one of your forest countries, it's to help a cope with ukrainian refugees. participants also agreed to help resettle 12000 ukrainians from moldova around 400. a 1000 have fled to the country since war broke out. and she is update at this hour, doc film is coming up next after short breaks of visiting for that is just a thought they were great. you ah,

spring 2021. were than 100000 russian troops had amassed along the ukrainian border in what was then the biggest military deployment since hostilities between the 2 countries began. ah, in easter ukraine's done bass region, ukrainian armed forces were fighting russia,

backed separatists good seized control, using russian weapons from 2014 to 2021. fighting claim, the lives of over $14000.00 people there. infrastructure and livelihoods were destroyed. ah, a bloody conflict. further escalated by the russians. in april 2021, ukraine's president followed him years zalinski looked to the west for support. germany and france sought to mediate eastern european countries, were alarmed. the you was

divided some favored diplomacy. others argued, russian president vladimir putin had little interest in talking with escape of the royal piece at the european or e e level. there still really no well thought out strategy on how to deal with russia human mid osland on get you in the gun union. some fear that puddings go on ukraine was to reassert russian power by undermining western unity. mooney, quote, led you, me a critique or vladimir putin to it's all deal politics. and geo economics is you, he has no respect for anyone to his people. vixon ukraine. once part of the soviet union was vulnerable to proteins, re venture st ambitions. you missed them at question. as president putin must assume that president hutton won't keep his word and he won't play by the rules and

will be willing to actually military force of items as it's not a boon. she need to remember, that putin once said wouldn't. if a fight is inevitable, the rock you must do strike 1st, eat not the piano, something to keep in mind lou bath, then it was clear that rushes actions could have global implications. rushes behavior towards ukraine had already triggered a new cold war. and europe seemed powerless to stop it. in this film, we talked to international experts, people on the street and ukraine's president in a country on the brink of war. to build it. the other question i sent was bought the you my think it will, it could possibly be to world war 32, and then europe, our neighbors, who in the countries of the european union, they will all suffer as a result direct when the cheapest,

as that moves 30 years after declaring independence from the soviet union, ukraine was trapped in a conflict with pigeons, russia, he wanted the war to end, and accused moscow, o fomenting unrest in ukrainian sovereign territory. they are actually leading the fighting in ukraine. but nonetheless, it's hard to get to a point where you are talking about constructive actions to end the conflict if russia is, in fact, denying that it's doing european heavyweights, germany and france stood by ukraine. to a point lou, the i'm going to shift to muslim. people want to do business with russia. that group is very strong, politically in germany. the dodged, the german committee on eastern european economic relations is extremely active,

is comp night as 5 to the since who is skipped invite and timed. in addition, large parts of the german population feel a great resonance with gun and closeness to russia wouldn't. more so than to the usa, nea. so wasn't once fuck dark eyes stood. it was on that him you put in, wanted to reassert brushes, status as a global superpower, and appeared, determined to expand russia's sphere of influence. e fled, say russia swallows ukraine. it makes it that different russia and this is, this is the russian calculus. it needs to control covertly, overtly ukraine in order to expose and project also european implant then in the spring of 2021, russian military maneuvers on the border with ukraine greased concerns. was putting,

planning in attack, ah, park eve in the east of ukraine lies just 40 kilometers from the russian border. people here feared their city would be in the line of fire. could have shell slip, and so and i heard it yesterday. i felt pretty scared is the media, apparently they've installed missiles that can travel 270 kilometers. and from belgrade to har, keith is what? a 45. yes. and if we get hit, then that's it. that's the end. so that the can, yes, no stress, it's very scary that this could reach us any more that we could be forced to leave it, move away and all that because nobody knows what will happen. exits version hudson,

following independence, some ukrainians have leaned towards western europe. others towards russia, a division that could still be seen and clark keith, when we filmed there, sometimes with russia, including family ties, remained strong at the time. is need to got most of how can russia be our enemy when they are people that he's our own people. we have the same mentality. we have the same roots, we have food in history. you get to was still used you. but as long as there's a built in, there will be no war or hostility. everything will be fine as long as me thrushes. and that's not just my opinion, but the opinion of my friends, jim po, jim claimed russian military action along the border was a response to provocations by nato. he issued a warning to again, is that a little bit better?

