ah, on tuesday, russia said that it is dramatically reducing military activity around the ukrainian capital key. yet, after sunset, air raid sirens began sounding across the city, followed by the explosions from new attacks. it took less than 24 hours for any hope of progress towards peace in ukraine to disappear into the darkness of war. more proof that putin usually means what he does and rarely means what he says. i'm brit. gov and berlin. this is the day. ah, we received both of the information right off the russian forces move away from t v small true. but i think we should be clear, right? about the reality of what's happening on the ground. we don't see grounds to trust

the words coming from representatives of the country that continues trying to destroy us with spots. they're equal dykes that no one should be fool. i rushes announcement also coming up in the u. s. people 50 and over are now eligible for a 2nd. coven vaccine booster. tonight, we're going to ask, just because you can, does it mean you should? my philosophy is as i want to be, a small a problems possible. if i can say disease free when i free a better for somebody else to our viewers watching on p b. s in the united states into all of you around the world. welcome. we begin the day with the latest proof that the words and deeds of the russian military in ukraine are too dangerous. we different things. you may remember that yesterday

after a day of peace talks between ukraine in russia, the russian deputy defense minister announced plans to sharply reduce military activity in the north of the country and around the capital city. keys of that statement led to cautious optimism that cautious optimism. it didn't last long. overnight air siren sounded across key. there were new russian attacks in the mayor of the northern city of chair to heave, saying his city has been under quote, a colossal attack. since yesterday and today, russian president vladimir putin issued an ultimatum to ukrainian forces in the besieged southern port city of mario pole. if you want the shelling to stop, lay down your weapons. we have more in this report. a month of russian bombardment has reduced much of mary paul to ruins while moscow has suffered setbacks elsewhere in ukraine. its efforts to take the key port had been devastating. an unrelenting

compassion of satellite imagery from before the invasion to images from this week reveals the almost no building has been left on damaged, ukrainian official sable than 90 percent of the city has been destroyed. many who managed to escape the destruction and up here some 200 kilometers, the northwestern separate asia traumatized by what they've left behind. they change shelters 3 times in maria pal. it's insane what they were doing. dropping it was frightening. there is no merrier. pull any more land, they bumped it completely muddy will fall over. phil. lima was believe. others like a 3 year old boy wasn't able to get out unscathed. la dina is crying out for his father, but he can't come to deem his bedside. he was also injured and his receiving treatment elsewhere in the hospital that far from the only ones this 11 year old

girl was also wounded as a family escaped from maria pole. not stop. on the 16th of march, we succeeded in leaving mario pole. we were hitch hiking below, we were getting right here and there must be in one of the villages. we pass through a rush and checkpoint, but i never look they led us through after checking us out. but then we were met with gunfire. 3 of you did they, to him or her steeple. i remember fighting in a loud noise in my ears and there, but then i will call her and my mother put me on to ground and started to scream for help. sure. soldiers ran up to me and tried to stop the bleeding. get with me, you're not asking for molina was fortunate to make it to the hospital. many others have been less so ukrainian officials say around 5000 people, including over 200 children, have died in mariposa. since rushes, the sold began for the estimated a 160000 residence to remain in the ruins. there's little hope of reprieve. putin

has made it clear that the shelling will only end when ukrainians defending against their invasion surrender. my 1st guest to night is steven worth. i'm a senior fellow at the american state craft program at the carnegie endowment for international peace. he's also an author of the book to morrow, the world, the birth of us global supremacy. steve, it's good to have you wanted the program to night. we saw what happened yesterday. we had ukrainian russian to go to go shader sitting down in turkey, talking about possible ways to get the piece today. moscow saying that it sees nothing promising in those talks. what do you think it's going to take to force and i'm using the word force here, russia to end this war? unfortunately, it looks like it will take considerably more time at a minimum,

you know, i think that the talks, if one expected the talks to suddenly produce peace that was too high and expectation. so i think it be fair to say some progress was made, particularly on the issue of and neutral status for ukraine, visa, the nato, but the territorial claims loom, the largest russia, appears to be shifting its aims in the war to eastern ukraine, although it continues to shell here and other places in the north. so we'll have to see about that. but if russia is indeed refocusing its campaign on taking land in eastern ukraine, my sense is that it probably wouldn't be willing to make any kind of agreement until it has captured what it deems to be enough land, in order to call out what russia has achieved some kind of victory for domestic purposes and calling it a victory, i guess,

