ah, discover the world around you. subscribe to d w documentary on youtube. last week, russia declared ukraine's air force practically destroyed that did not include the ukrainian helicopters that flew over russia today and attacked an oil depot and embarrassment for moscow. yes, but a few choppers do not an air force make. and what about today's china european union summit with the war in ukraine blasting in the background? china in europe are each other's biggest trading partner. brussels supports heave and beijing as a friend to moscow. but those differences do not

a deal break. i'm broke off in berlin. this is the day. ah, you in china, we agreed that this war is threatened, global security and the world's eternity. so we also made it very clear that china should, if not support, at least not interfere with our sanctions. we need russia to be isolated. it is the li room isolated economically. because every sense that a spanish to buy gas is used for wetlands that are killing our children. so we are seeing that russia is a massing forces for new attacks in the don't bass. and we are getting ready for this. also coming up the latest on a busy week for the u. s. congressional committee investigating the january 6th.

the attack on the us capital if president trump's plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power undermining american democracy. and the constitution ah, 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 russia's grip on eastern ukraine. earlier this week, russia's defense ministry announced a radical reduction in military activity around the ukrainian capital. keep moscow emphasized that this did not mean a ceasefire. in fact, russian attacks and northern ukraine have continued throughout this week. nato says that russian forces are not withdrawing, but rather repositioning. it remains to be seen whether or not prudent will order. another moved towards key. what is clear?

russia is doubling down where it already enjoys military supremacy, especially the don bass region. the don bass consists of don't ask, and lou hans in 2014 separate as they're declared their independence from ukraine, backed by russia. they have been fighting the ukrainian military ever since. russian forces on patrol in von nevada is now firmly under that control. but it's given essays with town has been obliterated. this is what victory looks like in this war. villanova is in the east and dumbass, the predominantly russian speaking region where claimed impact rebels have been waging a separatist war for years. moscow claims this area is now the new focus of its war in ukraine. i gave them genea, keith and shan heath, a regrouping of our troops is taking place sooner. good. the purpose of this regrouping is say that we can focus on key fronts of 1st and foremost,

the operation to liberate the dumbass mcdaniel dumbo. it's industrial and resource rich or say flat with few forests or rivers, but on bass is ideal terrain for tanks. perhaps easier to conquer, certainly easier to hold on to march 2014 separatists in both the nets and lance regions in the dumbass declared their independence from ukraine. fighting breaks out the separatists soon backed with money weapons, and troops for moscow. in 2015 a ceasefire signed in minsk ends full scale fighting. the skirmish is continue 7 years later, but on bass is still our center of the struggle between ukraine and russia. ukraine

has managed to defend large parts of it from invasion. the bulk of his army is thought to be their analysts believe russia could now attempt to encircle these units with thrusts from ha, he's in the north and marry. a paul in the south cave says it's ready alert the course watching was short. we are seeing that russia is a massive forces for new attacks in the don bass. and we are getting ready for this situation. we were doing much, we need sean, we won't give up anything and we'll fight for every meter of our land for every citizen who d. ibt, instead of regime change like president putin now seems to have settled for a more limited goal, minimal and admission. the, his invasion has run out of steam, emma boyer, but if putin can win, but don bass, he could still claim victory on us. it might be a possible exit strategy for him away out of his war without losing face. the west has of course placed unprecedented sanctions on russia over its invasion

of ukraine. though sanctions were on the agenda of a virtual summit, bringing together european union and chinese leaders to day the e. u, appealing to china to help in ending this war. here's the president of the european council, charles michelle. this double is stability is not in china's interest, and not in use interest. we share the responsibility as double act, us to work for peace and stability. we talk on china to help and the war in ukraine. china janitor, the blight i to rush as volition of international low. i want to bring in now. and so he run jenko, he's the wilson schmidt, distinguished professor at johns hopkins school of advanced international studies. he's also a cold war, historian, professor, i think it's good to have you on the program. the european union says that china