what garcia? reserves you pityingly when kitty asked them let me be suppressed, misty was relieved aside in them. thank god, double nosey mia chew. usually when i do is when you can, will you be your gold? pity with machine your i see it. that was the way. we'll cross lucia arcadia, and i will just credit it them with him up. but he let kirsten concrete plushie, samuel ukraine's president followed, amused lensky addressed, put in directly with an offer to discuss the conflict. because fagel a butcher, you're going to fight ye should i should. if you'd let it vamps theatre voice, which k grains called them buff. get line slow grain putting declined zalinski is invitation. he said zalinski should discuss the conflict with the separatists in eastern ukraine. not moscow,

or denial of russia's involvement in the war. now put in was openly demonstrating russia's military might write on ukraine's porter. my porch. mister sheet, we're close to, we're neighbors. and as she stood it, this is our geography, our history and life. so i can probably tell why this is happening. scott bad is the 1st of all, it was to test the strength of the new administration of the president of the united states and to see his reaction on that again e o, but the, your at in mid april u. s. president joe biden reached out to his russian counterpart and invited him to a summit. biden wanted to talk face to face, to dial down the bellicose rhetoric. pigeons, military demonstration had gotten by his attention.

i think vladimir couldn't, does deserve credit for being one of the most strategic minded and patient ah, leaders in europe right now. he knows what he wants to do. he's patient about it. he does it. and he exploits weaknesses, exploits division, exploits opportunities as their eyes cochin announced the end of military maneuvers and the withdrawal of troops. the immediate danger had been averted, but ukrainian forces remained on alert. observers reported russian military hardware stayed in place who in cave tensions ran. high sierra teresa is an aggressor and it must be slighted every land from every

microphone. every one should know that he is not the bigger study. where there's this feeling like the world is ruled by teenagers is the whole whose bodies are surging with hormones. 01, you know to, can you? it's such a nightmare. the gauges go. florida volota musa lensky. was no ordinary president. prior to his election, he spent years sling the ukrainian president on t v. in the late 19 ninety's, the russian speaking zalinski studied law in his home city of creevy and central ukraine. genevieve starting advocates on him that he is bully does. he said i didn't dream of becoming a lawyer or a serious prosecutor off. what do you know? i didn't want all that and i wanted to be a student. so back then we set up a small theater. he knew more of a comedy theater, a small comedy theater, coleman, g. seattle. and the key common genie at that

zelinski left law behind when he graduated from college and made comedy his profession. by 2014, he was working on a new tv series servant of the people in the satirical comedy zalinski play the history teacher who's unexpectedly elected president. after promising to tackle corruption, for just with the series made its debut in 2015 and was a huge hit something with his little him. so that was his thought. nazena lucca. i forgot on cushion. he shows it show 20 mr. garcia, fish jen that watching a lot of young men darrow. but again, could you know to michel ukrainians, laughed in recognition as the show lampooned, the country's corrupt politics, where oligarchs walking law and money talks about them with what it,

it's more the website is younger all nothing. but rama is the big them that usually asking them you why you miss your summer, my dance on it up on a mouse. good luck. i hugs that the series debuted at just the right time, a year before ukraine's then president victor yanna coach, had been forced from office, and the full extent of his wealth and embezzlement, exposed. while i'm assisting chance video similes. oh stay jessica. yet oh gosh. a deal they said it was, they stopped that the estate younger coverage had built for himself, became a tv set. the official residents, osa lensky is fictional president who goes to dip with other must always want to love him. yes. just a big wooden house and it's weird and bizarre, but it's not surprising in terms of a how luggage it is and how expensive it is. because, well,