will depend on vladimir putin calling it victory. can there be peace? then as long as vladimir putin is in charge, we know that the u. s. presidents, recent comments, they suggest a lot of exasperation with moscow. but do you think washington has given up any hope of having a peace deal while putin is still in power? well, unfortunately, there probably is no alternative to making peace with putin if there will be peace between russia and ukraine. there aren't compelling signs that i see that putin is losing his grip on power. and in fact, sanctions can have the opposite effect. so i think it remains still compelling to pursue a peace settlement provided there is no undue expectations or excessive trust, which is to say, basically any trust in what russian negotiators may say. otherwise we're in

for a very long war of attrition, which would be deeply unfortunate, but usually it takes a long time for parties to make peace because both sides have to come to a recognition and an acceptance of where they stand. and in this case, there are important international parties as well. you mentioned washington. it probably would require some kind of sanctions relief by the west in order for there to be a peace settlement. and before this invasion began, there were weeks of a flurry of diplomacy, and it was clear then that vladimir putin was only really interested in talking with the united states because he considers the us to be and equal is part of the problem here that vladimir putin wants the world, particularly washington to see russia as a superpower. i think those concerns do seem to resonate with pigeon,

given what he says. i'm. however, he is taken the wrong approach. if he wanted to be respected as the head of a superpower or, or a great power, i think it's entirely possible that had he chosen the path of a diplomatic resolution to the crisis back in january. that there would have been some degree of opening to reconsider rushes status in the european security architecture. that conversation was starting to open. but in other words, but now there seems to be no chance of, of vladimir putin being welcomed back into, into the west or being shown respect. it's possible that sanctions could be lifted, but it won't be the kind of status that putin perhaps was seeking. and all the while we're seeing russia move closer and closer to china,

the chinese and the russian foreign ministers today reaffirmed the 2 countries relationship. but i'm wondering, is china offering any real support to russia? china doesn't seem to be offering material support to russia, and that is very significant and can get lost in some of the rhetorical support that, that china has shown to russia in this sense. because china is not, at least so far, sending military supplies to russia. it is being neutral in the war, more so than countries that are materially aiding ukraine. i don't mean that as a moral statement, and since russia's war is obviously wrong and illegal, but china is trying to walk a line and it does seem to be complying with western sanctions, though obviously it's not joining in imposing sanctions itself. so china continues

to try to have a strategic relationship with russia and also maintain decent relations with the west. that's the balancing act. and it's pretty clear though, that china's principle that's longstanding insistence on respect for sovereignty and independence. and the un charter, those have been reduced to lip service. it's steve, let me ask before you run out of time. how worried should europe be about us commitment, particularly to nato, the last to pose show that if there were to be an election to day, former president donald trump would be jo by well, right now, joe biden is the president, and i think his commitment to defending what he calls, every inch of nato territory, is very real, but you're absolutely right. we have to think down the line 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, and so on. and to me, it seems like

a gamble to hinge the defense of europe, of nato on the united states, from far away, being willing to take enormous risks when the time comes. for the sake of latvia, for example. so i think the awakening that is going on in, in europe to its responsibilities. that's something to be encouraged. but it's important, i think, to channel it in a direction in which europe can defend itself, can have an autonomy and doesn't just seek to renew its dependence. on us security protection, steven worth time with the carnegie endowment for international peace. steve, we appreciate your time and your insights tonight, valuable context in this situation. thank you. my pleasure. ah. the russian invasion of ukraine has led to a radical departure in german for an insecurity policy. champs are schoultz,

is pledged to increase defense spending, and he's also ditched a gas pipeline project with russia. a project that former chancellor mecca refused to touch. all these changes have been welcomed by washington were just several weeks ago. lawmakers were openly questioning germany as 8 reliable partner. today, germany's new defense minister christine lumber, visited the pentagon in washington. here's us defense secretary lloyd austin, speaking earlier today. now germany has shown tremendous leadership at this crucial moment. your translation decisions to bolster germany's armed forces or vote. and to start we look forward to working with you to implement these important changes. we also salute germany's decision to send security assistance. so you're right. you're example helped to inspire other allies and partners to follow. my next guest tonight is matthew car. niche. nick,