agreed that the war is a threat to global security and to the world's economy. if that is the case, why isn't china doing more to pressure russia to end the fight? o china finds itself between a rock and a hard place? yes, the war is not great for global stability, china understands that it doesn't want the war to escalate. on the other hand, it also does not want russia to lose. because russia is the key partner for china and seen that big partner with whom they have such a close relationship, actually chased out of ukraine, would look very bad for china. and would they china with base more pressure? i'd like for you to take a listen to the chinese foreign ministry spokesman from just before the summit took place. take a listen. so a will come with you there as the culprits and leading instigator of the ukraine crisis. the u. s. has led nato to engage in 5 rounds of beasts with expansion in

the last 2 decades after $999.00. the number of nato members increased from 16 to 30, and they have moved eastwood more than 1000 kilometers to someone near the russian border. can pushing russia to the wall, the step by step evil professor. what we just heard there was beijing saying that it's america's fault that russia invaded ukraine. i mean, that's also the reason, given by russia, pretty much word for word. do you think that china has an independent assessment of what caused this war? i think china, beijing would have an independent assessment, but in this particular case, they are all too keen to embrace russia. russia, assessment and support rushes rhetorically. that is because it costs them nothing. of course, they're all so close to may to enlarge when they're not happy both. and they told they don't like nato enlarging in the string, europe, the c, nato, for threats. so therefore, it cost them nothing and it's,

it's the they see this in their interest to oppose nato. in this particular case, to blame the crisis on nato instead of blaming it on russia's actual invasion of ukraine. today we heard the commission president ursula funded lion saying that she pointed out that china's trade with the e. u is more than 3 times the volume of china's trade with russia. she's talking about business here, is that going to move beijing more than by talking about respect for human right to respect for the rules based international order? no, that's definitely the case bay. jane understands the language of money that is clear with the case they know how to do business. on the other hand, i think it would be incorrect to think that they are driven exclusively by economic considerations. in this particular case, i think the understand the political ramifications of russia's loss in ukraine,

and here's why they are so worried about it. of russia is chased out of ukraine. then there are certain implications for potential use of force even by china against, let's say, tie one. that means that, you know, russia tried something reckless and it's either have to pay the price. will that mean the china will then have to renounce its own aspirations, its own or expectations with regard to a future, you re unification with taiwan. i think that's the question that policy makers in beijing would be likely to be asking. yeah. and if so much is at stake, then for beijing, do you see china offering any real help to russia other than, you know, being vocal and it support in being verbal i so far we've seen china mainly sitting on the fence. yeah. they are offering a lot of rhetorical support, but not only so that is the big question,

because the american intelligence has suggested that the russians have actually turned to china with an actual request for lethal aid for help in waiting the war in ukraine and the americans had actually warned, they jang, do not do it, do not try to do this. now whether beijing has listened or is le saying, it's anyone's guess would don't know, but the americans have certainly issued that warning to them. be careful to not close ranks with russia on this because you're risking a lot. and when you look at this view from china, would you say that beijing is more concerned by the fact that the current u. s. administration has pointed to china and identified it as the biggest threat to the united states. well, that's, that's absolutely the case, not only the current administration, but the previous administration has team china or america's major strategic

competitor. and indeed, the vitamin ministration had no intention of dealing with russia, invasions and europe, etc, etc. when it came into office, the focus was supposed to be on china. arguably, this is one of the reasons that actually decided to undertake this reckless gamble by invading ukraine is that he hoped americans would be preoccupied with china. but from aging perspective, you have to understand they're thinking about america and they see america as a, as, as a rival. and russia as the quasi our, not quite an actual l i. they do not have a treaty of aligns with russia. but the c rushes quasi ally against the united states. so it is for that reason for political reason that there are so committed to see him helping russia through this, but not too much, perhaps not to the extent that it goes into even the broader regional war. i think the chinese don't want to see that. what abundance windermere decided he wanted to

use tactical nuclear weapons against ukraine. do you think china would then step in and say enough is enough? well, that will be major red line, not just for the west, but i think also for china. it's hard to see how they would react to this because it's, you know, it opens up such a boom. dora pandora's box that, that nobody, nobody knows. obviously me on the be chinese are not likely to why this is idea. they will not say yellow. somebody use nuclear weapons, i don't think the chinese will brace this idea at all. if the russians were to do that, which is, i think is extremely unlikely, would be chinese actually back them. i doubt it. i think they would, they would call for de escalation. i think this is what they would do. do you think you'd be seeing has learned any lessons from the, the western reaction to the invasion of you, of ukraine?