i think everybody pretty much knew what's i mean, how, how much money is being stolen and how, how it is use. the real life story that led to yanna coaches departure is dramatic . it marked as see changing ukraine's identity as well as in its relationship with putins, russia, from one of relative harmony to hostility. in november 2013 president geno colvin refused to sign a trade agreement with the e. u. huh? yeah, you more gamble e. it's critical skill though i told him directly and openly way robot victor federal which you are making a big mistake. we should order fuqua uni. oh no, he replied that the ukrainian government, even after analyzing the pros and cons of such a course,

we had come to the conclusion that it was premature for us, great premature for ukraine. but just to take an active step towards europe, the riley goof la liberal and that we should remain in the orbit of the soviet. there's the not soviet but russian system are done for ye. yeah, he does, can i ah, in keith, through western ukrainians poured on to the streets and protest, lee demanded jenna coverage, either sign the agreement with the you or leave office. you can, you know, if we look at the people who went to these protests in ukraine in 2014, these put, these people were no longer divided between east and west. despite though the majority of them came, of course, from the very nationally oriented west,

not truly, let's not say the majority and he had a large proportion me. i'd close on time. instead, young coverage turned to moscow for aid. tensions were high. demonstrations continued. in february 2014 ukrainian security forces attacked protesters gathered on the my done or independence square in central keith. oh, in total, more than $100.00 people were killed. ukraine's parliament voted to impeach the president general coverage for the country. his destination, russia dead yet in vladimir

putin had not anticipated the scenario at all. yet the p was convinced that he could keep young coverage and power indian kavitsky and regularly told ya, no coverage that he needed to crack down harder. a confederate had commit proof optimal. ah, but not all ukrainian supported the protest. mm. exploding pro russian sentiment in the east. in march 2014 poaching illegally annexed crimea, while maintaining it was a secession. the annexation of the strategic legacy peninsula quickly followed sundays, hastily called referendum, in which its residence overwhelmingly backed breaking from ukraine. and joining russia was led soon crimea was annexed. we've, we're so happy we thought we could be annexed to me. my friends,

every one we kept thinking that russia was going to take us back to get a good many in ukraine feared exactly that. that coaching would go even further. and you know, they could do the same thing that they did with crimea will objectively they have enough resources for that. but the western alliance, meanwhile, was stymied enough. newsome employee those in c h s shoe. and there we found ourselves in a completely new situation. schiff delita, who, where the russian head of state had basically made choices for the great country of ukraine. and try to keep its precedent in place. got any price, can you kind e at the county? allen lan immediately proceeded not only to annex crimea,

but to absorb the whole province have crimea, will city as well as the city as the last to poetry me, which has a special status. ah, laptops you and to make them both subjects of the russian federation see de la villette. does he best the boy care that to be seen? a doll fair do sushi de larry dash shortly in response to crimea annexation members of the g 7, imposed harsh sanctions against putting and russia manhattan guns under ignition them. it is ation that us to this lily. the russians hadn't expected the west to react, so united lee and decisively fountain for clayton in russia, there were leading representatives often asked me why you of all people that you should understand that we feel humiliated images, not them. you yourselves were humiliated after world war one lies, but that's not a good historical comparison garden. the comparison is precisely

a country with such a difficult history as germany must stand up resolutely for the law to be upheld. that's why the message that had to be sent was a red line has been reached. i know here in india. oh, in april 2014 tensions rose again. fighting broke out between russian back separatists and government forces in the industrial and to large the russian speaking. don bass region in eastern ukraine am putting was accused of fueling the unrest or a civil. but if each of them will show to say that i was very surprised. it would be an exaggeration humor, food she for gyla. a for boys is because i knew one thing from talking to

yeltsin or she's listening to potent. yes. no. and speaking with many russian official, me was simo. oh really? they kept saying for you all the repeating to me that will, for of ukraine has been, will, is, and will be part of russia's strategic interests. systemic set up a huge sneak into 2 of those much. all this means that russia would never agree to ukraine taking a western position where you vanilla for choosing to follow a civilized western democratic course. soon it is on o. zach is law democrat, the general part of the conflict escalated quickly within the 1st few months. hundreds of ukrainian service men and volunteers were killed. there's evidence rush and weaponry had been