he is the chief europe correspondent for politico here in berlin. matthew, it's good to have you on the program. you wrote, i dare say a blistering piece about german politicians and russia this week with the headline putin's useful german idiots. and you write, it shouldn't surprise any one that berlin spent the past 16 years with its feet firmly planted on the wrong side of the divide over how to handle russia. explained to our viewers what you mean there. well, i mean that it's been clear to many people in europe and in the united states for quite a long time. that putin shouldn't be trusted. but germany ignored all of these warnings consistently and decided instead to do what german industry wanted. and what made sense for them from a energy point of view, in terms of getting cheap gas from russia to heat german households and more

importantly, even for german industry. and it ignored all of these warnings and it worked well in the short term. but it was a very sort of myopic view, i think, in terms of what russia was, was really up to. you go down the list of political parties and politicians in your article. you also call out angle america for being the leader of this disastrous policy. i mean, she was often called the putin whisperer, if she was considered by some even former you as president barack obama, to be like an oracle with a window into the kremlin. you say that she has earned a place in the pantheon of political naivete. alongside neville chamberlain was angle american. the putin whispered really, the potent appeaser he was definitely they, they put in

a piece or she might have been whispering to him, but he certainly wasn't, wasn't listening. and i think a lot of us looked at her record even before this on foreign policy and said that, you know, it's not everything that a lot of people in western capital's think it was not just in terms of russia, but in terms of her policies towards towards europe, the greek crisis and, and other issues. so, you know, i think it's interesting that you're seeing the miracle legacy crumble so, so quickly. but there can be no doubt that this was a historic error that she made. and it goes back to the decision in 2008 in bucharest, at the nato summit, when germany resisted including ukraine and georgia in nato. and at the time the united states, under george w bush was pushing her in the other direction. she stood her ground and eventually

got the french to go along with her. and this was the beginning of a process that has continued up until a couple of weeks ago of basically forgiving the russians for every misdeed looking the other way and continuing to pursue these gas deals. and the problem, i think a lot of people's perception is because of the role. gerhard schroeder, her predecessor as chancellor, played in all of this, there's been a lot of focus on his role. and he of course, joined as chairman of nor stream to the pipeline project that has been so controversial between russia in germany. but really the power arrested with miracle . and the people people around here, including frank fired to stand by our, who at the time was foreign minister from the coalition partner, the social democrats, and is now of course german president. you highlight in your article what is an

almost self righteous, holier than thou attitude by the political elite here in berlin. will you describe what the german parliament did the day that ukrainian president zalinski spoke? and he delivered of scathing indictment of german complicity in the creation of the putin war machine. what happened directly after that speech in the buddhist talk? well, directly afterwards, the m p 's got up and gave him a standing ovation, which was somewhat bizarre given how critical he had had been of them. and then they just moved on to business as usual, and congratulated a couple of m p 's for their on their birthdays that day. and just went on to other matters and didn't really have anything like a real discussion about what they just heard from zalinski. and some of the people in the room in the opposition said this was sort of the, the most embarrassing day for the bonus tag in living memory. in it, matthew,

before we run out of time, you know, i read your article and i kept thinking, this is exactly what we have reported time and time again for the past 5 years or so, especially over nord stream to and yet many times it has felt like that there was no resonance or that not even an echo in the german media. why do you think that is? well, i think there's been a tendency in germany for, for decades, really in their relationships with the rest of the world. and in particular, with the relationship with russia to wrap everything in this sort of moral packaging and say that, you know, germany has this historic that towards russia. and this is why we need to pursue dialogue, as they call it, with russia, no matter what happens in reality, something else is going on here. this was a purely merck. and to list dick policy that benefited the german economy that benefited big german industry. and, you know,

trying to sell it off as this very moral listing position, i think has put germany now in a extremely tough spot because they would like to just sort of say, well, we're going to kind of move on from this. we were wrong. you know, spam tell you that as they say in german, they're just going to wipe the slate clean and forget that this happened. and i don't think that their allies in europe or across the atlantic are going to be willing to let them do that. yeah, they're going to need a really big small that's for sure. matthew carnita. nick. she your correspondent for politico here in berlin. matthew, we appreciate your time tonight. thank you. thank you. oh, the us food and drug administration is authorized. the 2nd booster dose of the 2 most commonly used cobra. 1900 vaccines. people over 50 will now be able to get a 4th dose of the, but during the, or pfizer vaccines. the move comes after data showing syncing immunity and