beijing watches this sort of things very closely. for example, when the 1st gulf war happened in 1991, 9991. the chinese very closely monitored the american war in iraq and drew very important to us and support themselves for how to wage wars or how to build up their army, etc. when the soviet union collapsed, they watched up very closely. andrew conclusions for their internal political reforms around the happens of political reforms. they're very intense not to follow the road followed by gorbachev. so the, they look around, they do observe other others behavior. and i think they looked at russia behavior in russia invasion of ukraine. i can, i do not think that they would approve of that. i don't think that they sorta was a good idea, but now that they saw how russia has spared,

they're likely going to draw lessons lessons for their military strategy, but also lessons for their political calculations. and once again became a question here. i want to professor, i think we appreciate your insights tonight. thank you. thank you for having the rushes invasion of ukraine has forced europe, especially germany to come to terms with its dependency on russian oil and natural gas and getting off russian energy means that europe has to find new sources. and that is where the united states comes in. he doesn't use washington bureau chief in his poll traveled to the state of north dakota where she found fossil fuel producer is ready to meet the new demand from europe and cash. and at the same time, ah, it's a race against time. in the midst of a world wide energy crisis, the question is, how the western world can secure its energy supply. for more than half a century,

north dakota, us energy industry has been a major contributor to the u. s. in the state is the 2nd leading producer of oil in the u. s. just after taxes. it pumps over a 1000000 barrels a day, even more than men is soya. tioga is mainly in oil production area. if oil is gone, it be just a farming community, just like the rest of most small areas in north dakota. so it's very vital for the i dandy right now. but north dakota is not just a major source of non renewable energy to fight climate change. money has also been invested in green energy like wind turbines. over the last several years. paul jensen is an advocate for renewable energy to she can probably feel to day. we have a very high wind capacity factor here in the state of the wind blows are

continuously, we call it the saudi arabia of wind. more energy independence is better for us. there will also make them more fixed prices and competitiveness will be improved. here we see the 2 worlds collide. on the one side, we see a symbol of the old fossil fuel world, a substation of a gas pipeline. on the other side, we see hundreds of wind turbines representing a world of renewable energy. in bismarck the state capitol penantrelly has a different take. she works for a labor union that represents oil and pipeline workers. right now with the war going on in the ukraine. we're actually seeing an uptick on a push towards fossil fuel energy, not the green power because it's so available. and it's readily produced here in the state of north dakota. there is a greater voice for fossil fuels in the united states can produce what we need plus

export more. as the world scrambled to find more sources of energy, fossil fuels here at least seem to have the ich ah, attempts to work through the events of january 6 last year. when a pro trump mob stormed the u. s. capital, but they gathered paste this week. the house committee investigated the insurrection has voted to hold to senior trump aids in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas to testify. also this week, a federal judge ruled that trump more likely than not engaged in criminal conduct with his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. here's list, change the senior republican on the house committee, talking about that ruling. judge carter put it this way. if president trump's plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power undermining

american democracy and the constitution. if the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the court fears, january 6, will repeat itself ever more. i'm joined now by nick ackerman. mister archman is a former assistant us attorney and a former watergate prosecutor. mister archman is good to see you again. we have learned now that on january 6 of last year, there's a 7 hour hole in the white house, telephone call log book. now back at 973 watergate investigators. they were stunned when they discovered an 18 and a half minute gap in those intimate oval office tapes, 7 hours versus 18 and a half minutes. one sounds much more agree just than the other. is it? well, it is to a great extent. i mean, you have to look at it, it's 2 different things. one, the tape recording was actually the tape recorder voice, richard nixon,