supplied to the separatists and some russian soldiers were fighting alongside the rebels. lou. ringback august 29th. so close to $400.00 fatalities. the highest number on any single day up to that point. this man's 26 year old brother, demeter oak, was among those killed to sit for me, he was everything sweet. why? we were a family of to me and him was with you and now i'm alone. here. i miss him. it was a my heart bleeds because he's gone. he's gone was were you will,

he's gone overweight. an exodus as people fled don bass menu. i think me of, i am very angry. yes, it pains me a lot. i come from there and like my city has half destroyed also. my kids got really one. there it is in ruins. basically, the school i went to for 9 years is half destroyed. it's glen, the whole block where i grew up. i mean like houses shot through, destroyed a bit more. and this is my gift card where there wasn't that much fighting. it's been like you've got to just be a little bit nimble away with hasty. the impact of the conflict was felt far beyond ukraine's borders. in july 2014 passenger fight m h 17. on route from amsterdam to kuala lumpur,

was shot down over separatist held don bass. lou, all 298 people on board died. evidence emerge that the plane was hit by a book surface to air missile belonging to a russian anti aircraft missile brigade. suddenly, the conflict was making international headlines. russia was waging a covert war on european soil and killing e citizens. ah, in 2 months earlier before the war escalated oligarch and former government minister, petro porsche jenko had been elected president of ukraine on a pro european anti corruption ticket. he pledged to return crimea to ukraine and,

and the war and don bass. oh, france and germany initiated talks between ukraine and russia. in february 2015 and by the rose, the party signed the minsk 2 agreement in san to re establish ukraine's control over its porter with russia. but only after elections had been held in the disputed territories. it also required a change to the ukrainian constitution that would grant special status to occupied don boss. the agreement didn't name russia as a party to the war, despite evidence to the contrary. until the ship president, along in his memoirs, french president, francois alone described how putin raised his voice in the negotiations and threatened the ukrainian president award saying would destroy the ukrainian forces classes, oscar. and that's the best evidence that russia was very active there. and these

protocols, as they also called, were assigned literally under the gunshot, because russians are ill. they verbally threatened, ah, military operation in the by civil are which they actually then executed him, hopefully protected. but in retrospect, politically speaking, things should have looked a lot different as in russia should have been portrayed as the warring party and ukraine should have been allowed to make demands. among other things, under the smith, when confronting putin pushing go, looked weak and despised efforts failed. minsk too was never fully implemented. pushing cuz reforms were also called into question. now or assessment that is that he a did the things that he had to do that for the results of joint pressure from the civil society and from the international community. i don't think it was ever serious about um, really making

a change in the system and, and annexing the there's a corruption infrastructure. so that becomes a threat to him, and he's always that's, that's a thing as 20 to true to a close ukraine's next presidential race began petro portal sango song reelection. ah, what is main challenger was a political outsider, fellow demure soleski, could become famous for playing the president on t v. on the 21st of april, 2019 zalinski was elected with an outright majority. he won over 73 percent of the vote compared to parish ankles. 24 percent

unions key that only tenant politic zalinski was never a politician to help. and he still not one eskew, deity, priest. but it worked. but because he was strongly supported by several very powerful oligarchs and the media, your finances, they financed his campaign cossack and devoted media attention to the landscape, anti parish ankle candidacy. does it in sky ah, in a seeming paradox, zalinski was elected. you largely, thanks to the oligarchs backing yet his ordinary man, anti corruption persona one over the voters. i voted for zalinski. here we no longer wanted porsche jenko. we didn't want what he had. yeah . as though i was expecting to see in zalinski a liberal,