vaccinated people and the risks posed by omicron variance of the virus. the white house has welcomed the move. this is a good thing, and it is a straightforward thing. the cdc and the f d a r. now allowing, i will make available. i booster shots a 4th shot for people over 50 for the end for the immunocompromised. this is, we have plenty of supply and to ensure that those populations can receive these shots. and i want to bring in doctor william shafter, he's a professor of preventive medicine at the department of health policies professor of medicine also at the vanderbilt university school of medicine in nashville, tennessee. dr. shepherd, good to see you again. so what did you say about the f d a authorizing the 2nd booster? a good decision? well, i think it's very good to brent at the da has authorized to vaccine. it's great that we have it on the shelf ready to use if we needed. now the reality is that,

well over half the people who are eligible haven't yet received their 3rd dose. remember, you've got to get your 3rd dose for your 4th. and so the, the main emphasis and delivery of vaccine should still be for people completing this 3rd dose now series. now there are some people, older people, people who are frail underlying illnesses. of course people who are you compromise, who can take advantage of this additional dose. it's a soft recommendation. they insight everybody over age 50 should get it, but you should discuss it with your health care provider. why the age 50. i've understood someone to be 50 or 51 to be in a completely different category than someone 71 or 81, or am i just trying to keep myself younger than i am?

well, you are young person friend, but nonetheless, the greatest risking theoretically is in those people who are indeed older because it was in that group that when you measured the protection in in the bloodstream, that we have some slight diminution and protection in those older age groups. with time, and that's why, particularly, i think most practitioners would say great, give it to those people who are older, those younger adults, they don't need it yet, because the vaccines continue to provide good protection against serious disease that requires hospitalization. you know that the data that the f d a was looking at to make this decision became from is real. how confident are you that is real? can we can take is real and extrapolate that to a country that the size of the united states. right, there was good discussion,

i think out there among the experts about that exactly. the israeli data are interesting and instructed but also somewhat limited. and there were lots of my colleagues, myself included, who weren't quite convinced about it. so hence, this is a soft recommendation, not something that is said that everyone age, 50 and older was, had 3 doses should immediately run out and get that for those. i know that the, the numbers of new cases in the us remain low. they're rising there on this side of the atlantic. i mean the u. k. u even has have hospitalizations going up. do you see this as a wave here in europe that eventually will head for the us? that's exactly the key issue, and that's why the food and drug administration and the cdc that make this recommendation. they saw this increase in europe including some hospitalizations.

and that's where they were concerned that some of those older people whose in unity was waning shouldn't get the additional protection of the 4th dose because they saw this serge coming with this new b a to variant of omen cra. well, i know they see the surge coming. let's hope it is a mini serge as opposed to a big surge. i guess time will tell dr. william shaft is always good talking. we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. thank you. my playing well, the day's almost done, the conversation continues on line. you'll find us on twitter, either dw news, you can follow me on twitter at brent gov tv and remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day. we'll see you then everybody

with many german pipelines and gas reserves are controlled by russian company gas. the corporation has so far operated freely within the german market, perhaps for too long. who is behind this opaque multinational which gas flows through which pipe. and does the company even pay taxes here?

made in germany next on d, w, into the conflict zone with sebastian. how worry, go russia 5 about the progress of the war, f mo, via the investigative journalist, managed to pierced the veil of secrecy among them. andre phone vasa, founder, an editor of a guarantor of website which truck rushes who can do services. it's really difficult for psychological play low because i'm up on the bob. 60 minutes. oh d w a oh. up to date. don't miss our highlights. the d w program on line d, w dot com highlights how long does it last an eternity time.

it can be measured precisely, and yet each person experiences it differently as if there are different forms of time. time a phenomenon, a dimension and illusion about time starts april 14 on d, w. mm hm. ah, ah, ah, ah, rushes war and ukraine is now more than a month old. millions of people have fled their homes and ukraine and thousands have been killed. meanwhile, the phrase that hasn't driven it in german economic policy for decades, vondell durst handle or change through trade is now being re thought since the cold

war, germany.