which is pretty powerful evidence with respect to a meeting that occurred a couple days after the watergate break in. this is in some ways just as dramatic, particularly if you look at the walk, suddenly at a certain point in the morning, just before the violent starts, all of the there's no phone calls, there's nothing it's missing. and i think that the inference that one can take from both of these is that what would be there would be extremely incriminate. or we know that donald trump made some phone calls during that period of time. the key issue here is, what did donald trump know about the bi wants to participate in encourages, was he a we're going to happen before he used the violence needs to stop the electoral vote count. that's the big question. i'd like to get your read on the work of the

january 6 committee in the house. i mean, it seems that law makers have been very busy and that they've been amassing a lot of evidence. what your read yeah. no, i agree with that. i think they've been very thorough, it appears like they've talked to hundreds of witnesses, they're really zeroing in on the key issues. now, you know, precisely, as i said before, you know, when the president trump know about the violence, you know, how soon did he know about it? it seems to me that they are going right to the top on. and they're doing it during the way that they're talking to people that are in the white people that were around him. and people have reason to go with donald trump was doing during that period of time. so they're being extremely borough. this week the committee voted unanimously to hold for trump advisors peter navarro, and dan scott vino,

in contempt of congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas. now the house is expected to approve the recommendation and send it to the justice department. it did the same thing last december regarding former white house chief of staff, mark meadows, and yet attorney general merrick garland has not acted. but how do you read that? well, the hard one to read in the sense that the one with mark matters is a little bit different because he actually did cooperate to extent and then he stopped cooperating. i mean, he wound up giving the committee lots and lots of email wasn't documents. whereas these other 2 people have really just completely still a wall the investigation. so it's hard to say, i mean, i think that there are some issues that maybe the prosecutors are trying to deal with the mark case. but it seems to me these other 2 cases with respect to us could be and the other individual or

a lot easier because they just did absolutely nothing. they ignored the subpoenas, they refused to testify and they refused to produce documents. so i, i'm not sure we can read too much into it other than that really. but you are expecting the justice department to take action sooner rather than later. i would think, i mean, they certainly should. particularly if there's any hope of forcing these individuals to actually cooperate with january 6th. me mean the problem here is i think that everybody is looking at this is a deadline before the end of the year because they're all concerned that history repeats itself. is it usually does in the mid term elections, that the republicans have a good chance of rejecting the house if they do, they're going to mediately, you know, put the scratch to this investigation. so it's extremely important that this

investigation be completed be presented to the public in the report the may before the end of the year. is that realistic? mister archman? i mean, you're talking about what 8 months, maybe best to get all of that done. well, i guarantee you that they've got this report in process right now. it's a work in progress or that they're writing. i think you're getting close to the point where they're actually going to have public hearings are to present this to the public. yeah, i think it's extremely realistic. i mean if you look at what happened in watergate with the senate select committee, i don't think they're nearly as much time before they are putting together public hearings that were on television. so i think that they can do it. i think it's just a question of when do they think they have the most powerful evidence or the most powerful facts to present to the comic? and let me just ask you before we read another time yesterday,

jared cushion or donald trump's son in law, became the 1st member of the trunk family to speak to investigators. how significant is that, in your opinion? well, of all the family members is probably the least significant. he was not president in washington at the time of january 6. he could give information relating to what was going on, perhaps for respect to the effort to try and get my president pence to slow walk the counts of the electoral college. but i don't think she knows as much . i mean with what they're really looking for is what donald trump was doing during that 7 hour period of time when the phone records are completely missing and appear to have been destroyed. you know, that is still the big question that has not been answered. nick ackerman is always mr. argument is going to talk with you. we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. thank you. thank you. well,

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ah, this is dw news lie from berlin tonight, mission of boarded a red cross convoy on its way to evacuate civilians from mario poll has turned back . conditions, making it impossible for the team to get there safely. dashing the hopes of those trap inside the besieged city. also coming up tonight, a start warning from the european union to china. do not help russia in its war against you. great. the china saying it will not be forced.