eliminate its reliance on russian energy exports. he put the blame squarely on russian president vladimir putin, who he said had brought decades of peaceful coexistence to an it is the german

chancellor earlier today. hooting but analysis, imperial shootin wants to create a russian empire to know what he wants to reconfigure europe, according to his own ideas. and he does not hesitate to use military violence. what we see this today in ukraine? so we must ask ourselves what capabilities putin's russia has. and what capabilities do we need to meet this threat to day and in the future? later on that? so they're missing, don't let me in that we must invest more in the security of our country to defend our freedom and democracy sets if that if and from now on year for year, more than 2 percent of our g d. p will be invested in defense. we spoke earlier to our team, political correspondent, me here, the couldn't and put it to her that this is a historic change in german,

foreign and defense policy. absolutely, this is a paradigm shift in german defense policy. frankly, we seen more change in that in the past 24 hours than in the previous 24 years. that is now safe to say it started when saturday evening. we got news that all of salts is now planning for germany to directly to dive a weapons to ukraine, although we're not sure yet in which shape or form the honda will actually take place. and then today we heard from a social democrat john, whose chief whip in parliament is really leaning in the direction of having to, having tried to understand russia in the past, more of a pacifist kind of angle. well, he, out of all people now announced these 100000000000 on top of the ordinary defense budget. that's twice more than twice the current defense budget here in germany. and he's also agreed to above 2 percent of g d. p. going into defense,

the latest as of 2024. this is something donald trump tried to get the germans to move towards it throughout his tenure and failed. and this is all just happened over the past 24 hours because of christmas in the united nations refugee agency says more than 300000 people have fled ye crime. more than a 150000 of crossed into neighboring poland. people are still facing enormous cues waiting to get across. they arrive exhausted and in native shelter after long journeys to the border. most a women and children men aged 18 to 60, a told to stay behind and fight. and here in berlin to more than a 100000 people joined a rally full pace in ukraine. the 10 that far exceeded the numbers organizes were hoping for. the gathering was one of many held in cities around the world. calling for an into hostilities pressure groups, including workers unions and were they just and environmental organizations all to

you watching t w need stay with us after a short break, a special program coming up german chancellor, olaf schultz has addressed an exceptional sunday session of parliament. he's announced some, most significant new policy changes in response to the board in ukraine. please stay with us for that. don't forget this coverage of the conflict on a website that we found at d. w dot com as well as twitter and instagram to handle the need is at the w news. stay with us. ah, they've had no peace for for decades. the people of iraq country is devastated and there's no end to violence. how did it come to this church is reveal and unprecedented story.