on tuesday, russia said that it is dramatically reducing military activity around the ukrainian capital key. yet, after sunset, air raid sirens began sailing 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 now. the russian forces move away from you. we spoke true, but i think we should be clear eyed 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 there that people died. that no one should be fooled by russia's announcement. also coming up in the us, people 50 and over are now eligible for a 2nd. coven vaccine booster. tonight, we're going to ask, just because you can, doesn't mean you should. my philosophy is as i want to be a small problems possible. if i can say disease free when i free a better from somebody else but 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 to dangerously 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,

a compassion of satellite imagery from before the invasion to images from this week revealed 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 would doing. dropping it was frightening. there is no merry pull any more live, they bumped it completely muddy will, will over in lima. was boldly. others like a 3 year old boy wasn't able to get out unscathed. wow. dina is crying out 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 ru paul, just not stop. on the 16th of march, we succeeded in leaving mario poll. we were hitch hiking. well we were getting right here and there must be. and one of the villages we pass through a rush and checkpoint, but i double. they let us through after checking us out. but then we were met with gunfire. what 3 of you did they to go about her steeple? i remember fighting in a loud noise in my ears and there, but then i will call it and my mother put me on to ground miss and started to scream for help. soldiers ran up to me and tried to stop the bleeding. get at me medicaid. molina was fortunate to make it to the hospital. many others have been less soak. ukrainian officials say around 5000 people, including over 200 children, have died in mariposa since rushes, assault 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 tonight 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 on the program to night. we saw what happened yesterday. we had ukrainian russian negotiators sitting down and turkey talking about possible ways to get the piece to de moscow saying that it sees nothing promising in those talks. what do you think is 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 and 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 a 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 putin

given what he says. 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 welcome 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 moved 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. if 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, 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 its 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 your be about us commitment particularly to nato, the last 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 it's a 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. stephen burns, i'm 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 on. 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 historic. we look forward to working with you to implement these important changes . we also salute germany's decision to send security assistance. so you write your example help to inspire other allies and partners to follow. oh my next guess tonight is matthew clark, 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, but the headline putins 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, explain 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 of miracle 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, a miracle. the putin whispered really, the potent appeaser she 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 sort of 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 is 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, the old 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 a 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 her, including frank like to stand by or who at the time was foreign minister from her 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. when you describe what the german parliament did, the day that ukrainian president zalinski spoke a meal 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, 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 adored 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, in particular with the relationship with russia to wrap everything and this sort of moral packaging and say that, you know, germany has this historic debt 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 merc into listed 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 is 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 do 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, they're going to need a really big small, that's for sure. matthew carnage. nick chief, you're 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. a 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 sinking immunity and

vaccinated people and the risks posed by omicron variance of the virus. the white house is welcome to 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 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 do 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 sta, 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 horse. 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 compromised? who can take advantage of this additional dose? it's a soft recommendation. they didn't say 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 friends, 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 israel. 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 have 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. ready dose because they saw this serge coming with this new b a to variant of omen cra. well, i know they see the serge coming. let's hope it is a mini serge as opposed to a big surge. i give time. will tell. dr. william shafter is always good talking. we appreciate your time and your insights to night. thank you. my playing well, the day's almost done. the conversation continues a line. you'll find us on twitter, either dw news, you can follow me on twitter at brent golf t. v and remember, whatever happens between now and then to morrow is another day, we'll see you then everybody

ah, with blue, the sanctions against russia are having an impact. mm workers. there are experiencing the effects 1st hand like thousands of other volkswagen employees, or dmitri sato shelf is currently for load. he's enjoying his break for now. but how much longer will this continue?

focus on europe. now do d w. 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 pipes? and does the company even pay taxes here? made in germany in 60 minutes on d. w. ah. and what does war do to people? are hatred and violence inherited from generation to generation and award winning documentary searches for answers for 2 years. the author

accompanies us our fist family in northern syria. insights into the isolated world of radical islamists, a film about family, faith, masculinity of fathers and sons starts april 16th on d, w. ah ah ah ah, this is focus on europe. thanks for your company today. russia's invasion of ukraine has left a trail of devastation once vibrant cities have been reduced to rubble. their landscapes no longer recognizable. one place that has been especially hard hit is har heaved in the east parts of ukraine's the 2nd most populous city.