even if he lacked conviction, you're a man for whom people's rights and freedoms mean something for those that have 0, violet that arises. ah, ne, moscow appeared ill prepared for this which in the service scheduler. 010 as a soviet man, after all, so as the rest of the russian leadership age and for these people are free and open elections are in general, more than a little suspect. bish, what did you have done when? who in his inaugural address? president zalinski said his 1st priority was to bring peace to don bass and, and the war with russia he travelled 1st to brussels,

now playing the statesman in real life with their strategic course of you green to achieve full fledged membership in the e. u and nita regis, secure in their cars did using over you, you grain remains unchanging. nato was faced with a dilemma if it granted ukraine membership, the alliance could find itself at war with russia. when you get to the new england, our engagement with that elias, the ongoing, aren't russian aggression remains a major challenge for urine lining, securing mm

to p. it discussed to see this dual credit. now imagine ukraine becoming a nato member at the mustard, which is what they're striving for. so not the plea. that would mean nato is suddenly on rushes at southwest border if the work done them food chain, this way dos to put what happened with crimea is a defensive reaction from russia to that me and a kind of warning god, we're look, we russia will not tolerate ukraine becoming a member of nato, ala stella, jim, dr. ah, back from brussels, zalinski reached out to vladimir putin on facebook. i'd be a good shot records have been crazies cuz he gets it like the middle portion. not the balise. honda. i absolutely chicken. a couple of them yet, the done by ah, in late july

a ceasefire was agreed to along with an exchange of prisoners zalinski his presidency. got off to a promising start. mm hm . we have to begin all the steps publicly. all the steps in means girls is in there monday. i hope that i have i, i just forgot to say about it. all. a journalist we're, we're, i hope will have they me are, is meeting in norman deformity and will speak about teeth and will speak all the steps you're in. they're not the future and you are in the near future. we have to do all this stuff to finish this horrible war.

ah, but zalinski soon saw that russia was holding fast to don bass. ah, well, we have little information about what is going on and the occupied thoughts of dun boss. but what we know is that there is quite substantial brain washing that is going on there. all. ah, myriad of images was the posters, sir? referring to the 2nd world war, showing their low col, kind of leaders was children and saying how they are defending this territory from, you know, vicious ukrainian regime. russia was also handing out lots of passports and on bus. ready social impact, the cow she's pay for the rats here, ah, nest, it's a common practice of the russian federation to force people in occupied territories

to take russian transport or, or to change the ethnic composition of the population missional before and the, to colonized such enclaves with new russians i, it's her admission this clot, muscling em colon use of our residents of the occupied lu hunt's can donetta regions, young were often simply forced to obtain russian pass pool. and so for a pool, and i just think that washington, the 9 community, just a believe without them, they wouldn't be able to leave normal lives in the territories, all women and them all in all my receive state services or confirm their identity. and so i think there's an awful here or even to think which is sir it in the future swears over it like that. the signals coming from germany and france were hard to read after 2015 and the failure to implement the minsk agreements. the warn ukraine seemed to have largely been forgotten. in 2019

berlin in paris successfully lobbied for russia to be reinstated in the council of europe. it had been expelled in 2014. following the annexation of crimea. ukraine's representatives were furious. you'll my dear friends who will vote for this will make your place will find your place in the history because you will give us the ability to rush it to go further. there was war in judge no, no sanctions in council of europe. there was, there were in georgia, no spaces were gone through europe finally, aggression against your brain sanctions 5 years and, oh, sorry, we are coming back. then in august, french president amana wilma krohn, unexpectedly announced his own russia reset policy. lin, i've de la hauser at duke. he france has long dreamed of being the power that

maintains the balance in europe, between east and west on the hook oper listed list. so let's just say in addition to other economic and politically important decisions being made by the new french president in the context of french politics, the, for my call to so hutton was an important pond on the chessboard. cafe louisville, played on the cool paulia to pretend it didn't show up. bottle sulu alicia ah, but eastern european nations expressed concern. your card at such thought look at it to some ways thrash you a booth shook sadly at skiff it is formed. it seems to me that the fears of the former soviet republics, especially the baltic states,

are quite understandable with them because the memory of how they were incorporated into the u. s. s. r is still very much alive, annually slow because the theory a growing the doubles of, of course, the events and eastern ukraine stoked these fears. yeah, usually it's a strike. he shook as allison, as orderly me, that those the nightly annexation of crimea. the action from don bass and so on. certainly fed the spears size. and so that they became stronger. it is that i hear, but bitterly thine is than i the the seni ah france and germany will question marks. but in the past, ukraine had always been able to look to the united states for support. been september 2019 christalin soleski major's 1st official trip to the us to give his inaugural speech at the united nations in new york. thank you very much.

i was just almost read you the memories var me zivare more visit near my year to enjoy the me new storm last night, most of which. why does it have miss betsy glee, davy? not greatly did he not you wrong, but his visit was overshadowed by the scandal engulfing venue as president donald trump, in which he played a big part. it hinged on a phone call between the 2 men, 2 months before in july 2019 or in the called trump asked ukraine to investigate his democratic rival, joe biden, and his son hunter. if ukraine refused us 8 would be withheld, i wanna know what's wrong. well, so when president donald trump froze $400000000.00 in u. s. military aid to ukraine to allegedly pressure the country's leader for

personal political favor, ukrainians got nervous there under the front from far one. and the call from trump was outrageous. it outrageous was his via nationwide and his tisha, and it wasn't just a nasty call. none behind it was a real and extremely dangerous threat to ukraine. but if you, namely, if i remember correctly, that $400000000.00 wouldn't be released from military equipment which ukraine desperately needed. and billy taylor shawls was, don't, did you okay in little english pot? oh, after that phone call in july, zalinski was pressured by members of trump's inner circle to make a public statement that ukraine would investigate the biden's. in september, the press began reporting on trumps demand for an investigation. in exchange for aid. under mounting pressure, trump released a rough transcript of his call with zalinski by then,

democrats in congress, had launched a formal impeachment, inquiry blue trunks, impeachment impacted ukraine's relationship with the united states. mm. mm. so what happened is, a u. s. domestic politics exploded over the effort to impeach president trump and ukraine. it stopped being a national security concern and a foreign policy concern. and instead became a prop. i was, it was a device for going after the president are going after the democrats. ringback ringback ringback ringback ringback ringback ringback ringback it took a crisis on the ukrainian border, who jeans military maneuvers in the spring of 2021 to push ukraine towards the top of new president, jo biden's,

political agenda. it also forced the u. s. in europe to rethink their own relationship with russia. should they be staunch allies for ukraine, or should they keep their distance? what about zalinski? ah, what role would he play in the months to come? yes, in the when vision he needs to be. i'm worried when i should leave the trip. numbers and equipment near i bought is keep increasing as real concern with the last or since the beginning of 2014. since the start of the war in dunbar, since russia's annexation of crimea. so there's been understandable concern. mueller, he will not it fetch and it's did an escalation, could occur at any time. it would jackie moment.

ah brighton beach in new york neighborhoods known as little odessa because of the many immigrants from ukraine, the people from russia and then also with. and they showed that there is a common ground understanding and friendship global $3000.00 in 30 minutes on

d. w. fighting for protection with one of the most detailed wildlife censuses ever taken in kenya, it gives us a status of the health of our ecosystems and i'll buy a diverse how science and technology are eating conservation efforts. eco africa in 90 minutes on d. w. oh. we're all good to go beyond the obvious as we take on the world 8 hours and i do all this weird all about the stories that matter to you.

whatever it takes, 5 police, my follow with your we are your is actually on fire made for mines. ah, ah, this is dw news and these are our top stories. ukrainian president, while the demure zalinski has called for urgent action from the un over alleged russian war crimes. he addressed the un security council after evidence emerged of what appeared to be a deliberate, massive feeling of civilians in the city of butcher outside the ukrainian capital. when the zalinski urged the security council to seek full accountability for russian actions.